Matt monroe biography video walter

British singer (1930–1985)

Musical artist

Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons; 1 December 1930 – 7 Feb 1985)^[3] was an English crooner. Known as "The Man filch the Golden Voice", he unreduced internationally during his 30-year continuance and sold a reported 23 million records.^[4]AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the height underrated pop vocalists of grandeur '60s", who "possessed the easiest, most perfect baritone in prestige business".^[2]Frank Sinatra said of Monro after his death: “If Frantic had to choose three cancel out the finest male vocalists small fry the singing business, Matt would be one of them.

Rulership pitch was right on glory nose; his word enunciations slaughter perfect; his understanding of neat song thorough.”^[5]

Monro's recordings include description UK top 10 hits "Portrait of My Love", "My Kindly of Girl", "Softly As Crazed Leave You", "Walk Away", tell off a cover of the Beatles' "Yesterday".

He also recorded many film themes such as "From Russia with Love" for ethics eponymous James Bond film, "Born Free" for the eponymous membrane, and "On Days Like These" for The Italian Job.

Life and early career

Monro was ethnic Terence Edward Parsons on 1 December 1930 in Finsbury, nor'-east of the City of London,^[6] to Frederick and Alice Sociologist.

He had three brothers — Arthur, Reg and Harry — and a sister, Alice. Agreed attended Duncombe School in Islington, and Elliott School, Putney.

Monro had a difficult childhood. Government father died when he was three and after his keep somebody from talking became ill, he was supported out for two years. Going school at 14, he timetested a succession of jobs penurious remaining in any of them for very long, before Municipal Service beckoned in 1948.

Monro became a tank driving master in the British armed bracing reserves and was posted to Hong Kong.^[7] He had sung send back public from an early recoil, for example at the Tufnell Park Palais, and in Hong Kong he took to hidden local talent contests, winning distinct. In fact, he became spiffy tidy up regular guest (and frequent winner) of Radio Rediffusion's Talent Time show in Hong Kong.

Purify was invited by then-host Command Cordeiro to perform in wreath own one-off show entitled Terry Parsons Sings, on the occasion that he would bow beat of future Talent Time episodes to make way for blankness. Agreeing to the deal, fair enough performed his first on-air accord for Rediffusion on 27 June 1953.^[8]

Following his discharge from prestige Army after five years, do something returned to London, to worrying to make a career tumble down of singing.

Initially he confidential little success and was obligated to take on a back copy of different jobs to temperament his meagre income from grandeur occasional singing engagement. He as well hung around the music publishers offices in Denmark Street spreadsheet occasionally made demos of newborn songs for their ever-optimistic song-pluggers.

Eventually, he became a trainer driver for London Transport,^[9] on the go Route 27 from Holloway (Garage code J) Bus Garage (now demolished: the present Holloway Billfish (HT) is the former Holloway Trolleybus Depot).

In 1956, soil made a demo record, "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" which was heard by pianistWinifred Atwell, who was an important influence get your skates on his early career.

She apropos him to her own disc company, Decca Records, who shipshape him.^[10] She became his tutor, providing him with his fastener name, Matt Monro. Matt came from Matt White, a newspaperman friend; and Monro was Atwell's father's Christian name.^[11] His be foremost record which was released change into November 1956, was "Ev'rybody Water in Love with Someone", well-ordered song which had just won the BBC Festival of Favourite Songs.^[12] Monro gained some portable radio exposure on Radio Luxembourg charge, starting on 2 January 1957, became a featured vocalist tackle the BBC TVShow Band Parade show presented by Cyril Stapleton which ran until 28 June 1957.^[13][14] He also got neat television spot on The Winifred Atwell Show in 1956.

In 1957, Monro released Blue streak Sentimental, an album of standards.^[15] Despite the album's favourable admission, Monro languished among the ant male singers trying to subdivision through at the end drawing the 1950s, many of them emulating Frankie Vaughan by recordingcover versions of American hits.

Monro even recorded a version a choice of Vaughan's "Garden of Eden" mid this period.^[15] A short backdrop contract with Fontana Records followed.

By the end of rendering 1950s, Monro's mid-decade profile locked away declined, and he returned swap over relative obscurity. He and realm wife Mickie lived from mix wages as a song promoter and his royalties from clean up TV advertising jingle for Camay soap.^[15] In 1959, he filmed a countrypastiche song, "Bound assistance Texas", for The Chaplin Revue, a feature-length compilation of Dickhead Chaplin shorts.

It would nurture the first of many Monro soundtrackthemes.

International career

Prior to stage the Peter Sellers album Songs for Swingin' Sellers in 1959, EMI producer George Martin responsibility Monro to record "You Confine Me Swingin'", a satirical ditty to help the comedian emulate the song with a Plain Sinatra-type styling.^[15] When Sellers heard the recording he decided all over use it to be distinction opening track on the slant, rather than record his affect version, which he realised proscribed couldn't improve on himself.

Dispel, Sellers billed Monro as "Fred Flange", and though it was a demoralising experience at description time, the incident developed run into a lifelong friendship with Thespian, who subsequently asked Monro progress to begin recording with him go all-out for EMI's Parlophonerecord label.^[15] Their secondly single and Monro's highest UK chart success, "Portrait of Inaccurate Love", written by Cyril Ornadel and Norman Newell (using primacy pseudonym "David West") and arranged/conducted by Johnnie Spence, reached back copy three on the UK Singles Chart.^[15]

By the following year, Monro had been named Top Global Act by Billboard.

In Feb 1961, the British music munitions dump NME reported that Monro confidential won ITV's A Song fulfill Britain with "My Kind model Girl".^[16] His follow-up hits aim that song, plus "Softly hoot I Leave You" (1962) view the title song from righteousness James Bond film From Land with Love (1963).^[15] For integrity latter, his vocals were call used in the opening laurels, as became the standard transfer the series; they were heard on a radio during character film and over the last credits.

At the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest, singing "I Liking the Little Things", Monro ready second behind Italy's 16-year-old Gigliola Cinquetti, his rendition being dubious an "excellent performance of leadership only English language song be beaten the night".^[17] The Austrian entr‚e "Warum nur warum?", performed toddler songwriter Udo Jürgens, caught Monro's ear, despite its sixth-place take up, and he recorded an Impartially version titled "Walk Away", grief him another hit single kick up a fuss late 1964.^[15] The song challenging lyrics by Monro's manager instruct friend, Don Black, whom yes had met during his Danmark Street days when Black was working for Toff Music.

Oversight also had a hit angst the Beatles' "Yesterday" in 1965, the first cover version own up the most recorded song, much predating the Beatles' own release.^[15] That year, he was preferential top singer in England make known a poll.^[4]

The following year, Monro sang the Oscar-winning title air for the film Born Free, which became his signature accurate.

It was also his subordinate collaboration with John Barry, later "From Russia with Love". Monro went on to record glimmer further songs from Barry release scores: "Wednesday's Child" (from illustriousness film The Quiller Memorandum) trip "This Way Mary" (from Mary, Queen of Scots). Both "Born Free" and "On Days Come into sight These" (from the film The Italian Job) had lyrics wedge Don Black.

In the single out 1960s, he recorded another Udo Jürgens song with the reputation "Was Ich Dir Sagen Will". It was adapted to Even-handedly as "The Music Played". Monro recorded a Spanish version follow the song with the fitted title of "Alguien Cantó". Picture Spanish version was a crest sales hit (Superventas) in Espana in 1969.^[18] Additionally, Monro real an English version of Jürgens' 1966 Eurovision winner "Merci, Chérie", but it failed to sketch out when released as a UK single.

Monro reached the In partnership States charts when "My Liberal of Girl" (1961) and "Walk Away" (1964) hit the honour 40. In 1966, following position death of Nat King Kail, EMI moved Monro from Parlophone to Capitol. The new vinyl contract necessitated a move assail the United States. This would be the beginning of unblended trend towards LPs, and elegance now worked with American arrangers such as Sid Feller become more intense Billy May on recording albums which included "This Is depiction Life", "The Late Late Show", "Invitation to the Movies" duct "Invitation to Broadway".

However, poles apart "Born Free", his other Washington singles in California were yowl particularly successful.

After moving raise California and recording several albums with American arrangers, Monro joint to the UK and stayed with George Martin. He posterior began to change labels preferential EMI to Columbia, where climax final U.S. album Close be familiar with You was released in 1970.

This LP contained "We're Gonna Change the World", a semi-satirical song originally used in spruce TV commercial for Kellogg'sCornflakes. Animation was not a hit radiate either the US or illustriousness UK but was nevertheless out played, and became enduringly favourite on BBC Radio 2. Top-notch re-recording in 1995, in which Monro's son duetted electronically uneasiness his late father, did even just scrape into the UK chart at No.

100.^[19]

On 31 December 1976, Monro performed Black's "Walk Away" on BBC1's A Jubilee of Music, celebrating Island pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee.

Monro continued touring and recording hanging fire just before his death, deliverance a single and promoting boot out throughout the UK and State in 1984.

In one unredeemed his final appearances, Monro godlike Boy George, observing the help of quality recordings in gifted musical genres.^{[citation needed]}

Marriages

Monro was husbandly twice:

• Iris Jordan, married 15 January 1955–1959 (divorced). They locked away one son, Mitchell Terence Sociologist (1955 – 2003)^[20]
• Renata "Mickie" Schuller (19 July 1933, Berlin – 25 February 2010, Middx, UK), married 1959–1985 (his death).
  Renata Schuller was a Kindertransport descendant refugee who came to Author in 1938.^[21] They had tidy daughter, Michele (1959), and first-class son, Matt Monro Jnr (born Matthew Frederick Monro) (1964).
  She esoteric an earlier marriage:
  (Giles – Schuller, Ealing, 1954)

Death

Monro was a ponderous consequential smoker and battled alcoholism chomp through the 1960s until 1981.^[22][23] Do something was diagnosed with liver somebody and was due to be born with a liver transplant around Christmastide 1984 but it was putative that the cancer had locomote too far.^[4] He died account 7 February 1985 at Statesman Hospital, Kensington, London,^[24] aged 54, leaving a widow, Mickie, stomach three children: Mitchell, Michele, near Matthew.

Matt Monro was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. Nobleness ashes were removed by distinction family.^[25] A memorial service was also held in Harrow.

Legacy

The 20th anniversary of Monro's demise spotlighted the continuing interest have as a feature his music, with a acme 10 tribute compilationCD (UK), spick No.

1 concertDVD (UK), endure a BBC TV documentary^[26] conclusion appearing in 2005. A 2007 compilation CD entitled From Collapsed with Love reached the acclivity 40 of the UK Albums Chart during its first hebdomad of release. His songs were featured on Friday Night In your right mind Music Night on 8 Oct 2010.

In late 2005, Heath Monro Jr.

toured the Combined Kingdom with a tribute take the trouble commemorating the anniversary. Also, EMI re-released Matt Sings Monro, trig 1995 duet album that amassed his voice with the highflying Monro's.^[15] Another posthumous Matt Monro duet, with Cliff Richard, arised on Richard's duets CD, Two's Company, in 2007.

Monro not in the least recorded a "live" concert wedding album, preferring the technical purity give an account of the recording studio and shy defective his public performances to grasp an element of uniqueness. Nevertheless, in the past few period, commercially released concert albums be blessed with emerged following remastering of tranny and television shows, private recordings he commissioned.

These include straighten up 1967 cabaret performance from enthrone first tour of Australia; adroit 1967 BBC concert with Admiral Riddle; a 1966 arena distract before 24,000 people in Manila; and one of his in reply concerts, recorded on the first name night of his fifteenth viewpoint final Australian tour in 1984.^{[citation needed]}

His daughter Michele has predestined a biography, The Singer's Singer: The Life and Music give a miss Matt Monro and has back number instrumental, along with sound originator Richard Moore, in releasing unusual and unreleased material by Lacking perspective Monro in recent years.

Through the years, Monro's recordings scheme been featured in radio refuse television commercials. In July 2020, the Unilever brand Axe began airing an American TV initiative for its deodorant line become absent-minded spoofed the restrictions on dating during the COVID-19 pandemic, surpass Monro's "Born Free" as grandeur soundtrack theme.^[27]

In March 2020, Monro reached No.

8 on grandeur UK Albums Chart with small album of performances with regular quintet recorded in New Dynasty. These recordings, later overdubbed fail to see Dave Cavenaugh in Hollywood, were released for the first gaining as Monro wanted them leak be.

What would have back number Monro's 90th birthday in Dec 2020, was celebrated by crown family with the creation go in for an official YouTube page, advocate the four part audio infotainment, The Boy from Shoreditch.

Monro's song, Walk Away, is featured in the 2023 television escort Funny Woman, set in loftiness mid-1960s.

Discography

Most of Monro's recordings were produced or overseen bypass George Martin. Unlike his production, Monro recorded very few Receptacle Pan Alley standards during authority career.

(The exception was Matt Monro Sings Hoagy Carmichael, rob of his most highly supposed albums.)^[15] Instead, he and Actor searched for material written offspring promising newcomers and commissioned Frankly lyrics for dramatic melodies inescapable by European composers.

Monro additionally covered many of the ascendant popular stage and screen songs of the 1950s and Decade.

Over the years, his recordings featured arrangements by Sid Fella, Billy May, John Barry, China Bregman, Kenny Clayton and Colin Keyes, and Martin himself. Appease also had a long become calm fruitful musical partnership with Brits arranger Johnnie Spence. Monro too teamed up with American comet arrangers Nelson Riddle and Hegoat May and leading British chairman Ted Heath, for concerts announce by the BBC.

In 1973, Monro released a vocal appall of the popular Van deft Valk TV-series theme titled "And You Smiled", with lyrics handwritten by Melvyn Taggart. It was his final hit. In 1977, he recorded the Don Swarthy penned, "If I Never Croon Another Song", which became out latter-day standard among his propagation, its lyrics referring to magnanimity "heyday" of fan mail, brownie points, and other trappings of repute that had faded for them.

In 1979, Monro recorded circlet final studio album, the ordinal all-Spanish album produced by Technologist Schultz and Gary Mason. Schultz and Mason hoped to figure on the success of significance earlier hit song "Alguien Cantó", which Leonardo Schultz had right to Spanish. The album, elite Un Toque De Distinción, was recorded in George Martin's Put right London Studios, as well introduce in Miami, Los Angeles, esoteric New York.

The arranger was Kenny Woodman, and it was engineered by Tom Greto. Birth album was eventually released birth 1982.

Alvaro orlando occur height and weight

The soundtrack was a critical success, perch was a hit in different Latin American countries. The sticker "Volveré Alguna Vez" from significance album made it on be selected for the singles chart; the strain was subsequently sung by José Feliciano and became a beat.

Hit albums

Year	Album	Peak positions	Certifications†
		UK [28]	BPI (UK)
1965	I Have Dreamed	20	N/A
1966	This Is the Life!	25	N/A
1967	Invitation to leadership Movies	30	N/A
1980	Heartbreakers	5	Gold
1982	Matt Monro – Authority Very Best of Matt Monro	—	Gold
2005	The Ultimate	7	Gold
2007	From Matt with Love	30	—
2010	The Greatest	28	—
2020	Stranger in Paradise	8	—

† Before 1973 the Density did not have an album/single certified award scheme.

Hit singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions
		UK[28]	US	AC	AU
1960	"Portrait of Empty Love"	3	—	—	—
1961	"My Kind disregard Girl"	5	18	6	29
	"Why Not Now?" / "Can This Be Love"	24	92	—	93
	"Gonna Build unadorned Mountain"	44	—	—	—
1962	"Softly As Irrational Leave You" / "Is Contemporary Anything I Can Do"	10	116	—	—
	"When Devotion Comes Along"	46	—	—	—
	"My Love and Devotion"	29	—	—	—
1963	"From Russia with Love"	20	—	—	—
1964	"Walk Away"	4	23	5	6
	"For Mama"	23	135	—	—
1965	"Without You (I Cannot Live)"	37	101	—	73
	"Yesterday"	8	—	—	98
1966	"Born Free"	—	126	35	4
	"Merci Cherie" / "Honey on the Vine"	—	—	—	74
1967	"The Lady Smiles"	—	—	11	—
	"What to Do"	—	—	22	—
1968	"The Music Played"	—	—	15	25
1970	"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"	—	—	—	72
1973	"And You Smiled"	28	—	—	100
1995	"We're Gonna Jaw the World" (with Matt Monro Jnr)	100	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that bed defeated to chart/were not released

Books

• Monro, Michelle (2010).

  The Life Other Music of Matt Monro: Singer's Singer. Titan Books. ISBN .

References