Barry Mason

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Mason (right) with Jonathan Ott , 2006

John Barry Mason MBE (born July 12, 1935 in Wigan , England - † April 16, 2021 ) was a British songwriter who received several gold and platinum awards for his work in the 1960s .

Life

Mason grew up in Blackpool and had an early desire to become a singer or actor. After his military service, he lived in Hollywood for three years without being able to build an acting career there. After returning to England, he received an engagement at the Royal Court Theater and a small role in the film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning , in which he played the Adam Faith hit What Do You Want? sang. After a brief period of trying his hand at managing the pop business, he turned to songwriting.

From 1965 he worked with various composers, including Les Reed , with whom he wrote the song Here It Comes Again for the British group The Fortunes and thus achieved his first chart success. Originally mainly responsible for the lyrical part of the songs, Mason later also took part in the composition. Together with Les Reed, Mason wrote the British number one hit and million seller The Last Waltz for Engelbert in 1967 .

His songs have been recorded by well-known artists such as Tom Jones , PJ Proby , David Essex , The Drifters , Rod Stewart , the Dave Clark Five , Petula Clark , Perry Como , Elvis Presley , Charles Aznavour , Tony Christie and Barbra Streisand .

In the 1970s, the success of his songs waned, which is why he concentrated on writing plays.

With Reed he wrote the song Marching On Together (Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!) In 1972 , the anthem of the English football club Leeds United .

He proved that he had a good voice himself as early as 1967 with the hit single Rowbottom Square , with which he also appeared in the Beat Club . With the German recording when you are lonely , Chris Roberts landed his first hit in 1968 (15th place). The single Don't Let Me Know followed in 1976 (back: Waiting in the Wings ) and in 2011 the CD In My Lover's Eyes .

The British Songwriters Association named him the seventy-ninth most successful songwriter in British chart history after his songs had sold over 50 million records.

By 1998 he received five Ivor Novello awards . In 2020 he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for Services to Music .

He died on April 16, 2021 at the age of 85.

Hit songs

  • 1964: Don't Turn Around ( The Merseybeats )
  • 1965: Here It Comes Again (The Fortunes)
  • 1966: I Love Her (Paul & Barry Ryan )
  • 1966: Have Pity on the Boy (Paul & Barry Ryan)
  • 1967: The Last Waltz (Engelbert Humperdinck)
  • 1967: I Pretend ( Des O'Connor )
  • 1967: I'm Coming Home (Tom Jones)
  • 1967: Rowbottom Square (Barry Mason)
  • 1968: Everybody Knows (The Dave Clark Five)
  • 1968: Delilah (Tom Jones)
  • 1968: Winter World of Love (Engelbert Humperdinck)
  • 1968: Love Me Tonight (Tom Jones)
  • 1968: Kiss Me Goodbye (Petula Clark)
  • 1968: An Olympic Record ( The Barron Knights )
  • 1968: A Man without Love (Engelbert Humperdinck)
  • 1968: When We Were Young ( Solomon King )
  • 1968: La dernière valse ( Mireille Mathieu )
  • 1968: It's Your Day Today (PJProby)
  • 1968: Sometimes (Mireille Mathieu)
  • 1969: Bluer Than Blue ( Rolf Harris )
  • 1969: Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (Engelbert Humperdinck)
  • 1969: Love Is All ( Malcolm Roberts )
  • 1970: Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) ( Edison Lighthouse )
  • 1972: Leeds! Leeds! Leeds! ( Leeds United )
  • 1973: 24 Sycamore ( Gene Pitney )
  • 1974: Still So in Love with You ( Freddy Breck )
  • 1975: Can I Take You Home Little Girl (The Drifters)
  • 1975: There Goes My First Love (The Drifters)
  • 1976: You Just Might See Me Cry ( Our Kid )
  • 1976: Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow (Tom Jones)
  • 1976: Drive Safely Darlin '(Tony Christie)
  • 1976: When Forever Has Gone ( Demis Roussos )
  • 1987: I Can't Let Go ( Marti Webb )
  • 2002: Tell Me Why ( Declan Galbraith )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Andrew Nowell: Tributes paid to Wigan-born musician Barry Mason. In: wigantoday.net. April 17, 2021, accessed April 18, 2021 .
  2. ^ The Last Waltz ( Memento from February 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) in: The Official UK Charts 1967
  3. ↑ list. In: The London Gazette . October 10, 2020, accessed April 18, 2021 .
  4. ↑ Chorley songwriter behind Leeds United anthem and Tom Jones hit dies aged 85. In: lancs.live. April 18, 2021, accessed April 18, 2021 .
personal data
SURNAME Mason, Barry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mason, John Barry (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH July 12, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Wigan , England
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 2021