Solo singer De Sykes began her career as a session singer, often releasing tracks under other names. Her first release in 1972 was "Bright Shines The Light" on the Polydor label, credited as 'Verity'. She had her first
hit in 1974 with the
Roger Holman/
Simon May penned "
Born with a Smile on My Face" which reached number two in the
UK Singles Chart. The song featured in the ATV British TV serial "Crossroads", De Sykes played a character called Holly Brown in 1974. She also recorded the
theme tune to the television programme
The Golden Shot with the group Rain that same year. The theme song, "Golden Day", was written for them by
Lynsey de Paul and
Barry Blue. She was once a background vocalist of
Love & Kisses, a concept group by producer
Alec R Costandinos. She also sang with the group "Sphinx" and soon after provided background vocals for
Meat Loaf's 1984 album
Bad Attitude, which included the
Jim Steinman penned single, "
Nowhere Fast". As a human rights activist, her 2015 song "Bomb Babies" was chosen as the opening track for the pro-peace anti-war album
Not In Our Name, a collaboration of singers and musicians, songwriters and poets. ==Personal life==