This Is Your Life: Matt Monro

Matt MONRO (1930-1985)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Matt Monro, singer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the London cabaret venue Talk Of The Town, having been led to believe he was there for a press photo shoot to mark his 21 years in show business.

Matt first began singing in his local dance halls around north London, and later entered talent contests while stationed in Hong Kong during his National Service. After de-mob, he returned to London where he met pianist Winifred Atwell, who became a mentor and recommended him to her own recording company, Decca, who offered him a contract.

Initial sales were moderate, but his lucky break came when he met EMI producer George Martin who signed him for the Parlophone label, with whom Matt achieved UK chart success with such hits as Portrait of My Love and My Kind Of Girl. He later achieved wider fame with the recording of the theme tunes to two highly successful films, From Russia with Love and Born Free.

"Oh god Eamonn! I love your uniform Eamonn!"

programme details...

Edition No: 462
Subject No: 459
Broadcast date: Wed 23 Mar 1977
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Wed 16 Mar 1977
Venue: Euston Road Studios
Series: 17
Edition: 22
Code name: Carpet

on the guest list...

Mickie - wife
Val Doonican
Michele - daughter
Matthew - son
Mitchell - son
Harry - brother
Arthur - brother
Ray - brother
Alice - sister
Len Farnell
Ken Brown
Harry Leader
Matt White
Don Black
George Martin
Mike Winters
Bernie Winters
The Bachelors
Sammy Davis Jr
Bing Rodriguez
Winifred Atwell
Frankie Vaughan

production team...

Researcher: John Viner
Writer: John Sandilands
Directors: Terry Yarwood, Anthony Parker
Producer: Jack Crawshaw

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

with thanks to Michele Monro for her contribution to this page

related pages...

A Song For Life

it's the singer not the song

Titles and Music

the iconic titles and theme tunes

Don Black

Val Doonican

Frankie Vaughan

Mike and Bernie Winters

Screenshots of Matt Monro This Is Your Life

Michele Monro recalls this edition of This Is Your Life, in her book, Matt Monro: The Singer's Singer, reproduced here with kind permission of the author...

Matt was about to open his five-week run at the Talk of the Town for his seventh season at the London venue. After weeks of rehearsal, Robert Nesbitt's revue Razzle Dazzle was now ready, with a cast of forty taking the audience on a sensational musical fantasy. Early afternoon saw final rehearsals taking place centre stage. Matt was celebrating his 21st year in show business and a photographic shoot, complete with showgirls, was booked to capture the moment when Eamonn Andrews, dressed as a chef, surprised him with his famous Red Book.

In a small open plan office at Teddington Studios, a highly covert operation was being planned. Room 226 is no ordinary workplace; it is the nerve centre of This is Your Life, one of television's most successful shows. The focus is a large conference table in the centre of the room where production staff converge for script meetings and in-depth discussions with their targets.

Candidate selection was down to associate producer, John Graham. His decision was then passed to the research teams who analysed mountains of data on their subject, filtering out anything relevant. The phone lines were constantly jammed, used as a tracking machine to hunt down friends, relatives and old acquaintances with the photocopier and fax machines constantly bleeding information. The team's ultimate objective was to distil thousands of pieces of information and shape the pages of the famous Big Red Book. Such was the level of security, each subject was given a codename and referred to by it throughout the process, which was only revealed on the closing credits of the programme.

Meetings were arranged and permission sought to make the 'hit'. Usually it was a wife, husband or close family member that was contacted and sworn to secrecy. That confidante's collaboration was crucial to the show's success as they were ultimately responsible for supplying the list of people they felt should be included in the programme and granting access to private photographs, press cuttings and cine footage. Not every guest was available for the live feed and in that instance a film crew would be dispatched to gather that all-important message for the small screen.

The day of transmission started with a script conference. Camera operators tested equipment, spare bodies were used for dummy shots, cues timed, filmed inserts examined and the floor manager ensuring everyone was happy. Finally the studio control room were ready and a break for lunch was called. A second crew and its director were readied for dispatch to film the pick-up and, while Eamonn Andrews was en-route to spring his big surprise, two additional rehearsals took place. The first involved a run through, with the scriptwriter standing in for Eamonn Andrews, and the second took place with guests who had gradually been arriving over the last hour. They rehearsed their entrances and exits before visiting the make-up room. A real sense of excitement grew as they dressed for their big moment and everyone waited anxiously for the official call confirming that the special guest was en-route.

Having led their 'mark' to a luxury trailer, champagne was served to steady the nerves. The studio control room was given the pre-arranged signal and a button pushed to start the VT rolling, so the guests and the studio audience could see the moment Eamonn Andrews sprung his surprise with the Big Red Book. As the signature theme tune filled the studio, the famous presenter walked onto the set with his subject. 1505 seconds later, the show was a thing of the past and after all the months of meticulous planning, tattered first-run scripts and discarded paper piles could be archived in the vaults of Thames Television.

Once Mickie had given permission for her husband to be the target of the programme, the production team sprung into action. With Matt away so often, she liked to spend all her time with him when he was home, but suddenly she was disappearing for meetings with the crew. There were hushed phone calls and on several occasions when Matt answered the phone, it went dead in his hands. His suspicions were raised. Mickie, without divulging why, roped her dressmaker into the plot to act as an alibi. Mickie didn't want anything to jeopardise the surprise, as the production staff were adamant that should Matt stumble upon the truth, the programme would be cancelled.

"Matt's codename was 'carpet'. I was so excited that he had been picked for the programme but it was very difficult hiding the truth. Even though there was a valid reason I felt awful lying to him and deep down I worried that he might be cross with me for agreeing to the programme. I didn't tell a soul, even though I was dying to, but my main concern was that the surprise didn't get out." - Mickie Monro.

Thames Television had previously made contact with Rosalyn Wilder, explaining they wanted to film the opening sequence of the show at the London venue. The photo shoot was a ploy to lure the singer into the venue early. Rosalyn was left to organise the finer details and ensure Matt was in the auditorium at the exact time, but that proved to be rather difficult. Mickie arranged for one of Matt's friends to ask him to lunch at the Curzon Club so he'd be safely out of the way whilst she and the children went to the studios. At 1.15pm, while en-route to the restaurant, Matt decided to pick up some new music from his dressing room to run through at lunch. With Thames rehearsing in the auditorium, Rosalyn was standing by the box office explaining the filming schedule to the staff when the face of one of the girls turned a strange colour. Matt had just walked through the door and was looking for someone to explain to him why he'd been refused entry at the stage door. Rosalyn, thinking on her feet, said that a television company was shooting a commercial and had paid a lot of money on the understanding that no one had access except the film crew. She offered to try and get the item for him, but he said he'd rather do it himself and asked when he could come back. She stumbled through the conversation, mumbling a pre-arranged time of 4.00pm and was relieved when Matt took his leave, albeit not in the greatest of moods.

It was a very close call. What Matt didn't know was that by 1.00pm Thames Television had already commandeered the cabaret room. Eamonn Andrews, with a specially crafted twenty-first anniversary cake, was to make his entrance dressed as a chef on the scenic bridge, which would be lowered to the floor during the photo shoot. The crew were testing all the electronic equipment, and if Matt had walked in on proceedings the game would have been up.

Mickie and the children arrived at the studios and were anxiously waiting in the Green Room for news that the 'surprise' had been successful. The hospitality suite was full of family and friends, which was a nerve-racking time for everyone. One guest was given special permission to turn up later and that was because he had flown several thousands of miles to attend. A black stretch limousine pulled up at Euston Road and out of it emerged a small wiry black man flanked by two burly six-foot white bodyguards. The scene would have been nearly absurd, if the diminutive entertainer hadn't commanded so much respect. After all, it wasn't often you were in the presence of Sammy Davis Jr. Entering the revolving doors a runner stood to attention and at exactly the right moment he handed the superstar a long tall glass of Dubonet and soda. It was the ultimate accolade that Sammy thought this event important enough to fly in for.

Matt's photo shoot was well under way. He was surrounded by a bevy of beautiful showgirls and his music was being played through the in-house entertainment system. The singer was oblivious to the activity above him and on signal the floating platform was lowered. Eamonn Andrews made his entrance, carrying the Big Red Book, and uttered those momentous words: "Tonight Matt Monro – This Is Your Life". Several cars raced across London to the studios where everyone was waiting. Matt made his entrance to rousing applause, and was completely bowled over by the event. It was the first time all his relatives had been together in years, and as well as Michele and Matthew, his eldest son Mitchell was there to complete the family picture.

Throughout the show, many stars gave their testimony about how Matt had touched their lives. Val Doonican explained that he'd been a fan since he'd been a lad and said Matt brought real class to the English pop scene. He remembered they'd been working in a TV studio in Manchester with PJ Proby. As soon as they'd finished they wanted to jump in a taxi, head for the airport and hotfoot it back to London, but that seemed unlikely due to the huge crowds outside the stage door. When the commissioner opened the door the kids all started screaming and surging forward, waving autographs books in the air. When the fans saw who was coming, one shouted "Don't worry; it's nobody good, just Val Doonican and Matt Monro."

Ken Brown welcomed his old army mate and Harry Leader told how he had taken the young Terry Parsons on as a singer with his band many years ago. Filmed tributes from Winifred Atwell, Bing Rodriguez and Frankie Vaughan were emotional for Matt, even more so when Bing Rodriguez walked through the double doors to give his old mate a big hug. Bing had never travelled outside Hong Kong before, and it was a thrill of a lifetime to share the stage with his friend again. It meant so much to the bandleader that he was near tears.

"I was due to do a Boys Club Tour in Cornwall eighteen months previously but was taken rather ill. Matt rang my wife Stella and told her "Tell the silly sod to stay in bed, I'll do the rest of the tour" and he did. It was a wonderful gesture and one I didn't forget." - Frankie Vaughan

Matt White flew twelve thousand miles from Australia to explain how Matt had borrowed half his name and Don Black reminded everyone of the hard times in the early days. The man who produced Matt's first hit, George Martin, flew in from America to pay his tribute to his old recording star. Of course the programme wouldn't have been complete without a splattering of hugs and embarrassing stories from Mike and Bernie Winters and The Bachelors who told of Matt's golfing prowess. But there was still one person left to come. Sammy Davis Jr, who'd recorded an LP of tributes to his favourite singers and dedicated the song My Kind of Girl to the man who'd made it famous, came striding through those famous doors.

"I wanted to pay my respects to Matt from one performer to another, even though we live on different sides of the water. We became friends and the real reason I forgave him for singing so good was because I'm taller than him." – Sammy Davis Jr

After the credits rolled, the guests made their way to the Green Room, but unfortunately Matt couldn't stay for his own party since he was due on stage at the Talk of the Town. Instead, he invited several people to the venue to watch his show. Rosalyn arranged a table for Matt's unexpected guests and while Mickie played host, her husband went backstage to get ready for his performance. There was an excited buzz in the air as the audience patiently waited for the singer to make his entrance. On Mickie's table, family and friends were happily talking about the day's events when suddenly Matt's brother Arthur collapsed and slumped across the table. An ambulance was called while those around tried their best not to panic. Arthur was taken to Westminster Hospital, where it was confirmed that he had suffered a heart attack and was in a critical, though stable condition. Matt, totally unaware of the events that had taken place, walked on to rapturous applause and gave a stupendous performance. Mickie had thought it better not to tell Matt about Arthur until after the show. Over the week Arthur was in hospital, Matt made sure to visit him several times.

Michele Monro, daughter of Matt Monro, recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in this exclusive contribution to the BigRedBook website...

Mum didn't tell my brother or I anything about the programme until the day before, as she couldn't afford for the news to be leaked out, so the less people who knew the better. As it was I wanted to ring everyone in the world and tell them that my dad was going to be pounced on by Eamonn Andrews. It really was difficult to suppress my excitement and in retrospect I think mum was wise not to have told us in advance. The only thing I was upset about was the fact there wasn't time to shop for a new outfit.

I remember getting to the studio and the hive of activity made the buzz in the air taut with suspense, and we were all holding our breath that the surprise would work and that dad wouldn't cotton on. I remember when Sammy (Davis Jr) walked in to the studios. His limousine drew up at the curb and he stepped out flanked by two white six footers. It looked so funny as Sammy was very small. The threesome strode in through the revolving doors which again caused much laughter as all three couldn't get into the one compartment, and the security men were trying to decide if it was safe to let Sammy go through on his own! Once into the building there was a man waiting to hand Mr Davis what looked to be a large long glass of Ribena, but I later found out it was Dubonet and soda. His entrance was electric, the man had such presence and the whole studio was in a tizzy. It was quite incredible that a star of Sammy's magnitude would fly to England just for this occasion and fly in he did; 24 hours later he was on his way back to the States.

The whole day was wonderful and watching dad's face on the monitors they had hooked up for us was classic, he really got duped. To be honest the whole thing flew by, as it was filmed live in those days and I felt as if the whole thing was a dream. I was swollen with pride knowing that all these wonderful people had just come to acknowledge dad's life and achievements, you can't ask for more than that. It was interesting that while researching for the book I wrote 'The Singer's Singer – The Life and Music of Matt Monro' I couldn't find one person in more than two hundred that had anything negative to say about dad, he was genuinely loved and admired in the business for being a nice guy as well as a massive talent.

The only negative on the whole thing was that we couldn't stay for the after-show-party as dad had to go to work. He was actually opening at the Talk of the Town that night and that couldn't be ignored. When I think that there were people there that dad hadn't seen for years, especially Bing Rodriguez. He had flown out of Hong Kong just for the show, and he would have loved to have spent more time with the guy he most loved and admired. He had never flown in his life before and spent most of the time in tears. He was so overwhelmed by what was going on, it was very touching.

All in all a marvellous accolade and one that can be looked back on with fondness. In one way it would have been nicer if it had been filmed a few months later because on watching the show back, dad noticed how puffy his eyes looked (he did have large bags below his eyes) and had cosmetic surgery to correct it. It wasn't that he was vain but it was a procedure that really took ten years off him. Mind you he was always my knight in white armour, whatever he looked like.

Series 17 subjects