Mervyn Guy Fletcher (born 21 April 1944) is an English record producer, singer and songwriter who, in partnership with

Doug Flett Douglas Jackson Flett (13 October 1935 – 15 July 2019) was an Australian songwriter based in the UK, best known for his collaborations with longtime songwriting partner, Guy Fletcher. Collectively, the duo have also been known as Fletcher & Fl ...

, wrote several hits for other artists. As a singer, he had a small hit in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and other European countries with the song, "Mary in the Morning" (1971). Fletcher was chairman of

PRS for Music PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes ...

from 1 January 2011 until 31 December 2016.

Life and career

Fletcher was born on 21 April 1944 in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England. He was educated at

Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School ("Beneath the shadow of thy wings") , established= , closed= , type=Grammar School;Academy (English school), Academy , religious_affiliation= , president= , head_label= , head=Eliot Hodges , r_head_label= , r_head= , chair_label=, chair= , founder ...

. He worked as a session singer for the record producer

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

, and as a jazz trumpet player. After deciding to turn to songwriting, he met lyricist Doug Flett in 1966 and their long partnership resulted in writing songs for several international artists. They were the first British writers to have a song recorded by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, when "The Fair's Movin' On" appeared on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of his 1969 single "

Clean Up Your Own Backyard "Clean Up Your Own Backyard" is a 1969 song recorded by Elvis Presley and released as a single. The song was featured in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film '' The Trouble with Girls (and How to Get into It)''. Background Written by Mac Davis and Billy S ...

". Other Presley recordings followed, including " Wonderful World", the opening song in the film, ''

Live a Little, Love a Little ''Live a Little, Love a Little'' is a 1968 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. It was directed by Norman Taurog, who had directed several previous Presley films. This was to be Taurog's final film, as he went blind shortly after p ...

'' and " Just Pretend", featured in ''

That's The Way It Is That's the Way It Is may refer to: *'' Elvis: That's the Way It Is'', a 1970 documentary film about Elvis Presley * ''That's the Way It Is'' (Elvis Presley album), a 1970 album by Elvis Presley * "That's the Way It Is" (Mel and Kim song), a 1988 so ...

''. Fletcher and Flett's first UK Top 10 success was with

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...

' "

I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top "I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top" is a song by rock group the Hollies, released in April 1970 as a single. It peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. Recording and reception "I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top" was recorded at Abbey ...

" (1970), and they also had hits with songs performed by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

, "With the Eyes of a Child", " Sing a Song of Freedom", "

Baby You're Dynamite "Baby You're Dynamite" is a song performed by Cliff Richard and was released as a single in early 1984 in the UK. The song is written by Doug Flett and Guy Fletcher. It first appeared on Richard's 1983 album ''Silver'' and in the UK became the thi ...

" and "

Power to All Our Friends "Power to All Our Friends" is a song by Cliff Richard which was chosen as the entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1973, by a postal vote which was decided by BBC viewers after Richard performed six contending songs on ''A Song For Europe'', fe ...

", which was the UK entry for the

1973 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1973 was the 18th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the with the song " Après toi" by Vicky Leandros. Organised by the E ...

, achieving third place. Their greatest international success was with " Save Me", a No. 6 hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart, when released in 1983 by

Louise Mandrell Thelma Louise Mandrell (born July 13, 1954) is an American country music singer. She is the younger sister of fellow country singer Barbara Mandrell, and older sister of actress Irlene Mandrell. Louise had a successful singing career in country ...

. "Save Me" was also a ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entry for American stars Donna McDaniel and

Merrilee Rush Merrilee Rush ( Gunst; January 26, 1944) is an American singer, best known for her recording of the song "Angel of the Morning", a top-10 hit which earned her a Grammy nomination for female vocalist of the year in 1968. Early life and career ...

in 1977 and was recorded by

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a showbusiness family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on rad ...

for her 1981 album '' Play Me Out''. In 1977 the South-African Band Clout had a hit with it around in Europe (No. 4 in Germany and Switzerland, No. 5 in Belgium, No. 6 in Netherland). Fletcher and Flett also wrote hits for

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

("Is There Anyone Out There"), Tom Jones and

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

Lady Put the Light Out ''Lady Put the Light Out'' is an album by Frankie Valli, released in November 1977 on the Private Stock label. Background, composition and recording Frankie Valli assembled some New York City session players for the album ''Lady Put the Light O ...

") and the

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beat ...

("Dedication"). Fletcher and Flett also discovered, managed and published Chris de Burgh. In 1975, Fletcher, former

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...

guitarist

Al Hodge Albert E. Hodge (April 18, 1912 – March 19, 1979) was an American actor best known for playing space adventurer Captain Video on the DuMont Television Network from December 15, 1950, to April 1, 1955. He played the Green Hornet on radio fro ...

and John Hodkinson formed the

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

trio Rogue, who released several singles, including "Cool Clear Air", "Lay Me Down", "

", "Too Much Too Soon", "One to One", and "Borderline", and three albums. Their song "

Fallen Angel In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said R ...

" was a No. 12 hit in the Netherlands in January 1976;

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

's recording went to No. 11 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in May 1976, before being featured in the Broadway show ''

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of th ...

''. The band disbanded in 1979. In 1985, Fletcher sang vocals on various songs for the BBC Children's TV series '' Bertha''. Fletcher was chairman of

where he had been a director since 1998. He served six years as chairman and was succeeded by Nigel Elderton. Fletcher is chairman and managing director of the rights management company, Commercial Arts Ltd. He was for twelve years the chairman of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, where he led several campaigns against the erosion of composers' rights. He has won many awards including an

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

award in the US and an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

in the UK, Fletcher has also written TV music, songs, commercials and music for the stage. In 2005, he was honoured in HM the Queen's birthday honours list with an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for services to British music.

Family

Fletcher has a nephew, also called

Guy Fletcher Guy Edward Fletcher (born 24 May 1960) is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known for his position as one of the two Keyboard instrument, keyboard players in the rock band Dire Straits from 1984 until the group's dissolution, and his subs ...

, who has been a longtime keyboardist for both

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

and his former band

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

. His children are

Justin Fletcher Justin Fletcher (born 15 June 1970) is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter on the BBC pre-school television channel CBeebies. Speaking and performing in various, often self-created, roles, he specialises in slapstick co ...

, a children's television presenter; Amity Fletcher, a music promoter; Juliette Fletcher, an ITV South news presenter; and Liberty Fletcher, a community nurse.

Discography

* ''Guy Fletcher'' (Philips, 1971) * ''When the Morning Comes'' (Philips, 1972) ;Rogue albums * ''Fallen Angels'' (Epic 69235, 1975) * ''Let It Go'' (Epic 81987, 1977) * ''Would You Let Your Daughter'' (Ariola 5028, 1979)

References

External links

Guyfletcher.com Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Guy 1944 births Living people British soft rock musicians English male singers English record producers English session musicians English songwriters Ivor Novello Award winners Musicians from Hertfordshire Officers of the Order of the British Empire musicians from St Albans People educated at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School