Terry Britten

Last updated

Terry Britten
Terry Britten circa 1968.png
Britten as a member of the Twilights circa 1968.
Background information
Birth nameTerence Ernest Britten
Born (1947-07-17) 17 July 1947 (age 76)
Manchester, England
Genres Pop
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
  • record producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1960s–present
Formerly of the Twilights

Terence Ernest Britten (born 17 July 1947) [1] [2] is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many others. [3] Britten (along with co-writer Graham Lyle) won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1985 for "What's Love Got to Do with It".

Contents

Career

Born on the 17 July 1947, a native of Manchester, Britten began writing for the Adelaide, Australia band The Twilights, a popular 1960s band for which he played lead guitar. [4] At times he co-wrote with Glenn Shorrock and Peter Brideoake. [5] He also recorded a single under his own name, "2000 Weeks" / "Bargain Day" (1969). [6]

Britten was a band member of Quartet with Kevin Peek, Alan Tarney and Trevor Spencer who recorded one album with Decca Records in the UK, which remains unreleased.[ citation needed ] One single was issued in 1969 on Decca in the UK and Australia and London in the US: "Now" / "Will My Lady Come" (Decca UK-F12974, [7] Aust Y-8977) and a second single in the UK only in 1970 "Joseph" / "Mama Where Did You Fail" (Decca F13072, US London LON-1031).

After the Twilights broke up, he returned to England and moved to London, where he did session work. Britten's multi-layered guitars featured on Alvin Stardust's 1973 hit "My Coo Ca Choo".[ citation needed ] In 1973 he was part of Cliff Richard's Eurovision Song Contest 1973 entry and, along with John Farrar, Alan Tarney and Trevor Spencer, submitted six songs; of which "Power to All Our Friends" was chosen and came third. After a lean charting period for Cliff Richard, Britten gave him "Devil Woman" and, in 1976, it became Richard's first top 10 in the UK for three years (and his first top 10 hit in the US). [8] [9] [10] He was a guitarist in Richard's band for many years and was the co-producer and main songwriter for Richard's 1979 album Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile , which reached No. 3 in the UK Album Chart. He wrote and co-wrote with B. A. Robertson 10 of the 12 songs, of which "Carrie" reached No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart. [11]

In the early 1980s, Britten's psychedelic rock song, "9.50", originally a hit for The Twilights, was revived by Australia's Divinyls as a b-side to their 1984 single, "Good Die Young". [12]

With Graham Lyle, Britten also wrote "What's Love Got to Do with It", which became Tina Turner's million-selling hit. "What's Love Got to Do with It" (1984), reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart [13] and No. 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100, and won Britten and Lyle the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1985. It also won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year which went to Tina Turner. [14] Later that year, they co-wrote "We Don't Need Another Hero" for the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome . Also sung by Tina Turner, the song reached No. 2 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. [13] Britten and Lyle received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song in 1986. It also earned Turner a 1986 Grammy nomination for best female pop vocal performance. [15] He also acted as a record producer for Turner. [16]

Britten co-wrote "Just Good Friends" for Michael Jackson's Bad album. [17] Britten has also penned songs for Olivia Newton-John, including "Love Make Me Strong" (1981) [18] and "Toughen Up" with Graham Lyle (1985). [19] He has also written for Meat Loaf, Melissa Manchester, Bonnie Raitt, and Hank Marvin. [20] Britten continues to compose from his home base in rural England, but has returned to Australia on occasion, including the Twilights' reunion for the Long Way to the Top concert tour. [5]

In 2002, the song "Rain, Tax (It's Inevitable)", co-written by Britten and Charlie Dore, appeared on Celine Dion's album A New Day Has Come . [21]

Britten currently has a home in Richmond, Greater London, and a home recording studio called "State of the Ark". [22]

Songwriting credits

[3]

Filmography

Britten's work has appeared in the soundtracks to the following films: [24]

Award and nominations

TV Week / Countdown Awards

Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week . The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. [25]

YearNominee / workAwardResult
1979Terry Britten for "He's My Number One" by Christie Allen Best Recorded SongwriterWon

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Richard</span> British singer (born 1940)

Sir Cliff Richard is an Indian-born British singer and actor who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivia Newton-John</span> British-Australian singer (1948–2022)

Dame Olivia Newton-John was a British and Australian singer and actress. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included fifteen top-ten singles, including five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and two number-one albums on the Billboard 200: If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) and Have You Never Been Mellow (1975). Eleven of her singles and fourteen of her albums have been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What's Love Got to Do with It (song)</span> 1984 single by Tina Turner

"What's Love Got to Do with It" is a song written by Graham Lyle and Terry Britten, and recorded by American singer Tina Turner for her fifth studio album, Private Dancer (1984). Capitol Records released it as a single from Private Dancer in May 1984 and it eventually became Turner's biggest-selling single.

<i>Whats Love Got to Do with It</i> (album) 1993 soundtrack album / studio album by Tina Turner

What's Love Got to Do with It is the eighth solo studio album by American singer Tina Turner, released on June 15, 1993, by Parlophone. It served as the soundtrack album for the 1993 Tina Turner biographical film of the same name, which was released by Touchstone Pictures that same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Twilights</span> Australian rock band (1964–1969)

The Twilights were an Australian rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1964 by Peter Brideoake on rhythm guitar, John Bywaters on bass guitar, Clem "Paddy" McCartney and Glenn Shorrock both on lead vocals. They were joined by Terry Britten on lead guitar and Laurie Pryor on drums within a year. Heavily influenced by the British Invasion, they became a significant Australian band during the mid-1960s. They were noted for their musicianship, on-stage humour and adoption of overseas sounds and trends. Their most popular single is a cover version of "Needle in a Haystack", which topped the Go-Set singles chart in 1966. Also in that year, they won the Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds competition and were awarded a trip to London.

Roger Davies is an Australian artist manager, business manager, and music producer in the global music industry. Davies was born in 1952, and his career spans more than half a century.

Harold Jacob Spiro was an English songwriter. He is best known for his co-writing with Valerie Avon, particularly the song "Long Live Love" (1974) performed by Olivia Newton-John, which was the UK's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Hiller</span> Musical artist

Anthony Toby Hiller was an English songwriter and record producer. He was best known for writing and/or producing hits for Brotherhood of Man, including "United We Stand" (1970) and "Save Your Kisses for Me" (1976).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What You Get Is What You See</span> 1987 single by Tina Turner

"What You Get Is What You See" is a song by recording artist Tina Turner from her album Break Every Rule (1986). The 12" single included three versions of the song, the Extended Dance Mix, the Extended Rock Mix and a live version recorded in London in November 1986. A different live recording of the song was later used as the opening track on Turner's 1988 album Tina Live in Europe. She also included it in her 2009 live album Tina Live. It was recorded during Turner's hugely successful 50th Anniversary Tour. The track is from the March 21, 2009 live show at the GelreDome in Arnhem, Netherlands.

<i>If Not for You</i> (album) 1971 album by Olivia Newton-John

If Not for You is the debut studio album by British-Australian singer-songwriter Olivia Newton-John, released in November 1971 by Festival Records. The album was released on the Pye International label in the UK as Olivia Newton-John, with a slightly different cover. As a covers album, If Not for You features mostly songs previously recorded from contemporary artists of the 1960s and early 1970s. She made several performances to promote If Not for You and her follow-up album, Olivia, including an international tour with British singer Cliff Richard. It was her first album released by Festival Records, which would release all her albums in Australia until its dissolution in 2005. It also has Newton-John's first works with her long-time musical partner, John Farrar.

Alan Tarney is an English record producer and musician. He was born in Northside, Workington, Cumberland, but spent his teenage years in Adelaide, Australia, where he met his songwriting and musical partner Trevor Spencer. He is best known for his association with Cliff Richard and producing "Take On Me" by a-ha.

<i>Im Nearly Famous</i> 1976 studio album by Cliff Richard

I'm Nearly Famous is the eighteenth studio album by Cliff Richard, released in May 1976.

<i>Silver</i> (Cliff Richard album) 1983 studio album by Cliff Richard

Silver is the 26th studio album by Cliff Richard. It was released in October 1983 to mark his 25th anniversary in music. The North American version was titled Give a Little Bit More and had a revised track list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Live Love (Olivia Newton-John song)</span> 1974 song by Olivia Newton-John

"Long Live Love" is a song by Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John, released in 1974. It was the British entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 in Brighton, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suddenly (Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard song)</span> 1980 single by Olivia Newton John and Cliff Richard

"Suddenly" is a duet performed by Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard from the soundtrack Xanadu, and is the love theme from the 1980 film of the same name. It was written and produced by John Farrar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Lyle</span> Musical artist

Graham Hamilton Lyle is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer.

<i>Songs from Heathcliff</i> 1995 studio album by Cliff Richard

Songs from Heathcliff is a studio album by English singer Cliff Richard, released in October 1995. It features ten songs from Richard's self-conceived musical Heathcliff, in which Richard played the title character. The musical is based on the Emily Brontë novel Wuthering Heights. The music was composed by John Farrar with lyrics written by Tim Rice. Olivia Newton-John is a guest on the album, featuring in five duets with Richard. The style of the music ranges from pop/rock to mock-period music, featuring instruments such as the harpsichord and violin.

<i>Stronger Thru the Years</i> 2017 compilation album by Cliff Richard

Stronger Thru the Years is a compilation album by Cliff Richard, released in 2017.

<i>The Whole Story: His Greatest Hits</i> 2000 greatest hits album by Cliff Richard

The Whole Story: His Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by Cliff Richard, released in 2000. It includes 46 of Richard's biggest hits, from his first single "Move It" to his then most recent single, "The Millennium Prayer". The album reached number 6 in the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Rise Up</i> (Cliff Richard album) 2018 studio album by Cliff Richard

Rise Up is the 44th studio album by British pop singer Cliff Richard, released on 23 November 2018 by Vox Rock and Warner Music.

References

  1. ↑ "Mr Terence Ernest Britten, Director Profile at State of The Ark Music Limited". Duedil.com. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "Terence Ernest Britten - Petersham - Songwriter & Record Producer". Checkcompany.co.uk. 29 July 2003. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Terry Britten – Songs". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Twilights, The (3) Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  5. 1 2 Archived 14 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Terry Britten – 2000 Weeks / Bargain Day (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1969. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Quartet (3) – Now (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1968. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Turner, Steve (2008). Cliff Richard: The Biography – Steve Turner – Google Boeken. Lion Books. ISBN   9780745952796 . Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "William's Cliff Chart Site – Cliff Richard World Singles". Cliffchartsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  10. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 461. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  11. ↑ "Cliff Richard's UK positions". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Divinyls – Good Die Young (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1984. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  13. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 569. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  14. ↑ "Terry Britten – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Grammy Awards: Best Pop Solo Performance". Rock on the Net. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  16. ↑ "Simply the Best – Tina Turner : Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  17. ↑ Thomas, Stephen. "Bad – Michael Jackson : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "Love Make Me Strong – Olivia Newton-John : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "Toughen Up – Olivia Newton-John : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "Terry Britten – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  21. ↑ "Rain, Tax (It's Inevitable) – Celine Dion : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  22. ↑ "State of the Ark Studios". State of the Ark Studios. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "Zoot (2) – 4 Shades of Pink (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1970. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  24. ↑ "Terry Britten - Filmography - Movies & TV - NYTimes.com". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2011. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  25. ↑ "Countdown to the Awards" (Portable document format (PDF)). Countdown Magazine. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). March 1987. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.