Russ Conway
| Russ Conway | |
|---|---|
Russ Conway in 1962
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Trevor Herbert Stanford |
| Born |
2 September 1925 Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, UK |
| Died | 16 November 2000 (aged 75) Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Labels | Columbia (EMI), Pye, MusicMedia, Churchill |
Russ Conway DSM (2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one hits.
Conway was born Trevor Herbert Stanford in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. He won a scholarship to Bristol Cathedral Choir School and was largely self-taught on piano as he whiled away hours as a youngster during a three-year term in borstal. His father then let him join the Merchant Navy.
Conscripted into the Royal Navy during the Second World War in 1942, he served in the Merchant Navy from 1942 to 1948, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal as signalman in a minesweeping flotilla "for distinguished service, efficiency and zeal" in clearance of mines in the Aegean and operations during the relief of Greece 1944–45. During his Navy service, he lost the tip of the third finger of his right hand while using a bread slicer. He was discharged on health grounds because of a stomach ulcer.
Conway was talent-spotted while playing in a London club, signed to EMI's Columbia label and spent the mid-1950s providing backing for artists on their roster, including Gracie Fields and Joan Regan. He recorded his first solo single "Party Pops" in 1957, a "medley of standard songs" which included "Roll the Carpet Up" and "The Westminster Waltz".
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