Mrs Mills

English pianist (1918–1978)

Gladys Mills (; 29 August 1918 – 24 February 1978), known as Mrs. Mills, was an English pianist who was active in the 1960s and 1970s, and who released many records. Her repertoire included many sing along and party tunes made popular in the music hall, using a stride piano technique.

Mills was born in the East London suburb Beckton. they settled in Loughton, Essex, where she lived for most of her life. At the age of 43, in December 1961, she made her first television appearance on The Billy Cotton Show. By the end of January 1962, she would be a household name, rising to fame during the same period as her stable mates The Beatles, with whom she had shared space at Abbey Road Studios (as mentioned in the Beatles Anthology DVD bonus materials). She toured the UK, making many appearances on TV and radio throughout the 1960s. Mills was also a successful recording artist overseas in territories where there were large numbers of economic migrants from the UK, including Australia, Canada and Hong Kong. Her career as an entertainer was to last well into the 1970s. She was signed to a management contract by Eric Easton, who later went on to manage The Dave Clark Five and The Rolling Stones, and then signed a recording contract with Parlophone. Her oeuvre consisted of British and international standards, plus cover versions of contemporary hits. Her covers included "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", "Hello, Dolly! ", "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and "Yellow Submarine", all of which were re released by EMI in their 2003 compilation The Very Best of Mrs Mills.

Mills appeared on two episodes of The Morecambe and Wise Show in 1971 and 1974, where she performed a medley of favourites with the studio orchestra. In 1973, she appeared in an episode of The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. In December 1974, she appeared as the subject of This Is Your Life, hosted by Eamonn Andrews, when it was revealed that the first record she had recorded was "A Gal in Calico", cut in a make your own record booth on Southend Pier for a half crown, with her girlhood pal Lily Dormer. In 1975, her distinctive style of performance was satirised in an edition of BBC TV's The Two Ronnies, originally broadcast on BBC Two on 23 January 1975. The sketch, titled "Family Entertainment – John & Mrs Mills", occupied the end of the show musical slot in episode 4 of the fourth series. It featured Ronnie Barker as a silk laden Mrs Mills at piano and Ronnie Corbett as a uniformed Sir John Mills (who was no relation to Mrs Mills). Barker and Corbett performed a medley of Mills style classics revolving around John Mills' character in the 1969 film Oh! What a Lovely War. Little was seen of Mills on television in her final years, and she died of a heart attack on 24 February 1978 in London. The piano, with a characteristic out of tune honky tonk sound, has remained in use at Abbey Road for over 50 years and was used in countless recordings made there, including some by The Beatles. According to Eddie Vedder in an interview for the SmartLess podcast in February 2022, Paul McCartney tried to buy the piano but the studio refused. Although Mills' musical legacy had been largely forgotten in recent times, June 2012 saw the emergence of London based tribute band The Mrs Mills Experience with a debut at The Vintage Festival at Boughton House in Northamptonshire. On 13 July, they were filmed playing live at The Prince Albert pub in Brixton, London Borough of Lambeth by the BBC. On 23 September 2012, BBC Four broadcast the 60 minute documentary Let's Have a Party! The Piano Genius of Mrs Mills on the life of Mills, which included footage of the band and contributions from Rick Wakeman, Rowland Rivron and Pete Murray, amongst others. Eddie Vedder's 2022 album, Earthling, contains a song called "Mrs. Mills" about the piano, featuring Ringo Starr on drums. Loughton Town Council commissioned a blue plaque to her memory on the house at 43 Barncroft Close, her home for many years.

A Best of CD was released by the EMI Gold imprint and another CD (The Mrs Mills Collection) appeared on the HMV Easy label. A list of her UK output (according to a vast, now lost Parlophone listing from the web) is as follows:

Record Label Catalogue Number Issue Date InformationRegal Starline Records SRS 5029 1970 Party Sing Along (released in Australia on EMI Parlophone label) Regal Starline Records SRS 5089 1971All Time Party Dances (released in Australia on EMI Parlophone label) EMI/Encore RecordsONCR 508 1971 All Time Party Dances and Other Favourites (released in Australia on Axis label, comprising All Time Party Dances LP, plus selected tracks from other Parlophone albums) EMI/One Up RecordsOU 2076 1970–79It's Party Time! (reissue). Also released in Scotland, with album art showing Mrs Mills with various cute puppies. EMI/One Up RecordsOU 2197 1977 Glad Tidings – Mrs Mills' Christmas PartyEMI/Sounds Superb RecordsSPR 90012 1973 Non Stop Honky Tonk Party (blue or purple background) EMI/Double Up RecordsDUO 108 1973 What a Wonderful Party (double album). The cover shows a chimpanzees' tea party. Selections from this double album were released in Australia as Parlophone SPMEO 10164, What a Wonderful Party, with a cartoon style piano cover. EMI/Double Up Records DUO 122 1976 Jumbo Party (double album – elephant cover). These albums were released separately in Australia as Jumbo Party, Volume 1 and 2, EMI EMB 10383 and 10384 respectively. Liberty RecordsLST 73591964My Mother the Ragtime Piano Player – 6 track, 33rpm 7 inch EP – (consisting of selections from Mrs Mills Plays the Roaring 20s)Liberty RecordsLRP 3359 (mono) or LST 7359 (stereo)1964"Smile Smile Smile" / "Da Dar Da Dar" – 7 inch singleEMI RecordsEMC 30921975For Your Party – Mrs Mills Sings and PlaysMusic For PleasureDL 41 1058 31984Piano Party Time – double album, a re release of Music for Anytime and Mrs Mills PartyCapitol CanadaST60821964Mrs Mills & Russ Conway – Let's Have a Party – Mrs Mills content consists of various singles such as "Entry of the Tradiators" and "Ten Green Bottles", plus two tracks from Mrs Mills Plays the Roaring 20sCapitol CanadaST61511965Another Party with Mrs Mills – (Canadian release of Mrs Mills Party)Deutscher SchallplattenclubH 0441967 Mrs Mills – Am Schräger Klavier ("At the Diagonal Piano") – (German release of Mrs Mills Plays the Roaring 20s)Telemark Dance Records 892 1973"Candy Floss / Someone Like You" – 7 inch singleS*R International Label74989 P121966Mrs Mills' Crazy Party – German release, consisting of various selections from Mrs Mills Plays the Roaring 20s interspersed with traditional jazz tunes from The New Orleans Hot Dogs EMI Odeon O 23 390 1966"Mrs Mills Klimperkasten Potpourri" – German release of "Glad Today" and "Glad Yesterday" – 7 inch 45rpm single Music For Pleasure FP 10055 1975 Tapetunes "Chattanooga Choo Choo" & "Little Sir Echo" listed as a "Piano Singalong with Mrs Mills" 45rpm single EMIMUSIC EMAJ(M)8504 1988 EMI Brigadiers (Johannesburg) EMIMUSIC presents Mrs Mills – LP compilation from various other Mrs Mills albums

A number of additional albums, with titles such as Knees Up Roaring 20s Party, Crazy Rhythm, Mairzy Doats and Dozy Doats, Just Mrs Gladys Mills, and Welcome To Mrs Mills' Honky Tonk Party, are either compilations of tracks from various EMI Parlophone albums and singles, or older albums reissued under new titles. The cover art on these albums, rather than the content, has been of interest to collectors.