Tony Hatch - The GREAT !

Tony Hatch (born Anthony Peter Hatch, 30 June 1939, Pinner, Middlesex, England) is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger, and producer. Allmusic journalist, Richie Unterberger, states "Hatch had success in various segments of the entertainment industry from the 1960s onwards, but he will be best remembered for his work as a producer and songwriter for several British pop and rock stars in the 1960s. As a staff producer at Pye Records, Hatch worked with The Searchers, Petula Clark, his wife Jackie Trent and on several mid 1960s singles by David Bowie, long before that singer had become famous. Hatch's productions boasted a clean and well-arranged sound that, particularly on his collaborations with Petula Clark, displayed some traces of mainstream pop and Broadway.



Encouraged by his musical abilities, his mother — also a pianist — enrolled him in the London Choir School in Bexley, Kent when he was ten. Instead of continuing at the Royal Academy of Music, he left school in 1955 and found a job with Robert Mellin Music in London's Tin Pan Alley.

Before long, he was writing songs and making a name for himself within the music industry, joining the Rank Organisation's new diskery, Top Rank Records; there he worked for the once and future Decca Records A&R man Dick Rowe. When National Service called him away from his chosen profession, he managed to become involved with the band of the Coldstream Guards. On his return in 1959, Hatch began his own recording career with a cover version of Russ Conway's piano instrumental, "Side Saddle". In 1960, Garry Mills' recording of Hatch's composition "Look For A Star", appeared in the soundtrack to the horror film, Circus of Horrors,[3] and became a Top 10 hit in the UK for Top Rank. Four versions of the song charted simultaneously in the United States, including Mills' original and a version by 'Gary Miles' (a recording pseudonym of a future member of The Crickets, Buzz Cason). Top Rank, despite some worldwide success with artists such as Jack Scott and The Fireballs, ultimately was done in by a quirky distribution arrangement with EMI. A swift succession of events ensued through 1961. Top Rank was sold to EMI, briefly operated as a subsidiary, with hits by John Leyton, and shuttered, with its artist roster transferred to other EMI labels. Hatch moved on to a part-time job with Pye Records, where he assisted his new mentor, Alan A. Freeman, with the recording of "Sailor", a #1 hit for Petula Clark. In October 1962, Hatch made his own foray in the UK Singles Chart with "Out Of This World".

Hatch continued to write songs for Pye artists, sometimes under the pseudonym 'Mark Anthony'. In 1963, Philadelphia teen idol Bobby Rydell hit the charts with "Forget Him", written and produced by Hatch, who went on to produce, arrange and write for other American stars such as Keely Smith, Connie Francis and Pat Boone. In 1964 he wrote (under the pseudonym of 'Fred Nightingale') The Searchers' hit "Sugar and Spice". His most significant role in 1960s British rock music was as producer during the Searchers' 1963-66 commercial prime, a span which saw them have their biggest hits. The Searchers' records boasted well-balanced vocal harmonies and melodic guitars, sometimes played on 12-string models, that at their most progressive anticipated the jangle that would become a prime feature of folk rock.