| Harry Robinson | |
|---|---|
Harry Robinson c.1960 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Henry Macleod Robertson |
| Also known as | Lord Rockingham |
| Born | 19 November 1932 |
| Origin | Elgin, Moray, Scotland |
| Died | 17 January 1996 (aged 63) |
| Occupations | Musician, bandleader, music director, composer |
| Years active | 1950s - 1990s |
| Associated acts | Lord Rockingham's XI |
Harry Robinson (born 19 November 1932 — 17 January 1996) was a musician, bandleader, music director and composer. Born Henry Macleod Robertson, he was the son of Henry Robertson of Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland. He married Ziki Arbuthnot who inherited the Wharton Barony in 1990. They had four children, the eldest of whom Myles is now the 12th Baron.
Robinson wrote the music for a number of film and television productions, some which are listed below.
He was responsible for writing and producing the pop song "Hoots mon" (not so much a song, more an instrumental take on "A Hundred Pipers" with spoken interjections in a mock-jock accent by Lord Rockingham's XI, which stayed at Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1958.[1]
Robinson produced and composed the music of Hawk the Slayer (1980), Prisoners of the Lost Universe (1982) and Jane and the Lost City (1988),[2] co-writing the script of the first two. He wrote a number of film scripts, television series and books, including The Electric Eskimo, The Boy Who Never Was, Sammy's Super T-Shirt and was a regular composer for Hammer Film Productions. He was also the musical director of the British television pop music programmes, Six-Five Special (1957 BBC) and Oh Boy! (1959 ITV).
He arranged and conducted the stage shows, Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be (1960) and Maggie May (1964) and also co-wrote the West End hit musical Elvis. Robinson was the conductor for the United Kingdom entry in the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest.
He also wrote highly acclaimed string arrangements for English folk singers, such as Nick Drake (notably, "River Man", from Drake's debut album, Five Leaves Left) and Sandy Denny. He created and wrote the music of Virtual Murder.
Robinson was the composer, arranger or screenwriter of these films and others: