Valerie Murtagh | |
---|---|
Birth name | Patricia Valerie Jenkins[ citation needed ] |
Also known as | Valerie Avon |
Born | 1936 (age 87–88) Willesden, London, England |
Genres | Pop music |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 1960s–1970s |
Valerie Murtagh (born Patricia Valerie Jenkins,[ citation needed ] 1936, Willesden, London, England, [1] also known under the pseudonym Valerie Avon) is an English singer and songwriter, who was a member of The Avons.
After singing with the Avons vocal trio in the 1950s and 60s, alongside her husband's sister Elaine Murtagh and Elaine's husband Ray Adams, Murtagh became a songwriter under the name Valerie Avon. Together with Adams and Elaine Murtagh, she wrote "Dance On!". [2] [3] This was a UK number one hit in 1963, [4] and the year later returned to the UK Singles Chart in a vocal version by Kathy Kirby with lyrics by Marcel Stellman. [5]
With her songwriting partner, Harold Spiro, she later wrote "Long Live Love", which was performed by Olivia Newton-John, the UK entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1974. [6]
She also co-wrote the following songs: [7]
The Avons were a British pop vocal group. Originally composed of Valerie Murtagh and Elaine Murtagh, and known as 'The Avon Sisters', they added Raymond S. Adams, and changed their name to 'The Avons'.
Gordon William Mills was a successful London-based music industry manager and songwriter. He was born in Madras, British India and grew up in Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales. During the 1960s and 1970s, he managed the careers of three highly successful musical artists - Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and Gilbert O'Sullivan. Mills was also a songwriter, penning hits for Cliff Richard, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Applejacks, Paul Jones, Peter and Gordon and Tom Jones, most notably co-writing Jones's signature song "It's Not Unusual" with Les Reed.
Terence Ernest Britten 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. Britten won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1985 for "What's Love Got to Do with It".
Roger Frederick Cook is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, who has written many hit records for other recording artists. He has also had a successful recording career in his own right.
Roger John Reginald Greenaway, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook and Tony Burrows. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic million selling songs "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing " and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". They were the first UK songwriting partnership to be granted an Ivor Novello Award as 'Songwriters of the Year' in two successive years.
Geoffrey Stephens was an English songwriter and record producer, most prolific in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote a long series of hit records, often in conjunction with other British songwriters including Tony Macaulay, John Carter, Roger Greenaway, Peter Callander, Barry Mason, Ken Howard, Alan Blaikley, Don Black, Mitch Murray, and Les Reed.
Mervyn Guy Fletcher is an English record producer, singer and songwriter who, in partnership with Doug Flett, wrote several hits for other artists. As a singer, he had a small hit in the Netherlands and other European countries with the song "Mary in the Morning" (1971).
Philip Neil Wainman is an English record producer and songwriter, primarily active in the 1970s. He is noted for his work with Sweet, XTC, Dollar, Mud, and the Bay City Rollers. His greatest chart success, however, was the production of "I Don't Like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats, written by Bob Geldof and arranged by Fiachra Trench.
Raymond William Froggatt was an English songwriter and singer.
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.
Andrew Gerard Hill is an English record producer and songwriter who worked with Bucks Fizz and Celine Dion during the 1980s and 1990s.
"Dance On!" is an instrumental by British group the Shadows, released as a single in December 1962. It went to number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart. A vocal version, with lyrics by Marcel Stellman, was recorded by British female vocalist Kathy Kirby, whose version reached number 11 on the UK chart in September 1963.
"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.
John Francis Schroeder was a British pop and easy listening composer, arranger, songwriter and record producer. In 1961, Schroeder won an Ivor Novello Award for co-writing "Walkin' Back to Happiness".
Elaine Murtagh is an Irish singer, songwriter and a member of The Avons, a pop vocal group popular in the 1950s and early 1960s.
"Silvery Rain" is a song composed by Hank Marvin and first released by Marvin, Welch & Farrar on their eponymous debut album in February 1971. It was also recorded by Cliff Richard, who released it as a single in March 1971. His version peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Sunny Honey Girl" is a song by the British musical group the Pipkins. It was written by Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, John Goodison and Tony Hiller and was released as a single only in New Zealand in August 1970, charting for one week at number 18 on the New Zealand Listener Pop-O-Meter chart. The song appeared on the Pipkins' 1970 album Gimme Dat Ding.
"Just One Smile" is a pop song written by Randy Newman in 1960. An early version was recorded by Gene Pitney in 1965. It appeared on his 1965 album, I Must Be Seeing Things, and AllMusic noted that it "allowed Pitney to explore the extent of his dramatic range with its tale of the giddy highs and painful lows of a love affair".
"Livin' Lovin' Doll" is a song by Cliff Richard and the Drifters, released in January 1959 as their third single. Unlike their previous two top-ten singles, it only peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart.
"A Little in Love" is a song recorded by Cliff Richard, released as the second single from his 1980 album, I'm No Hero.