Matt Monro is celebrated in son's show

Matt Monro can arguably lay claim to being Britain's biggest musical export of all time. Indeed he is still hailed as the biggest non-Hispanic artist in the world.
Matt Monro JrMatt Monro Jr
Matt Monro Jr

So there should be keen interest in his son’s show The Matt Monro Story: The Singer’s Singer which visits Chesterfield’s Pomegranate Theatre on April 7.

matt Monro clocked up a staggering 100 million sales in his lifetime and was dubbed ‘The singer’s singer” and “The man with the golden voice” clocked up a staggering 100 million sales in his lifetime.

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He was the first singer ever to sing on a James Bond film (From Russia With Love) and he contributed the score to that best loved of films, The Italian Job.

In the Philippines alone his version of “My Way” sold eight million copies outselling Sinatra’s by a country mile - Frank sold a mere 300,000. Beatlemania had nothing on his reception over there (and even today his son still receives a hero’s welcome).

Produced throughout his career by Sir George Martin, in the 1960s and 70s Matt Monro’s hits encompassed some of the greatest popular music ever. From Russia With Love, the Impossible Dream, Portrait Of My Love, Softly As I Leave You, Walk Away, My Kind Of Girl, Yesterday, Gonna Build A Mountain…. just some of the songs that made him a household name. And then, of course, there was Born Free.

Born Free was the song that firmly established Matt Monro in the hearts of the young and the old alike. Its opening notes forever conjured up a time and place – African plains, endangered lions, the film with actress Virginia McKenna… The smooth mellifluous voice of Matt became synonymous with Born Free and the song was, and still is, a huge iconic song in Africa.

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Now Matt Monro Jr pays tribute to his legendary father with a new CD, “A Father’s Legacy” and a new show, The Matt Monro Story: One Voice. Encapsulating not just the story of his Dad’s rags-to-riches life it gives a unique insight into the man himself.

The journey of this boy who couldn’t read or write, and yet had to support his family, is told in loving detail by his son giving a glimpse into what it was like growing up in the Monro household. Video clips, home movies, even sequences where Matt Jr duets with his Dad, all play a part in this celebration of the life and legacy of Matt Monro.

Informative, entertaining and hugely enjoyable, this is one big event not to be missed.

Tickets £23. Contact 01246 345222 or www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk

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