Geoff Morrow

Geoff Morrow
Birth name Geoffrey Stanton Morrow
Born (1942-05-16) 16 May 1942
London, England
Occupation(s) Songwriter

Geoffrey Stanton "Geoff" Morrow (born 16 May 1942, London, England)[1] is a British songwriter and businessman. His compositions have been recorded by Sandie Shaw,[2] The Carpenters,[3] Elvis Presley,[4] Johnny Mathis,[5] Jessie J,[6] Barry Manilow[7] and many other musicians. Many of his early compositions were co-written by David Martin and/or Chris Arnold, with whom he also recorded, both as 'Arnold, Martin and Morrow' and under the group name of 'Butterscotch'.[8] Fellow songwriter and producer Phil Wainman played the drums for Butterscotch.

Morrow and Arnold's first big songwriting success was "In Thoughts of You", taken to the top ten in the UK Singles Chart by Billy Fury in 1965.[9] All three songwriters composed "Annabella", originally recorded in the UK by Dave Dee without chart success,[10] but which reached the US charts via a cover version by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds in 1971.[11] The writers themselves (as Butterscotch) scored another top twenty UK hit in 1970 with "Don't You Know (She Said Hello)".[12]

Arnold, Martin and Morrow went on to compose "Can't Smile Without You", made famous by Barry Manilow.[7] Morrow also co-write four songs for Elvis Presley, with whom he spent time, and Presley made the song "Let's Be Friends" the title track of an album.[13]

Morrow formed two record companies. One record company was sold to RCA and the other to EMI. In 1990, he bought the Manchester Opera House and Palace Theatre, Manchester, for £6 million and produced numerous shows there.[14] He was a director and major shareholder of Caesars Palace, Luton.[14] He wrote five musicals, which have been produced. His latest, A Legendary Romance,[15] produced by Laurence Myers, successfully "tried out" in New Hampshire.[16] He has also written several screenplays, including one called Don't Go Breaking my Heart. Morrolw collaborated with David Simmons to stage two plays. These were Obits, a series of sketches based on obituaries, featuring characters including, Enid Blyton, Ernie Wise and Hitler; and The Boy Who Was Woody Allen, which has been adapted into a full scale musical comedy, Being Woody, and was produced by Michael Grade and Michael Linnit in 2017.

Personal life

He and his wife Marilyn have six children.

References

  1. ↑ "Check Company : Geoffrey Stanton Morrow". Check Company. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "I Must Be Lucky – Sandie Shaw | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Can't Smile Without You – Carpenters | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Little Bit of Green – Elvis Presley | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "You Saved My Life – Johnny Mathis | Song Info". AllMusic. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Jessie J – Who You Are (CD, Album)". discogs. 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 Steve Huey. "Can't Smile Without You – Barry Manilow | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Butterscotch (2) Discography". discogs. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Dave Dee – Annabella / Kelly – Fontana – UK – 6007 021". 45cat. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Annabella (song by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds) • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. 28 August 1971. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Elvis Presley – Let's Be Friends (Vinyl, LP, Album)". discogs. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  14. 1 2 Foster, Geoff (10 March 2015). "MARKET REPORT: Gate Ventures' AIM float hits the right note as shares soar 55 per cent". This is Money. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "A Legendary Romance (New Musical)". Ron H. Stephenson. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "An Inside Look at New Hampshire's New London Barn Playhouse". Nhmagazine.com. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.


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