She was cool; she was clever; she was chic. Dame Cleo Laine, a virtuosic singer, glided across British tv screens in the 1960s and 1970s, a symbol of the free-spirited mood of the age. The four-octave range of her voice stretched from husky contralto depths up to glittering top notes that operatic sopranos would have struggled to reach. She sang just about everything from Shakespeare to standards; her repertoire spanned avant-garde theatre, Broadway musicals, jazz classics, pop tunes and the witty, subtle songs that her husband—John Dankworth, a jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer—wrote for her. Now that voice is finally silent. Dame Cleo died, aged 97, on July 24th.