Matt Monro - wikipedia Matt Monro This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2010 ) Matt Monro Monro in 1965 Background information Birth name Terence Edward Parsons ( 1930 - 12 - 01 ) 1 December 1930 Shoreditch, London, England 7 February 1985 ( 1985 - 02 - 07 ) ( aged 54 ) Cromwell Hospital, London, England Genres Easy listening pop Occupation ( s ) Singer Years active 1956 -- 1985 Labels Decca, Parlophone, Capitol, Columbia Website Official website Matt Monro ( born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 -- 7 February 1985 ) was an English singer who became one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s and 1970s. Known as The Man with the Golden Voice, he filled cabarets, nightclubs, music halls, and stadiums in Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas in his 30 - year career. AllMusic has described Monro as `` one of the most underrated pop vocalists of the ' 60s '', who `` possessed the easiest, most perfect baritone in the business ''. His notable recordings include the UK Top 10 hits : `` Portrait Of My Love '', `` My Kind of Girl '', `` Softly As I Leave You '', `` Walk Away '' and `` Yesterday '' ( Originally by The Beatles ). He also recorded several film themes such as `` From Russia With Love '' for the James Bond film of the same name, `` Born Free ( Matt Monro song ) '' for the film of the same name and `` On Days Like These '' for The Italian Job. Contents 1 Early career 2 International success 3 Marriages 4 Death and legacy 5 His music 5.1 Hit albums 5.2 Hit singles 6 References Early career He was born Terence Edward Parsons in Shoreditch, London and attended Duncombe School in Islington, and Elliott School, Putney. He was first noticed while serving in the British armed forces in Hong Kong. A regular guest ( and frequent winner ) of Radio Rediffusion 's Talent Time show, he was invited by then - host Ray Cordeiro to perform in his own one - off show, on the condition that he would bow out of future Talent Time episodes to make way for others. Agreeing to the deal, he performed his first on - air concert for Rediffusion on June 27, 1953. By 1956, Monro had become a featured vocalist with the BBC Show Band. An important influence on his early career was the pianist Winifred Atwell, who became his mentor, provided him with his stage name, and helped him sign with Decca Records. In 1957 Monro released Blue and Sentimental, a collection of standards. Despite the album 's critical acclaim, Monro languished among the young male singers trying to break through at the end of the 1950s, many of them emulating Frankie Vaughan by recording cover versions of American hits. ( Monro even recorded a version of Vaughan 's `` Garden of Eden '' during this period. ) A short recording contract with Fontana Records followed. By the end of the 1950s, Monro 's mid-decade fame had evaporated, and he returned to relative obscurity. He and his wife Mickie lived from her wages as a song plugger and his royalties from a TV advertising jingle for Camay soap. In 1959 he recorded a country pastiche song, `` Bound for Texas '', for The Chaplin Revue, a feature - length compilation of Charlie Chaplin shorts. It would be the first of many Monro soundtrack themes. International success Prior to producing the Peter Sellers album Songs for Swingin ' Sellers in 1960, George Martin asked Monro to record a satirical ditty to help the comedian imitate the song with a Frank Sinatra - type styling. When Sellers heard the recording he decided to use it to open the record rather than record his own version. However, Sellers billed Monro as `` Fred Flange, '' and though it was a demoralising experience at the time, the incident developed into a lifelong friendship with Martin, who subsequently asked Monro to begin recording with him for EMI 's Parlophone record label. Their second single and Monro 's highest UK chart success, `` Portrait of My Love '', written by Cyril Ornadel and Norman Newell OBE ( using the pseudonym `` David West '' ) reached number three in the UK Singles Chart. By the following year, he had been named Top International Act by Billboard. In February 1961, the British music magazine, NME reported that Monro had won ITV 's A Song for Britain with `` My Kind of Girl ''. His follow - up hits included that song, plus `` Softly as I Leave You '' ( 1962 ) and the song from the James Bond film From Russia with Love ( 1963 ). For the latter, his vocals were not used in the opening titles, as became the standard for the series ; they were heard on a radio during the film and over the final credits. At the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest, singing `` I Love the Little Things, '' Monro finished second behind Italy 's 16 - year - old Gigliola Cinquetti, despite an `` excellent performance of the only English language song of the night. '' The Austrian entry `` Warum nur warum ? '', performed by songwriter Udo Jürgens, caught Monro 's ear, despite its sixth - place finish, and he recorded an English version titled `` Walk Away '' ( lyric by Monro 's manager Don Black ), earning him another hit single late in 1964. He also had a hit with the Beatles ' `` Yesterday '' in 1965, releasing the first single of the most recorded song of all time, predating even the Beatles ' own. The following year, Monro sang the Oscar - winning title song for the film, Born Free, which became his signature tune. It was also his second collaboration with John Barry, following From Russia With Love. Monro went on to record two further songs from Barry film scores : `` Wednesday 's Child '' ( from the film The Quiller Memorandum ) and `` This Way Mary '' ( from Mary, Queen of Scots ). Both Born Free and `` On Days Like These '' ( from the film The Italian Job ) had lyrics by Don Black. In the late 1960s he recorded another Udo Jürgens song with the name Was Ich Dir Sagen Will. It was adapted to English as The Music Played. Matt recorded a Spanish version of the song with adapted title of Alguien Canto. The Spanish version was a top sales hit ( Superventas ) in Spain in 1969. Additionally, Monro recorded an English version of Jürgens ' 1966 Eurovision winner Merci, Chérie, but it failed to chart when released as a UK single. On 31 December 1976, Monro performed Black 's `` Walk Away '' on BBC1 's A Jubilee of Music, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II 's impending Silver Jubilee. Monro achieved fame in the United States when `` My Kind of Girl '' ( 1961 ) and `` Walk Away '' ( 1964 ) hit the Top 40. In 1966, following the death of Nat King Cole, EMI moved Monro from Parlophone to Capitol. After relocating to California and recording several albums with American arrangers, Monro returned to the UK and began appearing on EMI 's Columbia label, his final U.S. album release being Close To You in 1970. This LP contained `` We 're Gonna Change The World '', a semi-satirical song about women 's liberation, which was not a hit in either the US or the UK but was nevertheless widely played, and became enduringly popular on BBC Radio 2. He continued touring and recording until just before his death, releasing a single and promoting it throughout the UK and Australia in 1984. In one of his final appearances Monro praised Boy George, noting the importance of quality recordings in all musical genres. Marriages This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2017 ) He was married twice, to : Iris, in 1953 ( divorced ) ; one son Mitchell ( died 2004 ) Mickie Schuller ( born 19 July 1933 in Berlin ; died 25 February 2010 aged 76, in Middlesex, England of bone cancer ), married 1959 -- 1985 ; one daughter Michele and one son, Matt Monro Jnr Death and legacy Monro was a heavy smoker and battled alcoholism in the 1960s. He died from liver cancer on 7 February 1985 at the Cromwell Hospital, Kensington, London, aged 54, leaving a widow, Mickie, and three children : Mitchell, Michele, and Matthew. Mitchell, a professional pilot, also died of cancer, in 2004. Matt Monro was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. The ashes were removed by the family. A memorial service was also held in Harrow. The 20th anniversary of Monro 's death spotlighted the continuing interest in his music, with a Top 10 tribute compilation CD ( UK ), a No. 1 concert DVD ( UK ), a BBC TV documentary, and an official website all appearing in 2005. A 2007 compilation CD entitled From Matt With Love reached the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart during its first week of release. His songs were featured on Friday Night is Music Night on 8 October 2010. In Autumn 2005 Matt Monro Jnr. toured the United Kingdom with a tribute concert commemorating the anniversary. Also, EMI re-released Matt Sings Monro, a 1995 duet album that combined his voice with the senior Monro 's. Another posthumous Matt Monro duet, with Cliff Richard, appeared on Richard 's duets CD, Two 's Company, in 2007. Monro never recorded a `` live '' concert album, preferring the technical purity of the recording studio and wanting his public performances to retain an element of uniqueness. However, in the past few years, commercially released concert albums have emerged following meticulous remastering of radio and television shows, private recordings he commissioned. These include an intimate 1967 cabaret performance from his first tour of Australia ; a 1967 BBC concert with Nelson Riddle ; a 1966 arena concert before 24,000 fans in Manila ; and one of his final concerts, recorded on the last night of his fourteenth and final Australian tour in 1984. In recent years, Michael Bublé and Rick Astley have cited Matt Monro as a strong influence. He continues to feature prominently on radio stations and CD compilations featuring popular easy - listening vocalists. His daughter Michele has written a biography, The Singer 's Singer : The Life and Music of Matt Monro and has been instrumental, along with sound engineer Richard Moore, in releasing rare and unreleased material by Matt Monro in recent years. His music Matt Monro -- On Days Like These excerpt An excerpt from `` On Days Like These '' Problems playing this file ? See media help. Most of Monro 's recordings were produced or overseen by George Martin. Unlike his contemporaries, Monro recorded very few Tin Pan Alley standards during his career. ( The exception was Matt Monro Sings Hoagy Carmichael, one of his most highly regarded albums. ) Instead, he and Martin searched for material written by promising newcomers and commissioned English lyrics for dramatic melodies written by European composers. Monro also covered many of the most popular stage and screen songs of the 1950s and 1960s. Over the years, his recordings featured arrangements by Sid Feller, Billy May, John Barry, Buddy Bregman, Kenny Clayton and Colin Keyes, and Martin himself. He also had a long and fruitful musical partnership with British arranger Johnnie Spence. Monro also teamed up with American star arrangers Nelson Riddle and Billy May and leading British bandleader Ted Heath, for concerts broadcast by the BBC. In 1973 Monro released a vocal version of the popular Van der Valk TV - series theme titled `` And You Smiled '', with lyrics written by Melvyn Taggart. It was his final hit. In 1977, he recorded the Don Black penned, `` If I Never Sing Another Song '', which became a latter - day standard among his contemporaries, its lyrics referring to the `` heyday '' of fan mail, awards, and other trappings of celebrity that had faded for them. In 1979 Monro recorded an all - Spanish album produced by Leonardo Schultz and Gary Mason. Schultz and Mason hoped to capitalize on the success of the earlier hit song Alquien Canto, which Leonardo Schultz had adapted to Spanish. The album, entitled `` Camino al Amor '', was recorded in George Martin 's Air London Studios, as well as in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York. The arranger was Kenny Woodman, and it was engineered by Tom Greto. The album was a critical success, and was a hit in various Latin American countries. The song Volvere Alguna Vez from the album made it on to the singles charts : the song was subsequently sung by Jose Feliciano and became a hit. Hit albums Year Album Peak positions Certifications UK BPI ( UK ) 1965 I Have Dreamed 20 N / A 1966 This Is the Life ! 25 N / A 1967 Invitation to the Movies 30 N / A 1980 Heartbreakers 5 Gold 1982 Matt Monro -- The Very Best of Matt Monro -- Gold 2005 The Ultimate 7 Gold 2007 From Matt with Love 30 -- The Greatest 28 -- † Before 1973 the BPI did not have an album / single certified award scheme. Hit singles Year Single Chart Positions UK US AC AU 1960 Portrait of My Love -- -- -- 1961 My Kind of Girl 5 18 6 29 Why Not Now ? / Can This Be Love 24 92 -- 93 Gonna Build a Mountain 44 -- -- -- 1962 Softly As I Leave You / Is There Anything I Can Do 10 116 -- -- When Love Comes Along 46 -- -- -- My Love and Devotion 29 -- -- -- 1963 From Russia with Love 20 -- -- -- 1964 Walk Away 23 5 6 For Mama 23 135 -- -- 1965 Without You ( I Cannot Live ) 37 101 -- 73 Yesterday 8 -- -- 98 1966 Born Free / Other People -- 126 35 Merci Cherie / Honey on the Vine -- -- -- 74 1967 The Lady Smiles -- -- 11 -- What to Do -- -- 22 -- 1968 The Music Played -- -- 15 25 1970 He Ai n't Heavy, He 's My Brother -- -- -- 72 1973 And You Smiled 28 -- -- 100 `` -- '' denotes releases that failed to chart / were not released References Jump up ^ Weber, Bruce. `` Monro Clicks as a Singer, So - So in His Bantering ' Act ' '', Billboard. July 20, 1968. ^ Jump up to : Bush, John. `` This Is Matt Monro ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2015. Jump up ^ Porter, Hilary ( 18 August 2015 ). `` Son keeps ' man with the golden voice ' music going ''. Southern Daily Echo. Southampton, UK. Retrieved 3 October 2015. Jump up ^ GRO Register of Births : MAR 1931 1b 748 FINSBURY -- Terence E. Parsons, mmn = Reed Jump up ^ The Real School of Rock Jump up ^ Chou, Oliver ( 29 December 2014 ). `` Hong Kong DJ ' Uncle ' Ray Cordeiro still plays and breaks records at 90 ''. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 25 August 2015. For a measure of Hong Kong music guru Ray Cordeiro 's longevity, consider this : as a young DJ of 29, he hosted a radio talent show called Talent Time, in which a young British serviceman by the name of Terry Parsons took part and won week after week. The year was 1953, and the young serviceman would later change his name to Matt Monro and earn the nickname the ' Man with the Golden Voice ' as he recorded smash hits of the 1960s, including film theme songs Born Free and From Russia With Love. Jump up ^ Chou, Oliver ( 8 July 2012 ). `` An Audience with Uncle Ray '' ( PDF ). Post Magazine. Hong Kong : South China Morning Post. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2015. `` In Talent Time, a certain Terry Parsons showcased his impeccable voice and won so often that Cordeiro offered him his own one - off show, on the condition that he would not take part in Talent Time again. He accepted the offer and, on June 27, 1953, performed his first concert on air. Two songs from that show are featured in the Matt Monro Special Reserve Collection, recently released in Britain. ' Terry Parsons was Matt 's real name, and he was in Hong Kong for two years in the military. With his consecutive wins, I made the offer because, otherwise, nobody would have signed up for the show. Many years later, when I was in London on a training course at the BBC, I looked him up in the studio. But he was in a rehearsal. I asked the man at the gate to tell him Ray from Hong Kong was waiting to see him. Munro stopped the session, running down the aisle, embracing me like a long - lost brother. He loved Hong Kong and remembered his good days here and came to my show whenever he was in town. ' Jump up ^ Tobler, John ( 1992 ). NME Rock ' N ' Roll Years ( 1st ed. ). London : Reed International Books Ltd. p. 91. CN 5585. Jump up ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest -- The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84442 - 994 - 3 Jump up ^ Spain Sales Charts ( Superventas ) http://listadesuperventas.blogspot.com.es/2010/02/1969.html Jump up ^ http://articles.latimes.com/1985-02-08/news/mn-4672_1_matt-monro Jump up ^ GRO Register of Deaths : FEB 1985 13 2160 KENSINGTON & CHELSEA -- Matt Monro, DoB = 1 Dec 1930, ( should be 31 Dec ? ) Jump up ^ Golders Green Crematorium guide notes Jump up ^ Matt Monro -- The singers singer ^ Jump up to : UK Singles / Albums Chart ( Retrieved 15 February 2011 ) Jump up ^ BPI Certified Awards Archived 24 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. ( Retrieved 15 February 2011 ) Awards and achievements Preceded by Monty Norman Dr. No, 1962 James Bond title artist From Russia with Love, 1963 Succeeded by Shirley Bassey Goldfinger, 1964 Preceded by Ronnie Carroll with `` Say Wonderful Things '' United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1964 Succeeded by Kathy Kirby with `` I Belong '' James Bond music Themes `` James Bond Theme '' ( Monty Norman ) `` James Bond Is Back '' ( John Barry ) `` 007 Theme '' ( John Barry ) `` On Her Majesty 's Secret Service '' ( John Barry ) `` Bond 77 '' ( Marvin Hamlisch ) `` James Bond Theme '' ( Moby ) Soundtracks Dr. No From Russia with Love Goldfinger Thunderball Casino Royale You Only Live Twice On Her Majesty 's Secret Service Diamonds Are Forever Live and Let Die The Man with the Golden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker For Your Eyes Only Octopussy Never Say Never Again A View to a Kill The Living Daylights Licence to Kill GoldenEye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Another Day Casino Royale Quantum of Solace Skyfall Spectre Composers Monty Norman John Barry Burt Bacharach George Martin Marvin Hamlisch Bill Conti Michel Legrand Michael Kamen Éric Serra David Arnold Thomas Newman Eon themes `` Kingston Calypso '' `` From Russia with Love '' `` Goldfinger '' `` Thunderball '' `` You Only Live Twice '' `` We Have All the Time in the World '' `` Diamonds Are Forever '' `` Live and Let Die '' `` The Man with the Golden Gun '' `` Nobody Does It Better '' `` Moonraker '' `` For Your Eyes Only '' `` All Time High '' `` A View to a Kill '' `` The Living Daylights '' `` Where Has Everybody Gone ? '' `` Licence to Kill '' `` If You Asked Me To '' `` GoldenEye '' `` Tomorrow Never Dies '' `` The World Is Not Enough '' `` Die Another Day '' `` You Know My Name '' `` Another Way to Die '' `` Skyfall '' `` Writing 's on the Wall '' Non-Eon themes `` Casino Royale '' `` The Look of Love '' `` Never Say Never Again '' Compilations Shaken and Stirred The Incredible World of James Bond The Best of Bond... James Bond Related articles Eon films secondary songs Non-Eon films secondary songs WorldCat Identities BNE : XX1036365 GND : 134599381 ISNI : 0000 0001 1700 5957 LCCN : n91105114 MusicBrainz : 6965a0f4 - 6e7b - 4feb - 8709 - 508f83c1af93 VIAF : 117475370 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Matt_Monro&oldid=864019142 '' Categories : 1930 births 1985 deaths 20th - century British singers 20th - century English singers British Eurovision Song Contest entrants Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from liver cancer English baritones English crooners English male singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1964 Golders Green Crematorium Liberty Records artists Spanish - language singers Parlophone artists People from Shoreditch Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use dmy dates from July 2012 Use British English from July 2012 Articles needing additional references from May 2010 All articles needing additional references Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2007 Articles needing additional references from July 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2007 Articles with hAudio microformats Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Bikol Central Cymraeg Deutsch Español فارسی Français Italiano Nederlands Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska Türkçe 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 14 October 2018, at 15 : 56 ( UTC ). 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Question: who wrote if i never sing another song
Answer: Don Black