Organisation of Islamic Cooperation           منظمة التعاون الاسلامي (Arabic) Organisation de la Coopération Islamique (French)
Coat of arms of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Flag
Member States   Observer States   Blocked States
Administrative center		Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Official languages		Arabic, English, French
Membership		57 member states
Leaders
-	Secretary-General	Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu
Establishment
-	OIC Charter signed	September 25, 1969
Population
-	estimate	1.6 billion (2011)
Website http://www.oic-oci.org/

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; Arabic: منظمة التعاون الاسلامي‎; French: Organisation de la Coopération Islamique (OCI))^{[a 1]} is an international organisation consisting of 57 member states. The organisation attempts to be the collective voice of the Muslim world (Ummah) and attempts to safeguard the interests and ensure the progress and well-being of Muslims.

The OIC has a permanent delegation to the United Nations, and is the largest international organisation outside of the United Nations.^[1] The official languages of the OIC are Arabic, English, and French. It changed its name on 28 June 2011 from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (Arabic: منظمة المؤتمر الإسلامي‎; French: Organisation de la Conférence Islamique) to its current name.^[2]

History and goals[link]

Since the 19th century, some Muslims had aspired to ummah to serve their common political, economic, and social interests. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Caliphate after World War I left a vacuum for a pan-Islamic institution. Losing the Arab-Israeli War provided the incentive needed in 1967. Leaders of Muslim nations met in Rabat to establish the OIC on September 25, 1969.^[3]

According to its charter, the OIC aims to preserve Islamic social and economic values; promote solidarity amongst member states; increase cooperation in social, economic, cultural, scientific, and political areas; uphold international peace and security; and advance education, particularly in the fields of science and technology.^[3]

The flag of the OIC (shown above) has an overall green background (symbolic of Islam). In the centre, there is an upward-facing red crescent enveloped in a white disc. On the disc the words "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is Great") are written in Arabic calligraphy.

On August 5, 1990, 45 foreign ministers of the OIC adopted the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam to serve as a guidance for the member states in the matters of human rights in as much as they are compatible with the Sharia, or Quranic Law.^[4]

On 24 February 2009, the International Zakat Organization in cooperation with the Organisation of the Islamic Conferences announced the selection of the BMB Group to head up the management of the Global Zakat and Charity Fund, with its CEO Rayo Withanage becoming the co-chairman of the zakat fund. The fund is expected to contain 2 billion ringgits in 2010, about US$650 million.^[5]

Members[link]

The Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation has 57 members, 56 of which are classed by the United Nations as member states. Some, especially in West Africa, are - though with large Muslim populations - not necessarily Muslim majority countries. A few countries with significant Muslim populations, such as Russia and Thailand, sit as Observer States, while others, such as India and Ethiopia, are not members.

Member State	Joined	Notes
Afghanistan	1969	Suspended 1980 - March 1989
Algeria	1969
Chad	1969
Egypt	1969	Suspended May 1979 - March 1984
Guinea	1969
Indonesia	1969
Iran	1969
Jordan	1969
Kuwait	1969
Lebanon	1969
Libya	1969
Malaysia	1969
Mali	1969
Mauritania	1969
Morocco	1969
Niger	1969
Pakistan	1969	Blocking India from membership
State of Palestine[6]	1969[7]
Saudi Arabia	1969
Senegal	1969
Sudan	1969
Somalia	1969
Tunisia	1969
Turkey	1969
Yemen	1969	From 1990 as Republic of Yemen united with People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
Bahrain	1970
Oman	1970
Qatar	1970
Syria	1970
United Arab Emirates	1970
Sierra Leone	1972
Bangladesh	1974
Gabon	1974
Gambia	1974
Guinea-Bissau	1974
Uganda	1974
Burkina Faso	1975
Cameroon	1975
Comoros	1976
Iraq	1976
Maldives	1976
Djibouti	1978
Benin	1982
Brunei	1984
Nigeria	1986
Azerbaijan	1991
Albania	1992
Kyrgyzstan	1992
Tajikistan	1992
Turkmenistan	1992
Mozambique	1994
Kazakhstan	1995
Uzbekistan	1995
Suriname	1996
Togo	1997
Guyana	1998
Côte d'Ivoire	2001
Suspended or Withdrawn
Zanzibar	1993	Withdrew August 1993
Observer States
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1994
Central African Republic	1997
North Cyprus as 'Turkish Cypriot State'	1979[8]	Designation changed in 2004[9]
Thailand	1998
Russia	2005
Observer Muslim Organisations and Communities
Moro National Liberation Front	1977	Blocking membership of the Philippines
Observer Islamic institutions
Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States	2000
Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation	2005
Observer International Organisations
League of Arab States	1975
United Nations	1976
Non-Aligned Movement	1977
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Organisation of African Unity	1977
Economic Cooperation Organisation	1995

A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships between various multinational organisations within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.v • d • e

The collective population of OIC member states is over 1.4 billion as 2008.

Democracy[link]

In the 2010 Democracy Index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, no OIC countries were rated as a "Full Democracy" under its guidelines, and only 3 of the 57 members were rated as a "Flawed Democracy." The rest were rated either an "Authoritarian Regime" or a "Hybrid Regime."^[10]

Freedom[link]

The 2010 Freedom in the World, rated 3 OIC member states as Free based on Political Rights and Civil Liberties in the member countries.^[11]

Reporters Without Borders in its 2010 Press Freedom Index rated Mali and Suriname among the OIC members as having a Satisfactory Situation. Other members had ratings ranging from Noticeable Problems to Very Serious Situation.^[12][13]

The US Department of State 2010 International Religious Freedom Report cited OIC members Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan as being Countries of Particular Concern, where religious freedom is severely violated. It also cited OIC members Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan as "countries that face challenges in protecting religious freedom".^[14]

The Open Doors USA organisation, in its 2012 survey of countries around the world that persecute Christians, listed 37 members of the OIC amongst the top 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. 9 of the top 10 countries are OIC, Islamic-majority states.^[15]

Literacy and scholarship[link]

OIC members on average are countries with lower literacy rates. Though some members such as the former CIS states, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have over 99% literacy, literacy rates are as low as 54% in Pakistan and Bangladesh and under 30% in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, etc. The bottom 5 countries with the lowest literacy rates in the world are all OIC members.

Also, while some Islamic countries like the Islamic Republic of Iran exhibited a high scientific publication growth rate in 2009-10,^[16] this is still only a fraction of scientific papers published by any OECD nation. Some OIC countries have tried to kick-start scientific research. Saudi Arabia has established KAUST and UAE has invested in Zayed University, United Arab Emirates University, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, etc.^[17]

In 2007, Dubai's Prime Minister and UAE Vice-President, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, endowed a foundation with US$100 million for invigorating Arab scientific research.^[18]

Economy[link]

Indonesia has the highest GDP in 2011 among OIC members at US$834 billion at nominal exchange rates The total GDP of 57 members of OIC is US$6.2 trillions in nominal exchange rates as of 2011 IMF outlook.^[19] The richest country on the basis of GDP per capita is Qatar at USD 103,204 per capita.

Military[link]

Pakistan has the largest armed forces among OIC members,^{[citation needed]} and is the only Muslim nuclear power. Bangladesh and Pakistan are the largest contributors to the United Nations peacekeeping effort.^{[citation needed]}

Refugees[link]

According to the UNHCR, OIC countries hosted 18 million refugees by the end of 2010. Since then OIC members have absorbed refugees from other conflicts, including the uprising in Syria. In May 2012, the OIC is expected to address these concerns at the "Refugees in the Muslim World" conference in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.^[20]

Positions[link]

The Parliamentary Union of the OIC member states (PUOICM) was established in Iran in 1999, and its head office is situated in Tehran. Only OIC members are entitled to membership in the union.^[21]

President George W. Bush announced on June 27, 2007, that the United States would establish an envoy to the OIC. Bush said of the envoy, "Our special envoy will listen to and learn from representatives from Muslim states, and will share with them America's views and values."^[22] Rashad Hussain is the current special envoy, after being appointed on 13 February 2010.^[23] Individual organisation members vote against the United States on over 86 percent of United Nations resolutions.^[24]

The Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation on March 28, 2008, added its voice to the growing criticism of the film 'Fitna' by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, which features disturbing images of violent acts juxtaposed with verses from the Quran.^[25]

Stance on cartoons of Mohammed[link]

Cartoons of Mohammed, published in a Danish newspaper in September 2005, were found offensive to a number of Muslims. The December 2005 meeting of the then Organisation of the Islamic Conference urged member states to opposition. Violent demonstrations were then held throughout the Islamic world, resulting in the deaths of hundreds.

Human rights[link]

OIC created the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam.^[4] While proponents claim it is not an alternative to the UDHR, but rather complementary, Article 24 states, "All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shari'ah." and Article 25 follows that with "The Islamic Shari'ah is the only source of reference for the explanation or clarification of any of the articles of this Declaration." Attempts to have it adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council have met increasing criticism, because of its contradiction of the UDHR, including from liberal Muslim groups.^[26] Critics of the CDHR state bluntly that it is “manipulation and hypocrisy,” “designed to dilute, if not altogether eliminate, civil and political rights protected by international law” and attempts to “circumvent these principles [of freedom and equality].”^[27][28][29]

Human Rights Watch says that OIC has “fought doggedly” and successfully within the United Nations Human Rights Council to shield states from criticism, except when it comes to criticism of Israel. For example, when independent experts reported violations of human rights in the 2006 Lebanon War, “state after state from the OIC took the floor to denounce the experts for daring to look beyond Israeli violations to discuss Hezbollah’s as well.” OIC demands that the council “should work cooperatively with abusive governments rather than condemn them.” HRW responds that this works only with those who are willing to cooperate; others exploit the passivity.^[30][31]

The OIC has been criticised for diverting its activities solely on Muslim minorities within majority non-Muslim countries but putting a taboo on the plight, the treatment of ethnic minorities within Muslim-majority countries, such as the oppression of the Kurds in Syria, the Ahwaz in Iran, the Hazars in Afghanistan, the Baluchis in Pakistan, the 'Al-Akhdam' in Yemen, or the Berbers in Algeria.^[32]

Terrorism[link]

In 1999 OIC adopted the OIC Convention on Combating International Terrorism.^[33] Human Rights Watch has noted that the definition of terrorism in article 1 describes “any act or threat of violence carried out with the aim of, among other things, imperiling people’s honour, occupying or seizing public or private property, or threatening the stability, territorial integrity, political unity or sovereignty of a state.” HRW views this as vague and ill defined, and includes much that is outside the generally accepted understandings of the concept of terrorism. In HRW's view, it labels, or could easily be used to label, as terrorist actions, acts of peaceful expression, association, and assembly.^[34]

Legal scholar Ben Saul of University of Sydney argues that the definition is subjective and ambiguous and concludes that there is “serious danger of the abusive use of terrorist prosecutions against political opponents” and others.^[35]

Furthermore, HRW is concerned by OIC’s apparent unwillingness to recognise as terrorism acts that serve causes endorsed by their member states. Article 2 reads: “Peoples’ struggle including armed struggle against foreign occupation, aggression, colonialism, and hegemony, aimed at liberation and self-determination.” HRW has suggested to OIC that they embrace “longstanding and universally recognised international human rights standards”^[34]—a request that has as yet not led to any results.^{[citation needed]}

Contradictions between OIC's and other U.N. member’s understanding of terrorism has stymied efforts at the U.N. to produce a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.^[36]

On a meeting in Malaysia in April 2002, delegates discussed terrorism but failed to reach a definition of it. They rejected, however, any description of the Palestinian fight with Israel as terrorism. Their declaration was explicit: "We reject any attempt to link terrorism to the struggle of the Palestinian people in the exercise of their inalienable right to establish their independent state with Al-Quds Al-Shrif (Jerusalem) as its capital." In fact, at the outset of the meeting, the OIC countries signed a statement praising the Palestinians and their "blessed intifada." The word terrorism was restricted to describe Israel, whom they condemned for "state terrorism" in their war with the Palestinian people.^[37]

At the 34th Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM), an OIC section, in May 2007, the foreign ministers termed Islamophobia the worst form of terrorism.^[38]

Dispute with Thailand[link]

Thailand has responded to OIC criticism of human rights abuses in the Muslim majority provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat in the south of the country. In a statement issued on 18 October 2005 secretary-general Ihsanoglu vocalised concern over the continuing conflict in the south that "claimed the lives of innocent people and forced the migration of local people out of their places".^[39] He also stressed that the Thai government's security approach to the crisis would aggravate the situation and lead to continued violence.

On 18–19 April 2009, The exile Patani leader Abu Yasir Fikri (see PULO) was invited to the OIC to speak out about the conflict and present a solution to end the violence between the Thai government and the ethnically Malay Muslims living in the socioeconomically neglected south, that has been struggling against Thai assimilation policy and for self governance since it became annexed by Thailand in 1902. Abu Yasir Fikri presented a six-point solution at the conference in Jiddah that included getting the same basic rights as other groups when it came to right of language, religion, and culture. In the solution Abu Yasir Fikri also suggested that Thailand give up its discriminatory policies against the Patani people and allow Patani to at least be allowed the same self-governing rights as other regions in Thailand already have, citing that this does not go against the Thai constitution since it has been done in other parts of Thailand and that it is only a matter of political will.^[40] He also criticised the Thai government’s escalation of violence by arming and creating Buddhist militia groups and questioned their intentions. He added Thai policies of not investigating corruption, murder, and human rights violations perpetrated by Bangkok-led administration and military personnel against the Malay Muslim population was an obstacle for achieving peace and healing the deep wounds of being treated as third-class citizens.^[40][41]

Thailand responded to this criticism over its policies. The Thai foreign minister, Kantathi Suphamongkhon, said: “We have made it clear to the OIC several times that the violence in the deep South is not caused by religious conflict and the government grants protection to all of our citizens no matter what religion they embrace.” The Foreign Ministry issued a statement dismissing the OIC’s criticism and accusing it of disseminating misperceptions and misinformation about the situation in the southern provinces. “If the OIC secretariat really wants to promote the cause of peace and harmony in the three southern provinces of Thailand, the responsibility falls on the OIC secretariat to strongly condemn the militants, who are perpetrating these acts of violence against both Thai Muslims and Thai Buddhists.”^[39][42][43]

HRW"^[44] and Amnesty International^[41] have echoed the same concerns as OIC, rebuffing Thailand's attempts to dismiss the issue.

Dispute with India[link]

India has also hit out at the OIC for supporting UN demands for a plebiscite in Kashmir.The UN stated that it was “concerned” about the “violent protests” in Kashmir and the reaction from the Indian state and called for restraint from both sides.^[45]

Although it contains the third largest number of Muslims in the world, India has been blocked by Pakistan from joining the OIC.^[46][47][48]

Notable meetings[link]

A number of OIC meetings have attracted global attention.

Tenth OIC Summit[link]

The 10th OIC summit attracted attention at the opening session of the meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on 16 October 2003, where Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia in his speech argued that the Jews control the world: "They invented socialism, communism, human rights, and democracy, so that persecuting them would appear to be wrong, so that they can enjoy equal rights with others. With these they have gained control of the most powerful countries and they, this tiny community, have become a world power.” He also said that “the Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.”^[49][50]

The speech was very well received by the delegates, including many high ranking politicians, who responded with standing ovations".^[51][52][53] Western, non-Muslim reactions, however, were appalled. "We view [the remarks] with contempt and derision," said a U.S. State Department spokesman. The foreign minister of Italy, who held the rotating presidency of the European Union, called the incident "gravely offensive." Malaysian officials later clarified that Mahathir had been trying to say that despite having been a marginal and persecuted community the Jews have survived—by use of brains, not brawn. The former prime minister said this in relation to the decline of Muslim knowledge in the 20th Century.^[52]

Ninth meeting of PUOICM[link]

The ninth meeting of the Council of PUOICM was held on 15 and 16 February 2007 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[54] The speaker of Malaysia's House of Representatives, Ramli bin Ngah Talib, delivered a speech at the beginning of the inaugural ceremony. OIC secretary-general Prof Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said prior to the meeting that one main agenda item was stopping Israel from continuing its excavation at the Western Wall near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine.^[55] The OIC also discussed how it might send peacekeeping troops to Muslim states, as well as the possibility of a change in the name of the body and its charter.^[56] Additionally, return of the sovereignty right to the Iraqi people along with withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq was another one of the main issues on the agenda.^[57]

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri told reporters on 14 February 2007 that the secretary general of OIC and foreign ministers of seven "like-minded Muslim countries" would meet in Islamabad on 25 February 2007 following meetings of President Musharraf with heads of key Muslim countries to discuss "a new initiative" for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Kasuri said this would be a meeting of foreign ministers of key Muslim countries to discuss and prepare for a summit in Makkah Al Mukarramah to seek the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.^[58]

Structure and organisation[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The OIC system consists of:

Islamic summit[link]

The largest meeting, attended by the kings and the heads of state and government of the member states, convenes every three years.^{[clarification needed]}

Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers[link]

It meets once a year to examine a progress report on the implementation of its decisions taken within the framework of the policy defined by the Islamic Summit.

Permanent Secretariat[link]

It is the executive organ of the Organisation, entrusted with the implementation of the decisions of the two preceding bodies, and is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The current secretary general of this international organisation is Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, from Turkey, since January 1, 2005.

Standing committees[link]

• Standing Committee on Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC).
• Standing Committee on Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC).
• Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH).
• Islamic Committee for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs.
• Permanent Finance Committee.
• Financial Control Organ.

Subsidiary organisations[link]

• The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), located in Ankara, Turkey.
• The Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), located in Istanbul, Turkey.
• The Islamic University of Technology, located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• The Islamic Centre for the Development of Trade, located in Casablanca, Morocco.
• The Islamic Fiqh Academy, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• The Executive Bureau of the Islamic Solidarity Fund and its Waqf, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• The Islamic University in Niger, located in Say, Niger.
• The Islamic University in Uganda, located in Mbale, Uganda.

Specialised institutions[link]

• The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), located in Rabat, Morocco.
• The Islamic States Broadcasting Organisation (ISBO) and the International Islamic News Agency (IINA), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Affiliated institutions[link]

• Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), located in Karachi, Pakistan.
• World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Organisation of Islamic Capitals and Cities (OICC), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• Sports Federation of Islamic Solidarity Games, located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Islamic Committee of the International Crescent (ICIC), located in Benghazi, Libya.
• Islamic Shipowners Association (ISA), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• World Federation of International Arab-Islamic Schools, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• International Association of Islamic Banks (IAIB), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation,(ICYF-DC)located in Istanbul, Turkey.
• General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions,(CIBAFI)located in Manama, Bahrain.

Secretary General of the OIC[link]

Secretaries-General of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation^[59]

No.	Name	Country of origin	Took office	Left office
1	Tunku Abdul Rahman	Malaysia	1971	1973
2	Hassan Al-Touhami	Egypt	1974	1975
3	Amadou Karim Gaye	Senegal	1975	1979
4	Habib Chatty	Tunisia	1979	1984
5	Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada	Pakistan	1985	1988
6	Hamid Algabid	Niger	1989	1996
7	Azeddine Laraki	Morocco	1997	2000
8	Abdelouahed Belkeziz	Morocco	2001	2004
9	Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu	Turkey	2005	Incumbent

Member states[link]

The OIC has 57 member states.

Past Islamic Summit Conferences[link]

Number	Date	Country	Place
1st	September 22–25, 1969	Morocco	Rabat
2nd	February 22–24, 1974	Pakistan	Lahore
3rd	January 25–29, 1981	Saudi Arabia	Makkah Al Mukarramah and Taif
4th	January 16–19, 1984	Morocco	Casablanca
5th	January 26–29, 1987	Kuwait	Kuwait City
6th	December 9–11, 1991	Senegal	Dakar
7th	December 13–15, 1994	Morocco	Casablanca
1st Extraordinary	March 23, 1997	Pakistan	Islamabad
8th	December 9–11, 1997	Iran	Tehran
9th	November 12–13, 2000	Qatar	Doha
2nd Extraordinary	March 5, 2003	Qatar	Doha
10th	October 16–17, 2003	Malaysia	Putrajaya
3rd Extraordinary	December 7–8, 2005	Saudi Arabia	Makkah Al Mukarramah
11th	March 13–14, 2008	Senegal	Dakar

See also[link]

• Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam
• Rashad Hussain
• Islamic University of Technology
• List of largest cities in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member countries
• List of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member states by population
• Pakistan-OIC relations

Notes[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Ankerl, Guy Coexisting Contemporary Civilisations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western. Geneva, INUPress, 2000, ISBN 2-88155-004-5
• Al-Huda, Qamar. "Organisation of the Islamic Conference." Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. Edited by Martin, Richard C. Macmillan Reference, 2004. vol. 1 p. 394. 20 April 2008

External links[link]

• Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Twitter
• Official website

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2010)

Mari MacMillan Ramsey Wilson (born 29 September 1954, Neasden, London)^[1] is an English singer. She is best known for her 1982 hit "Just What I Always Wanted" and her 1960s image complete with beehive hairstyle.

Career[link]

Recording on the Compact Records label with her backing band The Wilsations, Wilson scored six UK Top 100 singles between 1982-84. Her biggest hit, "Just What I Always Wanted", reached no.8 in 1982.^[2] In 1983, she scored a second Top 40 hit with a cover of "Cry Me a River" (UK #27) and released her debut album Showpeople (UK #24).^[2] After this, further commercial success eluded her, though, in 1985, she performed the song "Would You Dance with a Stranger" (theme for the film Dance With a Stranger), and turned her career towards live performances. Although for a while she distanced herself from her beehive days, she started touring with her old songs again in 2007.

In 1992, the album The Rhythm Romance, which combined jazz standards with 1960s songs and original material, failed to return her to the charts. She continued performing with jazz bands, and sang the theme-song to the TV sitcom Coupling ("Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"). Her version of "Cry Me a River" was featured in the 1990s crime drama series McCallum.

In 2005, Wilson returned to recording with the album Dolled Up. This was followed by a compilation of her hits, The Platinum Collection to celebrate her 25th anniversary in the music industry. Apart from pursuing her solo career, she toured with Barb Jungr and Claire Martin as the cabaret act, 'Girl Talk' (though Claire Martin has now been replaced by Gwyneth Herbert).^[3].

Wilson has also performed in musicals such as Dusty - The Musical^[4], and has been featured on a BBC Television series about celebrities and their health (she has Type 1 Diabetes).^[5]

Her band was known as The Wilsations,^[6] and her backing vocalists were called The Marionettes. Occasional featured artists were Michelle Collins (Cindy from EastEnders), Julia Fordham and bassist 'Thumbs' Cunningham.

Wilson's fourth studio album Emotional Glamour was released on her own Beehive label in October 2008^[7] (though she has long ago changed her former trademark hairstyle). She has also written and starred in a one-woman musical, The Love Thing.^[8]

As of 2011, Wilson has been working on a new album of covers called Cover Stories, due out in 2012 and funded by public subscription. She also writes a regular blog with updates about it and her life in general.^[9]

Wilson is a long time resident of Crouch End, north London.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

• "Loveman" (1980)
• "Dance Card" (1981)
• "Beat the Beat" (1982) UK #59
• "Baby it's True" (1982) UK #42
• "Just What I Always Wanted" (1982) UK #8
• "(Beware) Boyfriend" (1982) UK #51
• "Cry Me a River" (1983) UK #27
• "Wonderful" (1983) UK #47
• "Ain't That Peculiar" (1984) UK #78
• "Let's Make This Last" (1984)
• "Would You Dance with a Stranger" (1985)
• "The Rhythm" (1991)
• "My Funny Valentine" (1991)
• "Storyline" (2005)^[2]

EPs[link]

• "I'm Coming Home" / "No Moon at All" / "Out of the Blue" / "It's Got to Be You" (10" maxi-single) (1992)

Albums[link]

• Showpeople (1983) UK #24^[2]
• Rhythm Romance (1991)
• Beat The Beat (Compilation) (1992)
• Dolled Up (2005)
• The Platinum Collection (Compilation)(2007)
• Emotional Glamour (2008)

References[link]