Mary Wilson along with Florence Ballard and Diana Ross changed the game permanently. Hit after hit after hit, on regular rotation to this day. A Supreme Titan may have left us but that legacy will never be surpassed. Rest in power #MaryWilson https://t.co/q54gUFLmcl pic.twitter.com/li8ndoy7yx

— Beverley Knight (@Beverleyknight) February 9, 2021

Posting on Twitter, Wolverhampton soul singer Beverley Knight said “Mary Wilson along with Florence Ballard and Diana Ross changed the game permanently. Hit after hit after hit, on regular rotation to this day. A Supreme Titan may have left us but that legacy will never be surpassed. Rest in power Mary Wilson.” 

Marc Almond of Soft Cell – whose 1981 hit Tainted Love was released as a double A-side alongside a cover of the Supremes classic Where Did Our Love Go – also paid homage to Wilson on his Instagram account. The Yorkshire vocalist wrote: “Farewell Mary Wilson and thank you for the songs . You may have not worn the main crown but you were a Queen non the less. A Supreme Queen . Musical royalty.”

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A post shared by Marc Almond OBE (@marcalmondofficial)

Elsewhere, legendary BBC DJ Tony Blackburn paid tribute to Wilson as “a very great singer and a very nice person”; while Lemar – who had interviewed The Supremes star for Magic.fm – called her a “lovely woman“, adding “RIP to another legend.”

Born in Greenville, Mississippi in 1944, Mary Wilson and her family later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where they worshipped at the same Baptist Church where Clarence Franklin (father of Aretha) was minister. Wilson’s first venture into the world of music came as part of group with Aretha Franklin’s sister, Carolyn, when she was still in junior school.

Aged 15, the fledgling singer would become the third member of The Primettes alongside schoolmate Florence Ballard and Betty McGlown. Wilson then recruited the group’s fourth member – Diana Ross. The quartet signed to Berry Gordy’s up-and-coming Motown Records in 1961, changing their names to The Supremes. The group was reduced from a four-piece to a trio over the next two years (with McGlown and her replacement Barbara Martin departing), and it was with this Ross-Wilson-Ballard trifecta that the soul-pop outfit would enjoy worldwide stardom. Their succession of classic mid-sixties hits are instantly evocative of the period and the Motown sound: Where Did Our Love Go; Baby Love (their first UK number #1); Come See About Me; Stop! In The Name of Love; I Hear A Symphony; Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone; The Happening; You Keep Me Hanging On; Reflections and the seismic You Can’t Hurry Love, which sold over 300,000 copies in Britain in 1966.

By this time Wilson and The Supremes had already done their bit for transatlantic pop relations with their third studio album, 1964’s A Bit Of Liverpool. This unabashed love letter to the so-called ‘British invasion’ (and its American influences) saw the girls cover a wide range of Beatles tracks (from I Want To Hold Your Hand and A Hard Day’s Night to Can’t Buy Me Love B-side You Can’t Do That), as well as hits by Gerry and The Pacemakers, The Dave Clark Five, Peter and Gordon, and The Animals.

The Supremes continued to enjoy commercial and critical success after Florence Ballard’s departure from the group, with new addition Cindy Birdsong featuring on further hits including I’m Gonna Make You Love Me, Love Child and Someday We’ll Be Together. Ross’ departure from the group in 1970 marked the start of a gradual decline in their commercial fortunes, but Mary Wilson – the only surviving member of the original line-up – stayed on board until the very end, and The Supremes’ farewell concert at London’s Drury Lane Theatre in 1977. Wilson would go on to release two solo albums, her eponymous LP Mary Wilson (1977) and Walk The Line (1992).

Scottish writer Stuart Cosgrove, author of the Motown social biography Detroit 67, called Wilson “remarkable“. In the book he speaks of both her personal magnetism and underrated vocal ability, referencing her ability to “imitate voices from jazz to soul to opera“. Wilson is survived by her daughter Turkessa and son Pedro Junior.

Lyrically, the track wholeheartedly embraces the spirit of cheesy yuletide wordplay (“Santa please grant my wish/ There’s only one thing on my Christmas list/ Can you hear the sound of Sleigh bells ringing/ The sound of laughter and children singing”). Musically, it’s a melodic homage to the the golden era of Motown and 60s’ pop – complete with a typically rousing Beverley Knight vocal performance.

The song soundtracks the upcoming British Christmas flick The Loss Adjuster, which features an eclectic cast including Dame Joan Collins; Hear’Say and Coronation Street alumna Kym Marsh; Spandau Ballet and ex-Eastenders star Martin Kemp (aka Steve Owen); and fellow Albert Square graduate Lorna Fitzgerald (Abi Branning). The dark comedy is due for digital release on November 27th.

A Christmas Wish is Beverley Knight’s first bona fide Christmas single, though the Wolverhampton warbler had formed part of the star-studded Band Aid ensemble on the 2004 version of Do They Know It’s Christmas? The multiple MOBO award winner and former Mercury Prize nominee told Broadway World that she had never anticipated releasing a Christmas single of her own before hearing the new song.

She said “It’s great to be part of a Christmas project this year, especially in light of everything going on in the world. I had never written or recorded a Christmas song as part of my solo career, I was never really moved to do it. That is until I heard ‘A Christmas Wish’…quite simply, it bangs, and you don’t turn down bangers, no matter what the time of year! It is wonderful to release an uplifting song, spread some holiday cheer and put a smile on people’s faces.”

Thanks for such an amazing response to ‘A Christmas Wish, the theme to the loss adjuster’. I’m so glad you’re all enjoying it and I hope your friends and family love it to! The track is available to buy, download and stream now: https://t.co/BFPJsPX1Y4@LossMovie #AChristmasWish pic.twitter.com/2YUIfZoaID

— Beverley Knight (@Beverleyknight) November 14, 2020

The video for A Christmas Wish, filmed at an empty Noel Coward Theatre in London, references the singer’s ongoing support for the pandemic-blighted UK theatre sector. Knight – an Olivier Award nominee for her starring performance on stage in Memphis The Musical – has been an outspoken critic of the level of support given to the industry by the UK Government, and was among a group of performers who took part in a West End protest drawing attention to the plight of the sector in September.

Speaking to fans on her Instagram account on the day of the protest, Knight said  “This is not about big names. You get tired of people wilfully pretending everyone in theatre/live entertainment is wedged up. This is about being the face and voice of many, many smaller names who will lose their careers unless big names go to bat for them. People who are overwhelmingly freelance and had no help from the government. Who don’t understand why the public has been actively encouraged to hit the pubs and restaurants, get children back in school and folk back in offices while they are not allowed get back to work.”

The Black Country songstress, who this year collaborated with veteran R&B vocalist Andrew Roachford on his album Twice In A Lifetime, recently spoke to Digital Journal about her sense of optimism about entering a new phase of her 26-year career. Describing the next chapter of her musical life as the ‘Return of the Jedi‘, Knight said “I’ve been here for a while and now the push to take on the whole world begins. I’m loving what I do, polishing it, and trying to perfect it.“