Gary Osborne (born 1949 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) is an English singer and songwriter. He chaired The Songwriters Executive of the British Academy Of Songwriters Composers and Authors for 12 years during which time he was also chairman of

The Ivor Novello Awards 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 ...

Career

Born in London in 1949, Osborne is the son of the late musical director Tony Osborne. He was educated in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and entered the music industry at the age of 15. As a teenage songwriter Osborne had recordings by

Timi Yuro Rosemary Victoria Yuro (August 4, 1940 – March 30, 2004), known professionally as Timi Yuro, was an American singer-songwriter. Sometimes called "the little girl with the big voice," she is considered to be one of the first blue-eyed soul st ...

, Nana Mouskouri and Val Doonican and at age 17 had his first US chart entry with "On The Other Side" by

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...

, which he wrote with Tom Springfield. Osborne's early career included presenting the 1960s radio show ''Cool Britania'' on the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

and a stint with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

in its A&R department. In the early 1970s, he was active in television jingles, writing and performing hundreds of songs for brands including

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

, Ultra Brite, Shredded Wheat and

Abbey National The Abbey National Building Society was formed in 1944 by the merger of the Abbey Road and the National building societies. It was the first building society in the United Kingdom to demutualise, doing so in July 1989. The bank expanded throu ...

.British Academy of Composers and Songwriters
Retrieved May 2008. Osborne and Paul Vigrass recorded two albums, both produced by

Jeff Wayne Jeffry Wayne (born 1 July 1943) is an American-British composer, musician and lyricist. In 1978, he released ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells' science-fiction novel ''The War of ...

. Their first was ''Queues'', in 1972, containing the hits " Forever Autumn", "Men of Learning" and "Virginia (Be Strong)". Their second and last was ''Steppin' Out'', with the hit "Gypsy Woman". "Men of Learning" peaked at #84 in Australia in 1972. Osborne went on to collaborate with Elton John throughout the 1978 album '' A Single Man'', and on parts of the albums ''

21 at 33 ''21 at 33'' is the fourteenth studio album by English musician Elton John and his 21st album in total, made when John was 33 years old, hence the title. ''21 at 33'' was recorded at Super Bear Studios, Nice, France, in September 1979 and at ...

'', '' The Fox'', '' Jump Up!'' and ''

Leather Jackets A leather jacket is a jacket-length coat that is usually worn on top of other apparel or item of clothing, and made from the tanned hide of various animals. The leather material is typically dyed black, or various shades of brown, but a wide ...

''. The three biggest singles co-written by Elton John and Osborne were "

Part-Time Love "Part-Time Love" is a song written by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Gary Osborne. It is the sixth track off his 1978 album, ''A Single Man''. It is also the opening track of side two. It proved to be one of the most popular singles ...

" from 1978, "

Little Jeannie "Little Jeannie" (spelled "Little Jeanie" on the cover of certain single releases) is a song written by English musician Elton John and Gary Osborne recorded by John, and released as a single in 1980 from John's album ''21 at 33''. It reached n ...

", a U.S. million-seller in 1980, and the worldwide hit " Blue Eyes" from 1982. Osborne was the principal lyricist on the best-selling

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'' is a studio double album by American-born British musician, composer, and record producer Jeff Wayne, released on 9 June 1978 by CBS Records. It is an album musical adapted from the sci ...

'' which has sold in excess of 15 million albums and performed half a dozen sold-out UK arena tours as well as touring in Europe and Australia. Osborne's collaboration with Richard Kerr yielded the US hit "I'm Dreaming" for Jennifer Warnes and "Making The Best of a Bad Situation" for Millie Jackson's ''

Still Caught Up ''Still Caught Up'' is the fifth album by R&B musician Millie Jackson, issued by Spring Records in 1975. It includes the single, "Loving Arms" / "Leftovers." A sequel to Jackson's previous album, '' Caught Up'', which told the story of a woman h ...

'' album, as well as cuts by

Jimmy Helms James D. Helms (born September 27, 1941) is an American soul singer, known as a member of Londonbeat but who also had solo hits such as " Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse". Early years James D. Helms was born in Florida, United States. ...

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 ...

, Peter Cetera, The Edwin Hawkins Singers and

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los ...

. He co-wrote songs for Albert Hammond's album ''Somewhere in America'' (1982). "

I Am the Future "I Am the Future" is a 1982 song by rock musician Alice Cooper. The song was one of two singles released from his 1982 album ''Zipper Catches Skin''. The single did not chart, and despite the advent of MTV at the time a promotional video was not ...

", written with

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

for the soundtrack of the movie ''

Class of 1984 ''Class of 1984'' is a 1982 crime action thriller film directed by Mark Lester and co-written by Tom Holland and John Saxton, based on a story by Holland. The film stars Perry King, Merrie Lynn Ross (who also served as co-executive producer), Tim ...

'', was performed by

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

. Other films featuring Osborne songs include '' My Own Private Idaho'', '' Stardust'', '' Every Day's a Holiday'', '' Summer Lovers'', ''

The Legacy The Legacy may refer to: * '' Le Legs'' or ''The Legacy'', a play by Pierre de Marivaux * The Legacy (professional wrestling), a former professional wrestling faction in World Wrestling Entertainment * ''The Legacy'' (album), an album by Testament ...

'' and '' Oh! Heavenly Dog''. Osborne's credits as a backing vocalist include "Sugar Baby Love" by

The Rubettes The Rubettes are an English pop/glam rock band put together in 1974 after the release of "Sugar Baby Love", a recording assembled of studio session musicians in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, the then head of A&R at Polydor R ...

, "You Can Make Me Dance" by Rod Stewart and The Faces, and "Part-Time Love" by Elton John. More recent work includes the 2006 UK top-3 hit " Checkin' It Out" by

Lil' Chris Christopher James Hardman (26 August 1990 – 23 March 2015), known by the stage name Lil' Chris, was a British singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality from Lowestoft, England. He came to prominence in 2006 after appearing on the ...

References

External links

Allmusic song discography AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

British Academy of Composers and Songwriters article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Gary Living people English male singer-songwriters English lyricists English session musicians British soft rock musicians A&R people 1949 births Date of birth missing (living people)