David Courtney (born David Cohen, 1950,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, East Sussex) is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. Courtney's first big break was as a songwriter with

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. A teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with "What Do You Want?" (1959) and "Poo ...

and

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

; Courtney co-wrote several hit songs with them (including "

Giving it All Away "Giving It All Away" is the debut solo single by Roger Daltrey, the lead singer of The Who. The song was written by the then unknown Leo Sayer with David Courtney. Adam Faith and David Courtney produced the track. The song was the first sing ...

", recorded by both Sayer and

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

) and he co-produced Faith's 1974 album, ''I Survive''. He released one album of his own on

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

in 1974 entitled ''David Courtney's First Day'' which had some success on both sides of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, and peaked at number 194 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Courtney did not release any further material until 2005, when some of his unreleased material, including a 1980 studio album, was released on

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

label The White Room. As a producer, Courtney has also worked with musicians such as

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

and

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

. In September 2015, Courtney celebrated his 50th anniversary in music with the release of his ''Anthology'' album on Angel Air Records. In 2002, Courtney was responsible for introducing the first Walk of Fame cultural attraction in the UK, located in

. In September 2015 Courtney joined forces with The National Football Museum and sports artist Paul Trevillion to announce the world's first Football Walk of Fame, which would be launched in Cathedral Square, Manchester. Courtney was awarded Russia's Tsarskoselskaya Artistic Premium of 2016, as a composer and producer of the 2016 album ''Matinee'', a collaboration between Courtney and Russian singer

Marina Kapuro A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

. Courtney is the first British composer to receive the award.

Discography

*''David Courtney's First Day'' (United Artists, 1974) *''Shooting Star'' (The White Room, 2005) *''Midsummer Madness'' (White Room, 2005) *''Here's One I Made Earlier'' (White Room, 2006) *''The Show Must Go On'' (Yellow & White, 2010) *''The Truth Behind the Music'' 'audiobiography' (Whiteroom, 2011)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, David 1950 births Living people British male singer-songwriters British record producers People from Brighton