Rita Webb stated she had "The world's worst singing voice" and for comedy affect she exaggerated how bad it was to get a laugh on shows like "The Arthur Haynes Show" & "The Ken Dodd Laughter Show" she would also entertain at old peoples homes with Jeffie on banjo and was seen on stage and at parties with her friend Gordon Honeycomb doing her comical routine singing "Nobody Loves A Fairy When She's Forty" (she also sang that song on "Till Closing Time Us Do Part") one of the most unusual singing moments comes from the bizarre tv musical "The End Of The Pier Show" mimicking "Mrs bridges" from "Upstairs Downstairs" she warbles along at a fast pace as she mixes dough in the cut-out kitchen!
Rita's fantastic performance in Ken Loach's Wednesday Play "Three Clear Sunday's" playing the harridan of a mother, Britannia Lee who's son Danny is on death row provided her with a meaty role AND a chance to sing a jaunty little number called "Britannia's song" written by Nemone Lethbridge (there are two beautiful haunting melodies in the play which at first listen sound like Rita, be it a good singing Rita! but those two songs were recorded by Winnie Donovan) Rita also sings along to the Beatles with Dandy Nichols, Una Stubbs & Joan Sims in an e[isode of 'Til Death Us Do Part' and can also be heard wardling a tune in an episode of Angels!
Rita's favourite song was "Sparrows Can't Sing" (which she sang in the 1972 stage play "The Londoners" and was also the song that Jeffie played at her service of remembrance) I for one would've loved to have seen an album titled along the lines of the Elsa Lanchester album "Rita Webb Bawdy cockney Songs" with Al Jeffery on banjo! Sadly no one took the chance, which I guess stopped a lot of ears from bleeding!. below are images of some of the shows Rita sang on and gave us all a good laugh!
Rita performing in 1980
Rita singing and playing for laughs on "The Ken Dodd Laughter Show"
Rita singing (sort of!) in episodes of "Till Death Us Do Part"
Rita's Song & dance turns on "The Arthur Haynes Show"
Rita starts to "sing" before Arthur Haynes shuts her up as they perform on "Sunday Night At The London Palladium"
Rita in the bizarre "The End Of The Pier Show"
Rita as Britannia Lee in Three Clear Sundays
Rita Webb & Gordon Honeycomb make the News
Rita in "The Londoners" where she performed her favourite song "Sparrows Can't Sing"