Matt Monro news posts

Don Black: “The Sanest Guy in the Room”

March 10, 2022

The Sanest Guy in the Room

Mark Steyn presented a two-part conversation with Don Black, who used to be Matt’s manager, about his recent bestselling memoir The Sanest Guy in the Room, which was posted online on January 2, 2021. These are the links:

Thanks to Sebastian Melmoth.

Music by John Barry – a new book close to publication

2021 11 12 first a5 advert3

Indicate your interest via this email link

The biggest story of the year so far is the news that ‘Music by John Barry’, a new book in praise of more than forty of his film scores, is close to publication!

Sources close to the project tell us that this near 500-page book is the best work so far from the three scribes. OK, technically it’s also the first, but you get the idea!  You can see more details on this cunningly constructed flyer by the artist, Ruuders.

Now, in view of how poorly the previous book, ‘Hit and Miss: The Story of The John Barry Seven’ sold, it seems highly likely that copies of this new book will be in limited supply. So, do yourself a favour and indicate your interest immediately by contacting the writers via this email link.

Details of price and publication date will be sent to you as soon as possible, and anybody who then orders it is *guaranteed* a copy.  In fact, if requested, at least one, maybe two of the authors will sign your copy. They might even do so even if you don’t request it. 🙂

music by john barry book 25

New Albums

Matt Monro: ‘Stranger In Paradise – The Lost New York Sessions’ together with a new Best Of on 2CD and digital will be released by Capitol/Ume on March 13, 2020. “If I had to choose three of the finest male vocalists in the singing business, Matt would be one of them. His pitch was right on the nose; his word enunciations letter perfect; his understanding of a song thorough.” — Frank Sinatra

29 Febrary 2020

Matt Monro: ‘Stranger In Paradise – The Lost New York Sessions’ together with a new Best Of on 2CD and digital will be released by Capitol/Ume on March 13, 2020.

More here ….

Musical Genes – Matt Monro Jr

30 September 2019

Repeat of programme with Matt’s son – bbc radio 4 extra:

Last on Wed 18 Sep 2019

Series 1 Episode 3 of 4 (BBC website)

Tom Morton meets the professional musician son of legendary singer Matt Monro.

Series searching for the true story behind some of our best loved musicians.

Producer: Deirdre Waldie

First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in October 2008.

One More Time – documentary about 60s and 70s session players

April 18, 2019

One More Time is a work in progress documentary which tells the story of the musicians who worked on studio sessions during the sixties and seventies. Several former members of The JB7 have taken part.

Project director Alan Boyd would very much appreciate it if you would check out the website at

https://www.onemoretimedocumentary.com/

and also visit, like, and share the facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/onemoretimedocumentary

https://jukeboxjury.uk/

We have started a new website https://jukeboxjury.uk/

04-04-2019

Juke Box Jury was one of the BBC’s flagship programmes, which introduced viewers to Saturday evening viewing during the sixties. The hope was that having started watching JBJ, viewers would enjoy it and continue to watch the BBC programmes that followed, such as Dixon of Dock Green, The Billy Cotton Band Show, Perry Mason, etc., for the rest of the evening.

Since the BBC carelessly wiped all but two episodes, our long-term aim is for this developing website to be able to include the relevant details of all 400-plus programmes. This will feature not only the panellists and the records on which they voted, but also the identity of every mystery guest. A slightly less easy goal is to indicate a hit or a miss decision for each record played and discussed.

Clearly, especially to begin with, certain detail will be missing so we welcome contributions from everybody who might be able to help, from those who took part in the shows, or were in the audience, but also from those who watched, avidly.

Book “Hit and Miss: The Story of The John Barry Seven” available

HitAndMiss 1000

17-10-2018

Our book “Hit and Miss: The Story of The John Barry Seven” is now available!

£22.50
(plus add postage for your region)

For postage and packing please add:
UK = £2.95 (2nd class mail)

Europe = £10.90
Rest of World (Excluding Australia) = £16.30

You can order now!

http://paypal.me/Geoffers007
Let us know if you aren’t able to do this and we’ll work out another way

The book’s cover price is £30
anybody ordering direct from us will receive a 25% discount
reducing the cost to £22.50.

We’ll also need your mailing address, of course!

Further discount if you want two or more copies – ask for details

We have a limited number of signed copies – let us know if you want one of these

Alternatively, send us an email message
and we will be in touch!


Thoroughly and painstakingly researched over a number of years, it will feature contributions from several ex-members of the band and from friends and relatives of John Barry.

Comprising of over 350 pages, it will also be packed with an array of rare photos of the band, and the singers they often supported, as well as some unique images of memorabilia and documentation from that era; some never previously published, many more seldom seen.

Even if you are not necessarily a devotee of The John Barry Seven per se, the book offers a fascinating historical insight into the British music scene of the period and, more importantly, provides an essential read for anybody remotely interested in discovering more about John Barry’s formative career.

It will be of great assistance to the authors if you would indicate an interest in purchasing a copy of the book *now*, without obligation. We will then be able to notify you as soon as the book is available with details of cost and how to order and pay.

Just send us an email message and we will be in touch in due course. Visit our dedicated web page here!

Obviously your personal details will be kept secure and not shared with anybody else.

Terry Parsons (Matt Monro) & Ned Sparks – Nine Dragons Club, Kowloon – 1952

14-01-2018

My husband Alan and I are great fans of Matt’s. Alan’s uncle Neddy Sparkes and Matt were best of friends when Neddy (Robert Sparkes) and Matt, then Terry Parsons was in the Royal Tank Regiment in Hong Kong together. Neddy was in the in the Royal Artillery.

Both sang in the NAFFI and and both eventually were stopped from taking part in singing competitions. Matt in the BBC documentary The Man With The Golden Voice says “I was banned from competing because I always won, they said it was because my best friend was master of ceremonies, so it was probably true”, jokingly. “Trouble was when I was MC Neddy won”. The reason he won and this comes from Neddy was he was the best.

Any way we have some pictures of Matt and Neddy in Hong Kong together.

Jo Sparkes

The London Playlist

September 23, 2017

Every week BBC Radio London’s Robert Elms asks his listeners to pick their top London tunes.

Matt has been added too:

On Days Like These
Listeners are invited to submit their choices. We don’t know whether the list is finite or perhaps it will go on for ever?

New images

September 16, 2017

We have received three new images of Matt, courtesy of Anthony Middleton who supplied them.

They are now on the Photos page.

Matt Monro   Matt Monro   Matt Monro

Articles added to site

3 April, 2017

While scanning for a new website called

http://www.ohboy.org.uk/thank-your-lucky-stars

I ran into several articles about Matt. We have posted them on our Articles page, at the bottom, for your convenience.