Matt Monro

Matt Monro , also Matt Munro (born December 1, 1930 in Shoreditch , † February 7, 1985 ; real name Terrence Parsons ) was a British singer .

Life

Monro was a truck and bus driver. But singing gave him just as much pleasure. In 1954 he performed professionally for the first time, and from 1956 he had success. He romped through the clubs and got a record deal in the late 1950s . Until 1974 he was represented in the charts again and again. He was often nicknamed "The Singing Bus Driver" in the British press, referring to one of his previous jobs.

For the James Bond film Liebesgrüße aus Moscow , Monro (usually given as Munro) sang the title track From Russia with Love penned by Lionel Bart . The song can be heard briefly during the course of the film and in full length for the credits . In 1965 he sang the theme song Born Free for the film of the same name (German film title Born Free - Queen of the Wilderness ). The song by John Barry and Don Black won an Oscar for best song.

He represented Great Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964 with the Tony Hatch title I Love the Little Things and came second behind the winner, Gigliola Cinquetti . The Austrian contribution Why only, why? He liked Udo Jürgens , who reached 6th place, so much that he recorded an English version with the title Walk Away and stormed the charts with it. In the course of his career he recorded four more compositions by Udo Jürgens in English ( Without You , The Music Played , If I Never Sing Another Song and Merci Chérie ), two of which also in versions with Spanish lyrics for albums especially for the Latin American market. The albums The Very Best Of and Best Of , released in 1992 and 1996, were awarded platinum and gold respectively in Great Britain.

In 1969 he sang On Days like These , composed by Quincy Jones for the film The Italian Job , which accompanies the opening scene.

He sang the song The Precious Moments for the film The Sea Wolves are Coming . The melody was the leitmotif of the film and was based on Richard Addinsell's Warsaw concert .

Matt Monro died at the age of 54 years of liver cancer and was in the Golders Green Crematorium in London cremated , where his ashes is located. Its long-time manager was Don Black .

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		UK	US
1965	Walk away	-	US126 (3 weeks) US
	I have dreamed	UK20 (1 week) UK	-
1966	This is the life	UK25 (2 weeks) UK	-
1967	Invitation to the Movies / Born Free	UK30 (1 week) UK	US86 (22 weeks) US
1980	Heartbreakers	UK5 gold (11 weeks)UK	-
1995	This is …	UK83 (1 week) UK	-
2005	The Ultimate	UK7th gold (11 weeks)UK	-
2007	From Matt with Love	UK30 (6 weeks) UK	-
2010	The Greatest	UK28 (4 weeks) UK	-
2020	Stranger in Paradise	UK8 (2 weeks) UK	-

More albums

• 1957: Blue and Sentimental
• 1961: Love Is The Same Anywhere
• 1961: My Kind of Girl
• 1961: portrait
• 1962: Matt Monro Sings Hoagy Carmichael
• 1964: Great Songs From The Movies
• 1964: From Russia With Love
• 1965: Hits of Yesterday
• 1965: All My Loving
• 1965: Let's Face The Music
• 1965: Hits of Yesterday
• 1966: Here's To My Lady
• 1967: Invitation To Broadway
• 1967: These Years
• 1967: Yesterday
• 1968: The Late, Late Show
• 1968: Time After Time
• 1968: Walk Softly Into Love
• 1968: Alguien Cantó
• 1970: Close To You
• 1970: En España nº2
• 1973: For The Present
• 1975: Let Me Sing
• 1975: The Other Side of The Stars
• 1975: The Long and Winding Road
• 1982: Un Toque de Distinción
• 1983: All My Loving
• 2008: Live In Australia
• 2009: Matt At The BBC
• 2011: Words and Music
• 2013: Alternate Monro
• 2014: Live In Twin Towns, Australia 1984
• 2015: "Operation Santa Claus" Live in Hong Kong, 1962

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		UK	US
1960	Portrait of My Love My Kind of Girl	UK3 (16 weeks) UK	-
1961	My Kind of Girl My Kind of Girl	UK5 (12 weeks) UK	US18 (14 weeks) US
	Why Not Now? / Can This Be Love? Let's Face The Music	UK24 (9 weeks) UK	US92 (3 weeks) US
	Gonna Build a Mountain Walk Away	UK44 (3 weeks) UK	-
1962	Softly As I Leave You Walk Away	UK10 (18 weeks) UK	-
	When Love Comes Along	UK46 (3 weeks) UK	-
	My Love and Devotion Great Songs From The Movies	UK29 (5 weeks) UK	-
1963	From Russia with Love From Russia with Love	UK20 (13 weeks) UK	-
1964	Walk Away Walk Away	UK4 (20 weeks) UK	US23 (9 weeks) US
	For Mama Hits of Yesterday	UK23 (4 weeks) UK	-
1965	Without You Walk Away	UK37 (4 weeks) UK	-
	Yesterday Hits of Yesterday	UK8 (12 weeks) UK	-
1973	And you smiled	UK28 (8 weeks) UK	-
1995	We're gonna chance the world	UK100 (1 week) UK	-	Matt Monro Jr. with Matt Monro

literature

• Barry, Black and Born Free . In: James Inverne: Wrestling with Elephants. The Authorized Biography of Don Black . Foreword by John Barry . Sanctuary, London 2003, ISBN 1-86074-468-0 , pp. 42–53 (English, the book also contains information on Matt Monro scattered in other chapters).

Web links

• Matt Monro in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Official website of Matt Monro

Individual evidence

1. ^ Matt Monro in the Internet Movie Database (English) and mattmunro.com
2. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: UK US
3. ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK