Ronnie Scott (songwriter)
Encyclopedia
Ronnie Scott was a British
pop music
promoter, group manager and songwriter
; known primarily for hit songs co-written with Marty Wilde
in the 1960s, and Steve Wolfe in the 1970s.
Scott wrote a number of songs, some on his own, but most co-written with Wilde, demo
s of which were recorded by The Bystanders. One solo effort "Royal Blue Summer Sunshine Day" (1967) and two joint efforts "Have I Offended The Girl" (1966) and "When Jesamine Goes" (published under the pseudonym
s of Frere Manston and Jack Gellar) (1968) were issued as singles, but all failed. The Casuals
covered
the last song and issued it simply as "Jesamine", which reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart
in late 1968.
Scott and Wilde songs were used by a wide range of musicians including Status Quo: "Ice in the Sun
" "Elizabeth Dreams" and "Paradise Flat" (all on their first album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo
); Lulu
"I'm a Tiger" (1968) and Wilde himself with "Abergavenny" (1968) (also credited to Manston and Gellar, and reissued by Wilde under the pseudonym "Shannon" in 1969)
Wilde and Scott also wrote the words and music to The Wednesday Play
version of No Trams to Lime Street
an Alun Owen
play, broadcast on 18 March 1970.
When The Bystanders evolved into Man
, Scott remained their manager, and they recorded up to three demo sessions a week for him, including "Down the Dustpipe
" which Scott suggested to Status Quo when they asked for his help.
Man left Scott's management in 1969.
in "The Townsman Club" in Swansea
, Wales
, and they became Tyler's managers, songwriters, and producers.
Scott and Wolfe wrote eight out of the ten songs on Tyler's first album The World Starts Tonight
(1977), which they also produced. The album included "Lost in France
", which reached #9 on the UK Singles Chart, and "More Than a Lover" which reached #27.
Tyler's second album It's a Heartache (1978) included five Scott/Wolfe songs including the title track "It's a Heartache" which reached #4 in the UK
, and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
in the United States
, although it had already been recorded and published by Juice Newton
in 1977. This song has since been covered by several different musicians, including Dave & Sugar
, Trick Pony
, and Rod Stewart
.
Scott and Wolfe wrote eight of the ten songs on Tyler's Diamond Cut
album (1979), and also six of the ten songs on her Goodbye to the Island
album (1981), including "Sitting on the Edge of the Ocean", which won the "Grand Prix" at the 1979 Yamaha Music Festival
in Japan.
Bonnie Tyler did not renew her contract with Scott and Wolfe, since she perceived that they "were trying to take her further into country music".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
promoter, group manager and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
; known primarily for hit songs co-written with Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
in the 1960s, and Steve Wolfe in the 1970s.
With Marty Wilde
In 1966, Scott was working for The George Cooper Agency, whose artists roster included The Bystanders (who Scott also managed) and Marty Wilde.Scott wrote a number of songs, some on his own, but most co-written with Wilde, demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
s of which were recorded by The Bystanders. One solo effort "Royal Blue Summer Sunshine Day" (1967) and two joint efforts "Have I Offended The Girl" (1966) and "When Jesamine Goes" (published under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s of Frere Manston and Jack Gellar) (1968) were issued as singles, but all failed. The Casuals
The Casuals
The Casuals were a British pop group from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. They are best known for their 1968 #2 UK hit, "Jesamine".-Career:Originally formed by John Tebb and Howard Newcombe , they added Don Fortune and Zenon Kawolski , and became The Casuals in 1961...
covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the last song and issued it simply as "Jesamine", which reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in late 1968.
Scott and Wilde songs were used by a wide range of musicians including Status Quo: "Ice in the Sun
Ice in the Sun
"Ice in the Sun" is a song by the band Status Quo. The track was recorded in 1968, and appeared on Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo, an album by Status Quo that was released in August that year....
" "Elizabeth Dreams" and "Paradise Flat" (all on their first album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo
Picturesque Matchstickable Messages From The Status Quo
Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo is the 1968 debut album by the British psychedelic rock group, Status Quo. The album features a large number of covers, including "Green Tambourine" by The Lemon Pipers....
); Lulu
Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
"I'm a Tiger" (1968) and Wilde himself with "Abergavenny" (1968) (also credited to Manston and Gellar, and reissued by Wilde under the pseudonym "Shannon" in 1969)
Wilde and Scott also wrote the words and music to The Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
version of No Trams to Lime Street
No Trams to Lime Street
No Trams to Lime Street is a 1959 British television play, written by the Welsh playwright Alun Owen for the Armchair Theatre anthology series. Produced by the Associated British Corporation for transmission on the ITV network, the play was broadcast on 18 October 1959...
an Alun Owen
Alun Owen
Alun Owen was a British screenwriter, predominantly active in television, but best remembered by a wider audience for writing the screenplay of The Beatles' debut feature film A Hard Day's Night ....
play, broadcast on 18 March 1970.
When The Bystanders evolved into Man
Man (band)
Man are a rock band from South Wales whose style is a mixture of West Coast psychedelia, progressive rock, blues and country-rock. Formed in 1968 as a reincarnation of Welsh rock harmony group ‘’The Bystanders’’, Man are renowned for the extended jams in their live performances, and having had...
, Scott remained their manager, and they recorded up to three demo sessions a week for him, including "Down the Dustpipe
Down the Dustpipe
"Down the Dustpipe" is a song written by Australian singer-songwriter Carl Groszman. He was a client of Valley Music, who were affiliated to Status Quo’s management in their early days. The group recorded it, and in Francis Rossi’s words, “it was the first record to feature our soon-to-be...
" which Scott suggested to Status Quo when they asked for his help.
Man left Scott's management in 1969.
With Steve Wolfe
By 1976 Scott was working with Steve Wolfe as a songwriting and producing team, when they spotted Bonnie TylerBonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
in "The Townsman Club" in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and they became Tyler's managers, songwriters, and producers.
Scott and Wolfe wrote eight out of the ten songs on Tyler's first album The World Starts Tonight
The World Starts Tonight
The World Starts Tonight is the debut album by the Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler released in 1977.With a mixture of country and pop infused in the production, this album led to a future teaming with Jim Steinman after her time with Scott and Wolfe ended....
(1977), which they also produced. The album included "Lost in France
Lost in France
"Lost in France" is a debut single by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, released in 1976 on the RCA Records label #2734. It was written by Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe. The song was included in her debut album The World Starts Tonight in 1977...
", which reached #9 on the UK Singles Chart, and "More Than a Lover" which reached #27.
Tyler's second album It's a Heartache (1978) included five Scott/Wolfe songs including the title track "It's a Heartache" which reached #4 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, although it had already been recorded and published by Juice Newton
Juice Newton
Judith Kay "Juice" Newton is an American Pop music and Country singer, songwriter and guitarist...
in 1977. This song has since been covered by several different musicians, including Dave & Sugar
Dave & Sugar
Dave & Sugar was a pop-styled country music trio that enjoyed its peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. It consisted of lead singer Dave Rowland and initially on backing vocalists, Vicki Hackeman and Jackie Frantz...
, Trick Pony
Trick Pony
Trick Pony was an American country music group. It was formed in 1996 by Keith Burns , Ira Dean , and Heidi Newfield . The group recorded three studio albums: Trick Pony, On a Mission and R.I.D.E., released in 2001, 2002 and 2005, respectively...
, and Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
.
Scott and Wolfe wrote eight of the ten songs on Tyler's Diamond Cut
Diamond Cut
Diamond Cut is the third album released by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler in 1979.The album is a move away from the country style that was on the first two albums and leans towards the pop genre with covers of "Louisiana Rain" and "Bye Bye Now My Sweet Love" among other notable singles.-Track listing:#...
album (1979), and also six of the ten songs on her Goodbye to the Island
Goodbye to the Island
Goodbye to the Island is the fourth album by Bonnie Tyler released in 1981. The track "Sitting on the Edge of the Ocean" was the Grand Prix winner of the Yamaha Music Festival held in Japan in 1979.- Track listing :...
album (1981), including "Sitting on the Edge of the Ocean", which won the "Grand Prix" at the 1979 Yamaha Music Festival
Yamaha Music Festival
The World Popular Song Festival, also known as Yamaha Music Festival and unofficially as the "Oriental Eurovision", was an international song contest held in 1970-1989. It was organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation in Tokyo, Japan from 1970 until 1989...
in Japan.
Bonnie Tyler did not renew her contract with Scott and Wolfe, since she perceived that they "were trying to take her further into country music".