Elaine Bookbinder, was born 25 February 1946, in Salford, Manchester. She began her career as "Manchester's answer to Brenda Lee' before touring the UK during the early 60s with the Eric Delaney Band. Already at that time her brother Tony Mansfield, was a member of Billy J. Kramer And The Dakotas. Brooks" and having great success.

Her initial releases were "Hello Stranger" and "The Way You Do The Things You Do", first recorded, respectively, by Barbara Lewis and the Temptations, but the singer was unable to secure a deserved commercial breakthrough. In 1970, she joined Dada, a jazz-rock act whose lead singer was none other than the late Robert Palmer and Pete Gage on guitar. These three artists subsequently formed the core of Vinegar Joe, a highly popular soul/rock act. They recorded 3 albums during the early period of the seventies and the band was dissolved in 1974, following which was the time Elkie decided to go solo.

Going at it alone was where she found her major success with two UK Top 10 hits in 1977, "Pearl's A Singer" and "Sunshine After The Rain"), Then in the early eighties she covered "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" and "Nights In White Satin” but "No More The Fool", composed by Russ Ballard, was where she would earn a better position in the charts as it reached the top 5 in 1986.

An attendant album achieved double-gold status, while a follow-up set, Bookbinder's Kid, emphasised this revitalization by including further songs by Ballard and material by Bryan Adams. By the 90s Brooks was firmly established as one of Britain's leading singers, and in 1993 she embarked on a 49-date UK tour. As well as the old favourites such as "Lilac Wine" and "Don't Cry Out Loud", her tour included songs from Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Peggy Lee. Recently she appeared on Reborn in the USA in the TV celebrity pop idolesque show where she and other celebrities competed against each other to launch a new career in the US. This inevitably sparked a tour for many of the celebrities and Elkie included, who played the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on her successful tour to her home crowd.