Russ Conway
| Russ Conway | |
|---|---|
 Russ Conway, pictured on the front of his 1959 EP More Party Pops. |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Trevor Herbert Stanford |
| Born | 2 September 1925 Bristol. England |
| Died | 16 November 2000 (aged 75) Eastbourne, England |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Piano |
Russ Conway (2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was a British popular music pianist.[1] Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one hits.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Career
Conway was born Trevor Herbert Stanford in Bristol, England.[2] He had no formal piano training, but won a scholarship to Bristol Cathedral Choir.[2] He was largely self-taught on piano as he whiled away hours as a youngster in a three-year Borstal stay. His father then let him join the Merchant Navy.
Conscripted into the Royal Navy 1942, he served in the Merchant Navy from 1942 to 1948, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal as signalman in a minesweeping flotilla "for distinguished service, efficiency and zeal" in clearance of mines in the Aegean and operations during the relief of Greece 1944-1945. During his Navy service he lost the tip of his 3rd finger right hand while using a bread slicer.[2]. He was discharged on health grounds due to a stomach ulcer.
Conway was talent-spotted while playing in a London club, signed to EMI's Columbia label and spent the mid 1950s providing backing for artists on their roster, including Gracie Fields and Joan Regan.[2] He recorded his first solo single "Party Pops" in 1957, a "medley of standard songs"[2] which included "Roll the Carpet Up" and "The Westminster Waltz".
Between 1957 and 1963 Conway had 20 U.K. chart hits, achieving a cumulative total of 83 weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1959 alone.[1] This included two self-penned number one instrumentals, "Side Saddle" and "Roulette", the latter deposing Elvis Presley's "A Fool Such As I". He was a fixture on light entertainment TV shows and radio for many years afterwards, appearing at the London Palladium on a number of occasions[2] and becoming a regular on The Billy Cotton Band Show for several seasons.
His career was blighted by ill health, including a nervous breakdown and subsequently a stroke which preventing him from performing between 1968 and 1971.[2] He also at times drank heavily and smoked up to 80 cigarettes a day. He was prescribed anti-depressants and had periods of severe self-doubt. But he kept up playing. Having being diagnosed with stomach cancer in the late 1980s, he founded in 1990, along with his friend writer and broadcaster Richard Hope-Hawkins, the Russ Conway Cancer Fund and they staged charity gala shows in major theatres that raised thousands of pounds for cancer charities.[citation needed]
He appeared as himself in French and Saunders' 1994 Christmas special, playing "I Like It" in their spoof of The Piano.[3]
Conway, who never married, died on 16 November 2000.[4] Richard Hope-Hawkins delivered the main eulogy at Conway's funeral held at the historic St Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol. Elton John sent a wreath. In 2001 Hope-Hawkins devised, staged and directed a tribute to Conway at the Colston Hall, Bristol with an all-star cast. The £11,000 raised by the event was donated to St Peter's Hospice, Bristol.
[edit] Discography
[edit] LPs
- Pack Up Your Troubles (1958) - UK Albums Chart #9
- Songs To Sing In Your Bath (1959) - UK #8
- Family Favourites (1959) - UK #3
- Time To Celebrate (1959) - UK #3
- My Concerto For You (1960) - UK #5
- Party Time (1960) - UK #7
- At The Cinema (1961)
- Russ Conway Presents 24 Piano Greats (1977) - UK #25
[edit] Singles
UK singles with highest position in the UK Singles Chart
- "Party Pops" (1957) #24
- "Got a Match" (1958) #30
- "More Party Pops" (1958) #10
- "The World Outside" (1959) #24
- "Side Saddle" (1959) #1
- "Roulette" (1959) #1
- "China Tea" (1959) #5
- "Snow Coach" (1959) #7
- "More And More Party Pops" (1959) #5
- "Royal Event" (1960) #15
- "Fings Ain't Wot They Used To Be" (1960) #47
- "Lucky Five" (1960) #14
- "Passing Breeze" (1960) #16
- "Even More Party Pops" (1960) #27
- "Pepe" (1961) #19
- "Pablo" (1961) #45
- "Say It With Flowers" (1961) #23
- "Toy Balloons" (1961) #7
- "Lesson One" (1962) #21
- "Always You And Me" (1962) #33
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 118/9. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g Larkin C 'Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music' (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) ISBN 0-7535-0149-X p125
- ^ "1994 Christmas Special". French and Saunders. G.O.L.D.. 24 April 2009.
- ^ GRO Register of Deaths NOV 2000 C48E 22 EASTBOURNE. DoB = 02 Sep 1925
