10 Facts About Russ Conway

Russ Conway's mother, Patara Mallia was an amateur pianist and contralto, and his father, Herbert Stanford, a clerical worker.

Russ Conway spent the mid-1950s providing backing for artists on their roster, including Gracie Fields and Joan Regan.

Russ Conway recorded his first solo single, "Roll The Carpet Up" in 1957, and later that year had his first hit with "Party Pops", a piano medley of well known songs.

In 1956, Russ Conway composed the music for a BBC Television production of Beauty and the Beast.

Between 1957 and 1963, Russ Conway had 20 UK chart hits, and in 1959 alone he achieved a cumulative total of 83 weeks on the UK Singles Chart.

Russ Conway appeared frequently on light entertainment TV shows and radio for many years afterwards, performing at the London Palladium on a number of occasions and becoming a regular on the Billy Cotton Band Show for several seasons.

In 1958 Conway composed, with Norman Newell, the music for the flop musical Mister Venus, which starred Frankie Howerd and Anton Diffring, The show, with book by Ray Galton and Johnny Speight, opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on 23 October 1958 but closed after just sixteen performances.

Russ Conway was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1959, when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews during a recording session at the BBC's Studio 1 at 201 Piccadilly, London.

Russ Conway's career was blighted by ill health, including a nervous breakdown and subsequently a stroke, which prevented him from performing between 1968 and 1971.

Russ Conway was prescribed anti-depressants and had periods of severe self-doubt, but he kept up playing.