Annie Ross Quotations

Jack Hylton said: 'I want you, I want you, but I can't offer you the part it's for a 35-year-old woman'. So, he said: 'I tell you what, I'll make you the understudy and you'll be in the chorus. And I said: 'But I can't dance!' He replied: 'Good, we'll put you on the end of the line and make you the funny chorus girl who always messes things up!'

I'm feeling pretty good right now, though I can never be totally satisfied with myself. But that's what makes me work harder. It was really important to get this first win, and our confidence is immeasurable right now.

Cranks was a huge success in London. It was Princess Margaret's favourite show, so she brought her sister along to see it, which helped with the publicity. It was brilliant. I wore a tutu, with fishnet stockings and high heels and long gloves, and I had one of Vidal Sassoon's first huge haircuts that were just coming in at the time, a kind of Shirley MacLaine-ish thing. Because it didn't have a story-line and the songs weren't conventional, they didn't know what to make of it over here in the States and it flopped in New York.

I asked the producer who else is doing the show. And he replied: 'Dorothy Paul, and, of course, McLean.' I said: 'Shirley?' And he said: 'No Una!'.