Denise Johnson: Blue plaque unveiled for Manchester singer who played with Primal Scream and New Order
Denise Johnson is best known for her work singing on Primal Scream’s ‘Screamadelica’.
The singer, who was born in Manchester in July 1963, started singing with band Fifth of Heaven and went on to be a significant influence on the music scene. Her work also included partnerships with New Order. Denise was born and lived most of her early life in Hulme. She then moved south to Whalley Range in the early period of the 1980s.
Four years after her sudden death in July 2020, Denise has been given a permanent memorial outside her South Manchester home. This comes in the form of a blue plaque erected at the property.
Denise, who also sang with Pet Shop Boys, Ian Brown, and Paul Weller, also went on to create her own solo album, has been described as one of the finest vocalists to come out of Manchester. This album, titled ‘Where Does It Go’, was released posthumously in 2020.
The plaque for Denise was unveiled during a ceremony at her home on August 19. The plaque has pride of place near to the front door of the property.
The efforts to get a blue plaque for Denise have been backed by music and pop culture specialist Karen Gabay, Nubian Jak and the Manchester Digital Music Archive. This is one of three plaques to celebrate black artists whose contribution to the Manchester music scene has been overlooked.
Jazz, soul and funk singer Diane Charlemagne, who was also born in Manchester, is the second of the trio getting blue plaques. The third in the first stage of the project is Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who performed on the Blues and Gospel train in Manchester in the 1960s. There is no permanent reminder of her performance, but this will change with the plaque.