Singer Pearl Carr offered hope that the UK could compete at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Taking to the stage alongside husband Teddy Johnson, she came second in the 1959 contest.
Ms Carr, who has died aged 92, found musical and television success alongside her husband following their marriage in 1955.
The duo appeared on programmes such as The Winifred Atwell Show, Big Night Out and Blackpool Night Out in the 50s.
In 1959 they represented the United Kingdom at Eurovision and finished in second place with the song Sing, Little Birdie.
The song climbed to number 12 in the UK Singles Chart and topped the charts in the Netherlands.
Johnson, who died in 2018, was also by her side when they attempted to represent the UK again in 1960, entering two ballads in the pre-selection process and made it to the final two.
They were pipped to the top spot by Johnson’s own brother Bryan who matched his brother’s success and reached second place in the contest.
Instead, the couple released another single, How Wonderful to Know, which reached Number 23 in the UK.
Carr was born and raised in Exmouth in Devon by her father who owned the local fish and chip shop and her mother, music hall artist Lily Palmer, who ran a dancing school and taught her to perform.
Before meeting her beau, she was lead singer with the Keynotes, who had two British hits in 1956.
Later in their career, the couple performed together in West End shows before deciding to retire together, living out their last few years at a retirement home for entertainers in Twickenham.