Richard Stilgoe
|
Sir Richard Stilgoe OBE DL |
|
|---|---|
| Birth name | Richard Henry Simpson Stilgoe |
| Born |
28 March 1943 Camberley, Surrey, England. |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter Lyricist Musician |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Website | richardstilgoe |
Sir Richard Henry Simpson Stilgoe OBE DL (born 28 March 1943) is a British songwriter, lyricist and musician, best known for his humorous songs and frequent television appearances. His output includes collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Peter Skellern.
Stilgoe was born in Camberley, Surrey, on 28 March 1943. He was brought up in Liverpool, where, as lead singer of a group called 'Tony Snow and the Blizzards', he performed at the Cavern Club. He was educated at Monkton Combe School in Somerset and at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Cambridge University Footlights.
His son, Joe Stilgoe, is a jazz pianist and vocalist.
In 1966 Stilgoe played Benjamin in the West End musical, Jorrocks. He made his name on the BBC television teatime programme, Nationwide, followed by Esther Rantzen's That's Life!, a light-hearted consumer affairs programme for which he wrote comic songs satirising minor domestic misfortunes, often to the tune of "Oh! Mr Porter". One song was a satire on 'officials' who have, in the name of the song, "Statutory Right of Entry to your Home"; with Stilgoe playing and singing, in barber-shop style, all parts himself using trick photography. His ability to write a song from almost any source material and at speed is part of his cabaret act, which includes singing the instructions from a Swedish payphone; a pastiche of the King's Singers listing the kings and queens of England in which he sings all four parts; and composing a song in the interval from words and musical notes called out by the audience. He has also written and presented BBC radio programmes, including Hamburger Weekend, Used Notes, Stilgoe's Around, Maestro and Richard Stilgoe's Traffic Jam Show on BBC Radio 4.
...
Wikipedia