37 Facts About Matt Monro

Matt Monro was born Terence Edward Parsons on 1 December 1930 in Finsbury, north London, to Frederick and Alice Parsons.

Matt Monro attended Duncombe School in Islington, and Elliott School, Putney.

Matt Monro's father died when he was three and after his mother became ill, he was fostered out for two years.

Matt Monro became a tank driving instructor in the British armed forces and was posted to Hong Kong.

Matt Monro had sung in public from an early age, for example at the Tufnell Park Palais, and in Hong Kong he took to entering local talent contests, winning several.

Matt Monro was invited by then-host Ray Cordeiro to perform in his own one-off show entitled Terry Parsons Sings, on the condition that he would bow out of future Talent Time episodes to make way for others.

Matt Monro hung around the music publishers offices in Denmark Street and occasionally made demos of new songs for their ever-optimistic song-pluggers.

Matt Monro recommended him to her own recording company, Decca Records, who signed him.

Matt Monro became his mentor, providing him with his stage name, Matt Monro.

Matt Monro gained some radio exposure on Radio Luxembourg and, starting on 2 January 1957, became a featured vocalist with the BBC-TV Show Band Parade show presented by Cyril Stapleton which ran until 28 June 1957.

Matt Monro got a television spot on The Winifred Atwell Show in 1956.

In 1957, Matt Monro released Blue and Sentimental, an album of standards.

Matt Monro even recorded a version of Vaughan's "Garden of Eden" during this period.

However, Sellers billed Matt Monro as "Fred Flange", and though it was a demoralising experience at the time, the incident developed into a lifelong friendship with Martin, who subsequently asked Matt Monro to begin recording with him for EMI's Parlophone record label.

In February 1961, the British music magazine NME reported that Matt Monro had won ITV's A Song for Britain with "My Kind of Girl".

At the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest, singing "I Love the Little Things", Matt Monro finished second behind Italy's 16-year-old Gigliola Cinquetti, his rendition being described an "excellent performance of the only English language song of the night".

Matt Monro had a hit with the Beatles' "Yesterday" in 1965, the first cover version of the most recorded song, even predating the Beatles' own release.

Matt Monro went on to record two further songs from Barry film scores: "Wednesday's Child" and "This Way Mary".

Matt Monro recorded a Spanish version of the song with the adapted title of "Alguien Canto".

Additionally, Matt Monro recorded an English version of Jurgens' 1966 Eurovision winner "Merci, Cherie", but it failed to chart when released as a UK single.

Matt Monro reached the United States charts when "My Kind of Girl" and "Walk Away" hit the top 40.

Matt Monro later began to change labels within EMI to Columbia, where his final US album Close to You was released in 1970.

On 31 December 1976, Matt Monro performed Black's "Walk Away" on BBC1's A Jubilee of Music, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee.

Matt Monro continued touring and recording until just before his death, releasing a single and promoting it throughout the UK and Australia in 1984.

In one of his final appearances, Matt Monro praised Boy George, observing the importance of quality recordings in all musical genres.

Matt Monro was a heavy smoker and battled alcoholism from the 1960s until 1981.

Matt Monro died from liver cancer on 7 February 1985 at Cromwell Hospital, Kensington, London, aged 54, leaving a widow, Mickie, and three children: Mitchell, Michele, and Matthew.

The 20th anniversary of Matt Monro's death spotlighted the continuing interest in his music, with a top 10 tribute compilation CD, a No 1 concert DVD, and a BBC TV documentary all appearing in 2005.

Matt Monro's songs were featured on Friday Night Is Music Night on 8 October 2010.

Matt Monro never recorded a "live" concert album, preferring the technical purity of the recording studio and wanting his public performances to retain an element of uniqueness.

In July 2020, the Unilever brand Axe began airing an American TV campaign for its deodorant line that spoofed the restrictions on dating during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Matt Monro's "Born Free" as the soundtrack theme.

In March 2020, Matt Monro reached No 8 on the UK Albums Chart with an album of performances with a quintet recorded in New York.

Unlike his contemporaries, Matt Monro recorded very few Tin Pan Alley standards during his career.

Matt Monro covered many of the most popular stage and screen songs of the 1950s and 1960s.

Matt Monro had a long and fruitful musical partnership with British arranger Johnnie Spence.

In 1973, Matt Monro released a vocal version of the popular Van der Valk TV-series theme titled "And You Smiled", with lyrics written by Melvyn Taggart.

In 1979, Matt Monro recorded his final studio album, the third all-Spanish album produced by Leonardo Schultz and Gary Mason.