Matt Monro
  • Real Name: Terence Parsons
  • Birth Date: December 1st 1932
  • Birth Place: Shoreditch London

    • Matt Monro became employed as a driver- among other things- after his discharge from the army, but sought work as a part-time singer wherever he could. This included making advertising jingles for TV commercials. He was given his first real break as a singer on Cyril Stapleton's 'BBC Showband' radio programme and through this eventually secured a contract to record, but his output received little attention. He had developed a reputation for a singing voice that was frequently compared to Frank Sinatra, and although this was overstated it did lead to attention from EMI. Future Beatles' producer George Martin was looking for a suitable singer to use as a 'spoof' Sinatra on a forthcoming comedy recording of Peter Sellers. This was with Parlophone which was a label that EMI used for its comedy output during the late 1950s, but was also now signing, more serious artists- indeed it would shortly include the Beatles on its roster. Monro's singing voice thus appears on the famous goon's 'Songs For Swingin' Sellers'.
    The EP shown here (GEP8898) had Matt airing some new songs for the potential UK entry to the Eurovision song contest. It wasn't Matt's or the UK's year, but the EP proved a popular purchase and saw Matt at the pinnacle of his 1960s recording career.

     Sleeve of GEP8898
    Matt's first release on the new label didn't do much better than his previous efforts, however the next two both made the top ten and the guys at Decca and Fontana must have wondered where they went wrong. At a time when younger record buyers were turning to beat groups, Matt had to work hard for his hits. However, they did come and his rendition of the Lionel Bart penned 'From Russia With Love'- from the Bond movie of the same name- also gave his international status a boost. By the end of the 1960s Matt's singles career seemed just about over, but he managed one further hit during 1973 with 'And You Smiled'.
     
    Despite the lack of a market for his singles, Matt continued to be popular with his albums and TV work through the 1970s. He also worked the nightclub scene and had done well enough with his records in the USA to do so there as well as in the UK. Sadly, Matt Monro died from cancer during 1985, thus robbing Britain of one of its most revered performers.

    1950s & 1960s 45rpm UK Discography

    • Listings include UK 45 singles releases only
    • Collector's Items are shown In Red

    Decca F10816 1956 Ev'rybody Falls In Love With Someone/ Out Of Sight Out Of Mind  
    Decca F10839  1957 Gone With The Wind/ My Old Flame  
    Decca F10845 1957 The Garden Of Eden/ Love Me Do  
    Decca F10870 1957 My House Is Your House/ The Bean Song  
    Fontana H115 1958 I'll Never Have A Sweetheart/ Golden Age  
    Fontana H122 1958 The Story Of Ireland/ Another Time Another Place  
    Fontana H167 1958 Prisoner Of Love/ Have Guitar Will Travel  
    Parlophone R4638 1960 Love Walked In/ I'll Know Her  
    Parlophone R4714 1960 Portrait Of My Love/ You're The Top Of My Hit Parade #3
    Parlophone R4755 1961 My Kind Of Girl/ This Time #5
    Parlophone R4775 1961 Can This Be Love/ Why Not Now #24
    Parlophone R4819 1961 Gonna Build A Mountain/ I'll Dream Of You #44
    Parlophone R4868 1962 Softly As I Leave You/ Is There Anything I Can Do #10
    Parlophone R4911 1962 When Love Comes Along/ Tahiti #46
    Parlophone R4954 1962 My Love And Devotion/ By The Way #29
    Parlophone R4995 1963 One Day/ I've Got Love  
    Parlophone R5019 1963 Leave Me Now/ The Girl I Love  
    Parlophone R5068 1963 From Russia With Love/ Here And Now #20
    Parlophone R5103 1964 I Love The Little Things/ It's Funny How You Know  
    Parlophone R5150 1964 Somewhere/ I Love You Too  
    Parlophone R5171 1964 Walk Away/ Around The World #4
    Parlophone R5215 1964 For Mama/ Going Places #36
    Parlophone R5251 1965 Without You/ Start Living #37
    Parlophone R5307 1965 Before You Go/ And Roses And Roses  
    Parlophone R5348 1965 Yesterday/ Just Yesterday (Mine Your Love Was Mine) #8
    Parlophone R5397 1966 Beyond The Hill/ How Do You Do  
    Capitol CL15436 1966 Born Free/ Other People  
    Capitol CL15448 1966 Honey On The Vine/ My Best Girl  
    Capitol CL15477 1966 Wednesday's Child/ When You Became A Man  
    Capitol CL15496 1967 The Lady Smiles/ Where In The World  
    Capitol CL15506 1967 What To Do/ These Years  
    Capitol CL15518 1967 Release Me/ Pretty Polly  
    Capitol CL15541 1968 One Day Soon/ Yours Alone  
    Capitol CL15551 1968 The Music Played/ All That Remains  
    Capitol CL15573 1968 The Impossible Dream/ Come Back To Me  
    Capitol CL15585 1969 All Of A Sudden/ That's The Way It Goes  
    Capitol CL15597 1969 When I Fall In Love/ Southern Star  
    Capitol CL15603 1969 On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)/ On Days Like These  

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