Norman Newell (25 January 1919 – 1 December 2004) was an English record producer and lyricist, who was mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also the co-writer of many notable songs. As an A&R manager for EMI, he worked with musicians such as Shirley Bassey, Dalida, Claude François, Vera Lynn, Russ Conway, Bette Midler, Judy Garland, Petula Clark, Jake Thackray, Malcolm Roberts, Bobby Crush and Peter and Gordon.
Newell was particularly known for his recorded productions of West End musicals. His songs have been covered by Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion and Aretha Franklin.
Newell's early life was marred by illness, with scarlet fever forcing him to miss his eleven-plus examination. He aspired to be an actor, but expected to work for London Transport. Despite doing well in poetry and English at his Plaistow secondary school, he left at the age of 14, and took a job at the offices of the local bus garage in Upton Park. (composed by Nini Oliviero and Riz Ortolani) and Bassey's "This Is My Life" ("La vita", written by Antonio Amurri and Bruno Canfora). Commenting on the latter, Bassey said that "Norman knows more about me than I do." "Monday Morning Again" ("Le Lundi au Soleil", by Claude François) and "Never, Never, Never" ("Grande grande grande"), which was a hit for Bassey in 1973. With the composer Philip Green, he co-wrote the United Kingdom's 1963 Eurovision Song Contest entry, "Say Wonderful Things", recorded by Ronnie Carroll. The song was later recorded in the United States by Patti Page.
He wrote the English lyrics to the German song "Sailor", a number one UK hit for Petula Clark and a top ten hit for Anne Shelton in 1961. In 1964, Newell produced Peter and Gordon's number one UK hit "A World Without Love", which also topped the charts in the United States and several other countries. The song "Forget Domani", from the film The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), with lyrics by Newell to music by Riz Ortolani, won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
Newell wrote English-language lyrics to "The White Rose of Athens" for Nana Mouskouri, and Vicky Leandros's 1972 Eurovision Song Contest winning entry, "Après toi" ("Come What May"). "Come What May" reached No. 2 on the UK and Republic of Ireland singles charts in 1972.
In his later years, Newell penned lyrics to Pietro Mascagni's "Intermezzo" from Cavalleria rusticana. The song, entitled "Pray For Love", was recorded by Vince Hill.
Newell was an early influence on lyricist Gary Osborne: the latter knew Newell through family connections.
His numerous contacts in the music publishing industry in the United Kingdom assisted EMI in securing the rights for British recordings of cast albums for many American shows opening in London.
Later career
Newell continued working as a producer into the 1980s, including on Shirley Bassey's Gold selling album I Am What I Am, recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra.
He also wrote the English lyrics for the 1983 Julio Iglesias recording of "Hey", which featured in the Platinum selling album Julio.
He also produced several cast recordings of West End musicals for First Night Records: Seven Brides For Seven Brothers – Original London Cast (1986), Annie Get Your Gun – 1986 London Cast (starring Suzi Quatro and Eric Flynn), Kiss Me, Kate – 1987 Royal Shakespeare Company Cast (starring Paul Jones, Nichola McAuliffe and Fiona Hendley), and South Pacific – 1988 London Cast (starring Gemma Craven and Emile Belcourt). George Martin said of Newell that he "always wanted to be a Stephen Sondheim," but noted that "his main strength came from his ability to handle big showbiz entertainers."
Newell retired in 1990. However, he continued to write lyrics, and his final works were with Les Reed.
Personal life and death
Newell, who was gay, lived in Rustington, West Sussex. After a series of debilitating strokes, he was moved to a local nursing home. He died on 1 December 2004, aged 85.