Allen Pollock - Reviewer

[Administrator]

A FINE TRIBUTE TO ONE OF BRITAIN'S GREATEST VOCALISTS, 22 Feb 2010
By A. POLLOCK (PLYMOUTH, DEVON United Kingdom)

It's hard to realise Matt Monro died twenty-five years ago. However, his music lives on as timeless vocal talent which combined with style and class continues to influence many new singers who look to emulate his smooth ballad artistry and equal ability to swing with ease. Thanks to the unstinting efforts of his daughter Michele, the reissued availability of numerous classic albums and singles compilations have been augmented with previously overlooked material (concerts, television programmes and transcriptions etc.) newly available for his admirers to enjoy. Over the past three years, Michele has also worked on this definitive biography of her father and with unlimited access to valuable documents, other relevant material, photographs and comments from the singer's peers, has assembled a detailed and indispensible book which now published at a hefty 632 pages emphasises all aspects of Matt's life from his 1930 birth in Shoreditch, East London as Terence Edward Parsons; the youngest of five children, from a working class background - until his untimely death fifty-five years later.

Times were hard during the Thirties, and subsequently worse over Britain's war-torn years but at fourteen, Terence started work before volunteering to join the Army. On posting to Hong Kong, he successfully entered talent shows which lead to appearances on the local radio station. Such success fed ambitions to become a singer and on demob in Britain he endeavoured to break into show business, whilst keeping his day job as a bus driver. Terence became Matt Monro at the suggestion of his early mentor, popular pianist Winifred Atwell, and after many ups and downs including two false starts with brief record contracts, he was finally signed to Parlophone - one of the EMI labels - after providing a spoof Sinatra-styled vocal for a Peter Sellers comedy album. Fortunately, Matt hit the Charts with his second single, PORTRAIT OF MY LOVE in 1960, and with the iconic George Martin as recording manager, he was off and running with many more hits like SOFTLY AS I LEAVE YOU, WALK AWAY, YESTERDAY, MY KIND OF GIRL and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE to help boost Matt's world-wide popularity. Even the changing musical scene and advent of The Beatles and numerous other pop-groups failed to dent Matt's success for quality invariably prevails, and Michele clearly relates the chronological facts concerning her father's rise to the top; from commercial jingles to UK's entry for the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest; popularity in the USA and the subsequent Capitol Records contract which eventually soured; his enduring success in The Philipinnes, Australia and all points east plus the popularity of his Spanish language recordings which endeared him to Latin countries, whilst still maintaining his British career and loyal following. Matt's close family ties are also touched on with his decision to return from his base in America due to home-sickness, but the career of any world-class performer invariably means sacrifices in relation to the time spent with wife and growing children etc. Such deprivation could well have accentuated his need to extend the social enjoyment of alcohol to also serve as a crutch in order to sustain mood during times of frequent loneliness spent in strange hotels whilst on tour. One thing is certain - from comments made by many show-business personalities, Matt deserved his reputation as being a kind and thoughtful guy who kept his feet firmly on the ground; remaining loyal to his wife, children and near family plus the many friends he gained along the way.

Apart from the main body of pages dedicated to the biography, there are ten additional pages that cover quotes attributed to Tony Bennett, Shirley Bassey, Petula Clark and many others plus acknowledgements to those who contributed various facts and source of anecdotes used in the book. In fact, Michele's ultimate reason for writing this excellent biography was for her son Max to know who his grandfather was. I think she has succeeded in her venture and thank her for sharing her now completed task for us all to savour the life, times and career of the great Matt Monro.

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[Mark Fox]

Perfectly put-Allen is a regular contributor to IN TUNE INTERNATIONAL magazine.