Guy Fletcher (songwriter)
Guy Fletcher OBE | |
---|---|
Birth name | Mervyn Guy Fletcher |
Born | St Albans, Hertfordshire, England | 21 April 1944
Genres | Pop, soft rock |
Occupation(s) | Record producer, singer, songwriter |
Years active | 1960s–present |
Website | Guyfletcher.com |
Mervyn Guy Fletcher
Fletcher was chairman of PRS for Music from 1 January 2011 until 31 December 2016.[5]
Life and career
Fletcher was born on 21 April 1944 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. He was educated at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School.[6]
He worked as a session singer for the record producer
Fletcher and Flett's first UK top 10 success was with the Hollies' "I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top" (1970),[9] and they also had hits with songs performed by Cliff Richard, "With the Eyes of a Child", "Sing a Song of Freedom", "Baby You're Dynamite" and "Power to All Our Friends",[10][11][12][13] which was the UK entry for the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest, achieving third place.
Their greatest international success was with "Save Me", a No. 6 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart,[14] when released in 1983 by Louise Mandrell. "Save Me" was also a Billboard Hot 100 entry for American stars Donna McDaniel and Merrilee Rush in 1977[15] and was recorded by Helen Reddy for her 1981 album Play Me Out. In 1977, the South-African band Clout had a hit with it around Europe (No. 4 in Germany and Switzerland, No. 5 in Belgium, No. 6 in the Netherlands). Fletcher and Flett also wrote hits for Ray Charles ("Is There Anyone Out There"),[16] Tom Jones,[17] Joe Cocker ("Lady Put the Light Out")[18] and the Bay City Rollers ("Dedication").[19] Fletcher and Flett also discovered, managed and published for Chris de Burgh.[6]
In 1975, Fletcher, former
In 1985, Fletcher sang vocals on various songs for the BBC Children's TV series Bertha.
Fletcher was chairman of
In 2005, he was honoured in
Family
Fletcher has a nephew, also called Guy Fletcher,[1] who has been a longtime keyboardist for both Mark Knopfler and his former band Dire Straits.
His children include Justin Fletcher, a children's television presenter.
Discography
- Guy Fletcher (Philips, 1971)
- When the Morning Comes (Philips, 1972)
- Bertha: Songs from the BBC TV series (BBC Records and Tapes, 1985)
- Rogue albums
- Fallen Angels (Epic 69235, 1975)
- Let It Go (Epic 81987, 1977)
- Would You Let Your Daughter (Ariola 5028, 1979)[23]
References
- ^ a b "Guy Fletcher (2) Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Mervyn Guy FLETCHER - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
- ^ Stark, David (1 June 1996). "Briton's Ivors four decades of award-winning songwriting". Billboard. pp. 49–50. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ "Guy Fletcher (2) – Mary in the Morning (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Nigel Elderton announced as new Chairman of PRS". Prsformusic.com. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Guy Fletcher OBE: Executive Profile & Biography – Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.[dead link]
- ^ "Elvis Presley – Clean Up Your Own Back Yard (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ Cook, Stephen. "That's the Way It Is – Elvis Presley : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Hollies, The – I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Cliff Richard – With The Eyes of a Child (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Cliff Richard – Sing a Song of Freedom". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Cliff Richard – Baby You're Dynamite (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Cliff Richard – Power To All Our Friends (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 214.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2009). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955-2008. Record Research. p. 1235.
- ^ "Is There Anyone Out There? – Ray Charles, Jim Hall : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. 16 September 1997. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Lady Put the Light Out – Tom Jones : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. 30 June 1998. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Lady Put the Light Out – Joe Cocker, Hank Crawford : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Dedication – Bay City Rollers : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "PRS board". Prsformusic.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Mr Guy Fletcher – Director at Commercial Arts Limited". Duedil.com. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Rogue: Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
External links
- Guyfletcher.com Official website
- Guy Fletcher discography at Discogs