Mick Hartley

Of all the pretenders to the Queen of Fado title after Amalia Rodrigues died, Mariza is probably the best known. Here she is at Islington's Union Chapel in 2003:

It's that catch in the voice…

The Union Chapel looks spectacular here, but personally I could never get on with the acoustics, or the hard benches, or the churchy ambience (it's still a regular place of worship on Sunday). I'm clearly in the minority though: a couple of years back it won Time Out's "best venue of the year" award.

For more Mariza try Oh gente da minha terra….or Rosa Branca….or Meu Fado Meu. 

And here's Amalia Rodrigues, from 1961.