Guy Fletcher (songwriter)
| Guy Fletcher | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mervyn Guy Fletcher |
| Born | 1944 (age 72–73) St Albans, Hertfordshire, England |
| Genres | Pop music |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter |
| Years active | 1960s-present |
| Website | Guyfletcher.com |
Mervyn Guy Fletcher OBE (born 1944) is an English songwriter who, in partnership with Doug Flett, wrote several hits for other artists. As a singer, he had a small hit in the Netherlands and other European countries with the song, "Mary in the Morning" (1971).
Fletcher is chairman of PRS for Music (formerly the Performing Right Society).
Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, Fletcher was educated at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School.
He worked as a session singer for the record producer Joe Meek, 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, when "The Fair's Movin' On" appeared on the B-side of his 1969 single "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard". Other Presley recordings followed, including "Wonderful World", the opening song in the film, Live a Little, Love a Little and "Just Pretend", featured in That's The Way It Is.
Fletcher and Flett's first UK Top 10 success was with The Hollies' "I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top" (1970), and they also had hits with songs performed by Cliff Richard, "With the Eyes of a Child", "Sing a Song of Freedom", "Baby You're Dynamite" and "Power to All Our Friends", which was the UK entry for the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest, achieving third place.
Their greatest international success was with "Save Me", a No. 6 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, when released in 1983 by Louise Mandrell. "Save Me" was also a Billboard Hot 100 entry for American stars Donna McDaniel and Merrilee Rush in 1977 and was recorded by Helen Reddy for her 1981 album Play Me Out. Fletcher and Flett also wrote hits for Ray Charles ("Is There Anyone Out There"),Tom Jones and Joe Cocker ("Lady Put the Light Out") and the Bay City Rollers ("Dedication"). Fletcher and Flett also discovered, managed and published Chris de Burgh.
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