Mari Wilson

Mari Macmillan Ramsay Wilson (born 29 September 1954, Neasden, London) is a British pop and jazz singer. She is best known for her 1982 UK top-10 hit single "Just What I Always Wanted". She had a further UK top-40 hit in 1983 with a cover of "Cry Me a River".

Recording on Compact Records with her backing band The Wilsations, Wilson scored six UK hit singles between 1982 and 1984. Her biggest hit, "Just What I Always Wanted" peaked at No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart in 1982.

In 1983, she released a cover of "Cry Me a River" (UK No. 27) along with her debut album, Showpeople (UK No. 24).[3] After this, further commercial success eluded her, though in 1985 she recorded the song "Would You Dance with a Stranger" (theme for the film Dance with a Stranger) and turned her career towards live performances. Previously known for her beehive hairstyle, she subsequently distanced herself from her beehive days, but started touring with her old songs again in 2007.

In 1992, her album The Rhythm Romance, which combined jazz standards with 1960s songs and original material, failed to return her to the charts. She continued performing with jazz bands, and she sang the theme song to the sitcom Coupling ("Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps").

On 30 September 2018, she appeared with Soft Cell, as an unannounced special guest to sing a duet with Marc Almond, as part of their final live concert 'Say Hello and Wave Goodbye, One Last Time' at The O2 Arena in London.