Annie Haslam

Best known for her long tenure as the vocalist for prog-rockers Renaissance, Annie Haslam was the product of a musical family -- her father was an amateur singer and comedian, and her brother Michael was a mid-60s rock'n'roller whose career was managed by Brian Epstein. Still, her earliest interest was fashion design; only while at university did Haslam begin singing, encouraged by friends after spontaneously performing a rendition of the Mary Hopkin hit "Those Were the Days" at a local pub. She soon began studying under opera singer Sybil Knight, and in late 1970 answered an ...