Maxi (singer)

Maxi (born 23 February 1950) is an Irish radio disc-jockey and producer; actress, journalist, and singer. Her real name is Irene McCoubrey. She came to fame in Ireland as part of the popular girl band, Maxi, Dick and Twink, in the late 1960s.

Personal life

She grew up in Dublin's Harold's Cross. At school she sang in the Little Dublin Singers before joining the Young Dublin Singers. She was nicknamed Maxi in school because of the "McC" letters in her name.

Career

Singing

In the late 1960s Maxi teamed up with Barbara Dixon and Adele King to form Maxi, Dick and Twink. The trio toured Ireland, the UK and Canada and recorded two singles. They also worked a session singers in Motown studios in Detroit, Michigan, before disbanding.

Following this she pursued a career with Danny Doyle and Music Box before going solo. She represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 singing "Do I Dream", finishing tenth.

In the late 1970s, Maxi became part of the another all-girl trio Sheeba, with Marion Fossett and Frances Campbell. The group represented Ireland in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Horoscopes", finishing in fifth place. After making several records Sheeba's career came to halt following a road accident in 1982 in Mayo in the west of Ireland. Despite a short tour of Japan in 1983, the group realised they could no longer tour and broke up.

Radio and Television

Maxi embarked on a career in broadcasting with the Irish national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Working mainly on radio, she also took on some television work including a quiz show, presenting Ireland's lottery and fronting the Miss Ireland contest. In 1987 Maxi presented the selection contest for Eurovision alongside Marty Whelan. During this time she also worked as a journalist.

In 1999 she became the early morning presenter on Risin' Time on RTÉ Radio 1. She left this however in 2010 because of chronic exhaustion brought about by her daily battles against the circadian rhythm. She described her experience: "First of all, I was totally confused, I didn't know what the heck had happened. So I had to call in the experts, and my advisers were saying, 'well, first you have to completely rest, and that takes about five or six months. And then you go into the exercise regime of kicking the body into action again'."

Charity work

Maxi was appointed special representative for UNICEF Ireland, and one of her first public engagements was to highlight the situation is on several disaster fronts, particularly in sub-Sahara Africa. Attending the fifth annual UNICEF International Mother's Day Lunch held in Dublin, she appealed with stories of the deprivation and disasters facing the people in AIDS-ravaged Zambia, where she spent two weeks.

External links

• Risin' Time at RTÉ Radio 1

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Sandie Jones with "Ceol an Ghrá"	Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973	Succeeded by Tina Reynolds with "Cross Your Heart"
Preceded by Johnny Logan with "What's Another Year?"	Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 (as a member of Sheeba)	Succeeded by The Duskeys with "Here Today Gone Tomorrow"