Kenny Lynch appeared in many variety shows in the 1960s.
17 Facts About Kenny Lynch
2.
Kenny Lynch was appointed an OBE in the 1970 New Year Honours list.
3.
Kenny Lynch grew up in Stepney, East London, as one of 13 children; his sister Gladys was a jazz singer of some note.
4.
Kenny Lynch's father was born in Barbados and his mother was mixed-raced British and Jamaican.
5.
Kenny Lynch is known for a single release of "Misery", the first cover version of a Beatles song to be released.
6.
In early 1963, Kenny Lynch had been on the same bill as the Beatles on the group's first British tour; John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote "Misery" in January 1963, in the hopes that the artist on top of the bill, Helen Shapiro, would record it.
7.
Shapiro's record producer turned it down, but Kenny Lynch took the composition and gave it a much more pop-oriented arrangement than the Beatles would use when they recorded "Misery" themselves on their debut album, Please Please Me.
8.
Much of Kenny Lynch's material was self-written, but he covered songs by writers of the Brill Building.
9.
Kenny Lynch wrote songs for others including actress Linda Thorson, Small Faces' No 3 UK hit "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" and Cilla Black's No 5 UK hit "Love's Just a Broken Heart", in collaboration with American songwriter Mort Shuman.
10.
Kenny Lynch took part in the A Song for Europe contest in 1962 with the song "There's Never Been A Girl", but failed to win through to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest.
11.
Kenny Lynch had more success in 1978, as a songwriter and producer.
12.
Kenny Lynch oversaw the production for Hylda Baker and Arthur Mullard's comedy version of "You're the One That I Want", which reached 22 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1978.
13.
Kenny Lynch appeared on Z-Cars, The Sweeney, Till Death Us Do Part and Treasure Hunt.
14.
Kenny Lynch completed the London Marathon in 1982, played in several charity football matches and took part in Michael Parkinson's 'Celebrity Cricket' fundraisers.
15.
In 2018, Kenny Lynch had a concert tour with Jimmy Tarbuck and Anita Harris, as well as appearing in ITV's Last Laugh in Vegas.
16.
Kenny Lynch had two daughters, Amy Lynch and Bobby Lynch.
17.
Kenny Lynch died in the early hours of 18 December 2019, aged 81.