MURRAY一問一答

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS with MR MITCH MURRAY

質問項目作成、英文邦訳　：　HOT VINYL店主
質問、回答は2006年6月、メールにて
日本語対訳はここから

Q1 When and where were you born?

A1 Hove, Sussex, England - January 30th 1940

Q2 What is your real name ? Where does the name MITCH MURRAY come from ?

A2 My real name is Lionel Michael Stitcher. So now you know why I changed it!

I used to be called Mike or Michael (never Lionel, which was a courtesy name honouring the late husband of my Godmother Mrs Lionel deRothschild (a member of the famous Rothschild family). In my teens, friends began shortening the two names to 'Mitch'. When I started to think in terms of showbiz, I added 'Murray' as a surname, and wrote everything as 'Mitch Murray'.

I changed it legally in the late 60's.

Q3What was your first musical influence ? Were you musically educated ?

A3 My first musical memory was 'You Are My Sunshine' by Bing Crosby. This was my favourite song when I was very small.

However my real influences came from a collection of 78's (old records dating from the 1930's) given to me by my father, These included Guy Lombardo, Rudy Vallee, Paul Whiteman, Louis Armstrong and others.

Records from the 30's are still a passion of mine, and I have a collection of many hundreds on my Ipod.

I had no musical education, but, for a pop songwriter, that's a definite advantage. It's better not to know too much theory, in my opinion.

Q4 I think the happy melody you write that every one can remember easily such as many early 60's hits makesyour music stands out among many songwiters. Were you ever influenced by anyoneabout writing such particular kind of melodies ?

A4 Again, back to the thirties for my influences. These melodies and lyrics were little masterpieces. They had so much heart, sincerity and simplicity.

Later, I was influenced by the songs of a man called Johnny Worth, who wrote under the name of Les Vandyke, and was responsible for many hits by Adam Faith and Eden Cane. He had a real gift for strong, immediate melodies, and I tried to emulate that.

Actually, I think I became more successful, but only because, by then, I was supplying a much larger market. Johnny's songs sold mostly in the UK, and didn't hit global charts in a big way.

I suppose the common thread with all my early hits was a 'feel good' effect. Pure happiness and optimism.

I'm no Leonard Cohen.

Q5 What was your first musical activity ? Did you ever work after school ?

A5 I bought a guitar after seeing a scene in the movie, 'The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis', in which a guy serenades a girl in a canoe one moonlight night. I though, 'Yes! I'd love to be able to do that.'

After buying the guitar (for ￡5.00), I found I couldn't play it - it had too many strings Six! I've only got five fingers you know- so I tried a ukulele which had only 4 strings. I then bought loads of sheet music from the 20's, 30's and 40's and was able to strum the chords which were printed in the form of a grid where the fingering was marked out.

I went on holiday to the South of France with some friends, and strolled around 'serenading' good looking girls on the beach. It worked!

Q6 What was your very first song writing ? Was that materialised ? At what stage, you thought you were going professional in the music world ?

A6 Apart from a melody I composed on one string of my guitar when I was about 15, nothing musically happened until I was about 20 or 21. One of the songs in my sheet music collection was 'Again' (written by Lionel Newman). I wasn't familiar with the tune, so I played the chords and sang what I thought should be the tune. Of course, it was an entirely different melody from the real one. That's when I discovered I had a knack for coming up with tunes.

I put words to that tune, and it became 'Hungry Heart'. This song was the catalyst for my interest in songwriting, and I took it to several music publishers. Eventually, one of them signed it up and made a demo, but nothing happened - it was rather amateurish after all. But the damage was done, and I persevered.

Q7 about HOW DO YOU DO IT

- As far as we know, the song you became famous first was this song.

We found the name (M. Murray) on the label of Charlie Drake's 1958 singleSPLISH SPLASH. Is that you ?

- Were you confident the song was going to be a hit ? Did you write the song thinking of someone recording it particulrly ?

A7 I felt 'How Do You Do It?' was the best thing I'd written at the time and I had great hopes for it. See the attached story for more information.

I had nothing to do with 'Splish Splash'. It was originally a Bobby Darin record, so I guess it was an American number.

- Before the song became a hit, did you know the song was chosen as a singleby a group from Liverpool ?

Yes. Again, these details are in my story attached.

- Were you present at the recording session of this song by the Beatles, or the Pacemakers ? Do you have any stories with the members of those groups ?

No, it was not usual for songwriters to be involved in the recording sessions unless they also happened to be the producer or the artiste concerned.

After 'How Do You Do It?' became a No.1 hit, I wrote the follow-up for Gerry Marsden - 'I Like It'. As far as I was concerned, it was set to be his second single.

One day, I walked into my publisher Dick James's office, and sitting there was John Lennon - whom I'd met a couple of times. His opening words were, 'Hello Mitch, if you get that Gerry Marsden follow-up, I'll bloody thump you!'

I said, 'Oh, have you written one for him too?'

He said, 'Yes'.

I said, 'Well, it's worth a thump!'

The song John wrote was 'Hello Little Girl', but 'I Like It' won the follow-up contest.

Murray - 1 Lennon - Nil

'Hello Little Girl' was later recorded by the Fourmost and became a minor hit.

Ha ha!

- When the song became a massive hit, what changed most in your life ?

Everything changed, but not all at once. Mostly, the feeling was relief rather than elation.

Q8 YOUR WORKS

- Who is Alexander Bell ? Why does the song contain the singer's name in the title ?

A8 We signed a singer and named him Alexander Bell after the song as a marketing thing. I can't remember the poor guy's real name now - the song didn't make it, and one tends to shrug and say, 'On to the next.'

- I heard Fontana wanted your song for the first single of Kiki Dee, and the fantastic EARLY NIGHT came out. Is the Fontana story true ?

Can you remember other songs that you wrote especially for someone ?

Yes, it's true. In fact it was released and received quite a bit of interest, but didn't hit the charts.

It came about as result of the producer at Fontana - Jack Baverstock - calling me to say, 'Mitch, I've got this girl coming in today for an audition and I know she's going to be lousy. It's going to be hell! Could you come and sit in with me? - it'll make the audition go faster.'

When I heard her sing (her name at the time was Pauline Matthews), I said, 'Jack, she's terrific - sign the girl!'.

After the audition, the three of us had lunch together, and I made a couple of suggestions. Firstly, she had to get her teeth fixed, and secondly she needed a better name. I suggested 'Kinky Dee', but 'Kinky' was a little risque (it meant 'Slightly perverted but cute'), so I then came up with Kiki Dee. I had a South African girlfriend at the time named 'Kiki'.

- You seemed to have a good relation with Les Reed in the early years. How did SOUNDS OF LES & MITCH on Fontana start ? Who sings on the record ?

We both sang. Isn't it horrible?

Actually we made a demo of the song, and the record company liked it so much, they put it out as it was. What a laugh! The publicity photo featured Les with me on his back, which looked hilarious when put together with the title of the song!

- You released two singles under the name Mister Murray. How did that project happen ? What were your plans with that project ? and who sings ?? If it is you, I think you are a brilliant singer !

Thanks for the compliment, but it was all a joke - especially the singing.

Peter Callander can't pronounced the letter 'R' - it comes out as a 'W'. I used to satirise this and he used to laugh with me. Adam Faith used to have the same trouble, as many of his records prove. One day, at the end of a writing session, I started playing with this impediment, and we turned it into a song.

It became, 'Down Came The Wwwwwrrrain!'

As we couldn't think of anyone else who could make the silly, screaming singing sounds, I recorded it myself.

I promoted it on TV to good effect - I would sing gently and sweetly (but not very well) until the chorus, when all hell would break loose. At the same time, showers of water would cover me and drench my hair, my clothes, everything.

Although there was not one funny line of lyrics in the song, it became a comedy hit.

It was covered in France by the legendary Henri Salvador and sold over 600,000 records in Italy by a group called 'I Giganti', who recorded the song as a regular ballad. Later, it was recorded by a great Italian singer called 'Mina', who still sells many thousands of records for us with the same song.

'Down Came The Rain' has proved to be one of my most valuable and high-earning copyrights.

'I Drink To Your Memory' was the follow-up and also did quite well over the years.

- At round 1965, you began to co-work with someone. Is it right to understand you were mainly writing songs not the words ? I think your easy-to-remember words, such as HOW DO YOU DO IT and YOU WERE MADE FOR ME, were theimportant point with what we call British beat. What made you concentrate more into writing songs ?

I write both words and music but I have also collaborated both as a melodist and as a lyricist. When I wrote with Les Reed, my emphasis was on words - with Peter Callander, I concentrated on the tunes, but at all times, I had a lot of input with both elements of the songs.

- I think MURRAY'S MONKEYS was fantastic ! Was this song the first record that featured you ? Is it you singing ? Was this your first production ? Please let us know any story about this song !

Thank you. I liked that one too - of course. I can't remember whether or not it was my first production.

The singer was John Carter, aka John Shakespeare - who was also the voice behind the Ivy League and many other groups. Murray's Monkeys didn't exist as a group - they were all session men, and the record was released while I was on a business trip to the States, so I arranged for a real trained monkey act to pretend to play musical instruments and mime to the record on TV. Unfortunately, it didn't happen in a big way.

- You released one single under the name MR. & MRS. MURRAY. Were you and Grazina Frame married then ? If so, how did you meet her first? I love her early singles on HMV and session-singings on various soundtracks.

I was with Grazina the other day, and she was very flattered by your comments. She thanks you. Yes, we were married at the time. We used to live near each other in London, and as we were both in the entertainment business, we were aware of each other. We met in the street one day during 1965, and had tea together. That's how it started.

We were divorced in the early 1980's, but we're still very good friends, and have two great grown-up daughters, both actresses and singers. Gina was the lead in the West End of London production of 'The Full Monty', and many other shows, Mazz (Marianne) is currently starring as Killer Queen in Queen's hit musical, 'We Will Rock You.' She's been in the show for over four years. The girls are both comedy writers too, and are currently negotiating for their first television series.

- Please tell us anything about CLAN label. We know only two releases from the label. What did you do on MITCH MURRAY CLAN's single CHEROKEE / SKYLINER ? Lady Murray's one is another good song. She should have released more records ! !

'Lady Murray', as you must have guessed, was a pseudonym for Grazina. She made quite a few records in her day, and sang with Cliff Richard on the soundtrack of 'Every Day's A Holiday' and - I think - another one too.

Clan was my own label licenced by Polydor. I'd always loved the Charlie Barnet big band recording of 'Skyliner', so I updated it with my own arrangement and had it financed by the publishers of the tune. They also publish 'Cherokee', so naturally, that one went on the 'B' side. My version of Skyliner was used as a signature tune for at least two DJ's on radio. Tommy Vance was one.

- I believe the NATURALS' LOOK AT ME NOW is the masterpiece. That should have deserved a hit. Really a tailor-made for them.They were able to play very well. Do you have any thoughts about them and the song ?

I'm so happy to hear that's your opinion of 'Look At Me Now' because I consider it song 'the one that got away'.

It was also Grazina's favourite, strangely enough. I was very proud of the number, and the demo (sung by John Carter) was - I think - better than the record, but -ho hum - it didn't become a big hit. Ah well.

- I suspect MANFRED MANN's Ragamuffin Man must have been different from the released versionwhen you finished the song. What was your demo version like ? How did you normally hand the songto the performer ? Did demo versions by you exist ?

You are very perceptive, my friend. My conception of 'Ragamuffin Man' was rather different from the Manfred Mann version, which nevertheless, was really good.

The original song was more 'bubblegum' in styling, like The Archies' 'Sugar Sugar'. The song went, 'Hey...Mr Ragamuffin' - the 'man' bit was added (quite appropriately, considering his second name) by Manfred.

Still, it was a pretty big hit, and - as I said - Manfred's version was excellent and pretty cool at the time.

We got our songs to the artistes in various ways, usually by playing the demo to the producer or the artiste's manager, or the performers themselves.

Yes, I still have the original demo.....somewhere.

Q9 You worked a lot with Peter Callander. How did you come to work with him ? and could you describe him ? as we know nothing about him apart from the names on record labels.

A9 Peter was working for a music publisher and writing lyrics, mostly to Italian and French songs. He was having hits, but wasn't making much money from them because the sub-lyricist's share is so small.

One day, he contacted me (I was very 'hot' at the time), and suggested we might write together.

Unfortunately, he was working for a publisher called Robert Mellin, who had once 'done me wrong', so I wouldn't agree because he would have had to publish it with Mellin.

Later, Peter started working for Shapiro Bernstein and I then agreed to write with him.

We hit it off straight away and began having hits together - 'Even The Bad Times Are Good' and others - but after a while, I began to resent the fact that I was supplying Shapiro Bernstein with all their hits, and I wasn't even signed to them.

I eventually proposed to Peter that, rather than dissolving our writing partnership, we should form our own publishing company, run it from my home, and publish all our own hits.

Peter was giving up a steady job and a solid career, but - to his credit - saw the possible advantage of this joint enterprise and eventually - after discussing it with his wife, Connie, agreed.

It was the best move he ever made because we formed 'Intune', which became a very successful company, and later formed our own label, 'Bus Stop' on which we released Paper Lace.

Peter is three months older than me, and we're still in touch as we're both directors of the Performing Right Society (PRS) - the British equivalent of JASRAC, ASCAP and BMI.

We haven't written together since the 70's when I decided that the market for independent songwriters had changed too drastically for me to still be involved.

Peter carried on writing, and he still does to this day. I effectively stopped writing songs and have not done so since then.

Funnily enough, the result for both of us has been exactly the same, except I didn't have to break my back writing songs which would end up in the waste bin.

Q10 Were you the founder of the BUS STOP label ? What were your plans when you started ?

A10 Yes, as you will have gathered from the previous answer.

We formed the label (by arrangement with EMI) in order to get a better deal from the records we were producing. We'd previously written and recorded all Tony Christie's hits for MCA, and felt we should be doing better from the production side.

The dilemma with hit songwriters forming their own label, however is when you write a great song and can't offer it to big acts because you have a record label to supply, so you have to record it with an unknown act and try to break them.

Peter Callander had to convince me not to offer 'Billy, Don't Be A Hero' to Cliff Richard, or someone like him, and to find our own act for the song. I'm pleased he did. It made us a lot of money but - unfortunately, because of the ridiculous tax situation in socialist Britain at the time - forced us to move with our families to live in Holland for three-and-a-half years.

Q11 Among many good releases from the label, I find Freddie Garrity's and Peter Noone's releases interesting. Were you strongly connected to those stars even in the 70's ?

A11 I wouldn't say 'strongly connected', but we knew them quite well and, of course, I'd written two of Freddie's biggest hits back in the 60's, so there was a common bond there.

Q12 Which football team do you support ? BUS STOP released one single for Chrystal Palace BUS1031, POWER TO THE PALACE. Sorry about this silly question, but one of my friends is a dedicated football record fan and he wanted me to ask you this. He shows his collection here.

http://www.geocities.jp/football1record2/index.html

A12 I apologise to your friend, but I have no interest in football at all.

However, my ex, Grazina, loves the game and is a Manchester United fan. Peter Callander is an Arsenal man.

I prefer women to football - any day. They're prettier than people like Rio Ferdinand, and I don't have to wear a special shirt.

Q13 How were you writing songs ? by piano ? by guitar ?

A13 I started off with a ukulele and 'progressed' to piano. But believe me, I'm no musician. Just a 'chord basher'.

Q14 What is your most recent musical work ? Any plans for the future ?

A14 I haven't written any music for years and - although I have an open mind to the possibility should the right circumstances occur - I have no plans to do so in the future.

Q15 What made you write books instead of songs ? Any same idea between two works ?

A15 I had started a new career as a speechwriter in the early 90's, and was approached by a book publisher who commissioned me to write a book about wedding speeches. That's how it started.

There is a similarity between pop songs and one-liners (one-line jokes) - you have just seconds to make an impact, and you always have to surprise the listener (or reader).

Q16 Please tell us the top 3 songs you like that you ever wrote.

A16 This is such a difficult question - it's almost like having to choose your favourite from among your children. Apart from 'Look At Me Now' - which didn't sell well, I was very proud of 'I Like It', 'You Were Made For Me' (the song, not necessarily the record), 'I Did What I Did For Maria' and 'The Night Chicago Died'. But I suppose the best thing, as a commercial songwriter, is to judge songs by their importance to one's career, and there I'd have to say, 'How Do You Do It?', because it was the first No.1 and started everything off, 'The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde', because it brought me back into the charts after a long fallow period and was an interesting and dramatic number, and 'Billy, Don't Be A Hero' for exactly the same reasons as 'Bonnie And Clyde' except six years later.

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