David William Heneker (31 March 1906 – 30 January 2001) was a writer and composer of British popular music and musicals, best known for creating the music and

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

for ''

Half a Sixpence ''Half a Sixpence'' is a 1963 musical comedy based on the 1905 novel ''Kipps'' by H. G. Wells, with music and lyrics by David Heneker and a book by Beverley Cross. It was written as a vehicle for British pop star Tommy Steele. Background ...

''.

Life and career

Heneker was born in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

, England, in March 1906, the eldest son of the Canadian-born

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

William Heneker General Sir William Charles Giffard Heneker, (22 August 1867 – 24 May 1939) was a Canadian soldier who served with the British Army in West Africa, India, and then later on the Western Front during the First World War. A notable military str ...

, a notable military strategist and tactician, who would later serve with distinction in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, rising to the rank of General. Educated at

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

and Sandhurst, Heneker followed his father into a military career. He served as a cavalry officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

from 1925 to 1937, and again in the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

from 1939 to 1948, attaining the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

. He became drawn to a second career in music after becoming familiar with the score of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's ''

Bitter Sweet Bittersweet, bitter-sweet, or bitter sweet may refer to: Biology * A vine in the nightshade family, ''Solanum dulcamara'' * Some species of vines in the genus ''Celastrus'', including American bittersweet (''C. scandens'') and Oriental bitters ...

'' while recuperating from a riding accident in 1934. His first published song was performed by Merle Oberon in the film '' The Broken Melody''. Among his compositions was the

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

wartime hit "

The Thing-Ummy Bob "The Thing-ummy-Bob hat's Going To Win The War is a 1942 song, written by Gordon Thompson with music by David Heneker, which celebrates the female production-line workers of World War II making components for complex weapons to win the war. I ...

". After resigning his commission in 1948, he became a

lounge singer Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The rang ...

at the Embassy Club, while continuing his songwriting. In 1958, the writer

Wolf Mankowitz Cyril Wolf Mankowitz (7 November 1924 – 20 May 1998) was an English writer, playwright and screenwriter. He is particularly known for three novels— ''Make Me an Offer'' (1952), '' A Kid for Two Farthings'' (1953) and ''My Old Man's a Dustma ...

invited Heneker to work with him and

Monty Norman Monty Norman (''né'' Noserovitch; 4 April 1928 – 11 July 2022) was a British composer, musician and singer. A contributor to West End musicals in the 1950s and 1960s, he is best known for composing the " James Bond Theme", first heard in t ...

on the score of '' Expresso Bongo'', and, from that point on, Heneker turned his talents to the musical theatre, producing a series of West End hit shows. The same year, he contributed the English lyrics to the 1956

Marguerite Monnot Marguerite Monnot (28 May 1903 – 12 October 1961) was a French songwriter and composer best known for having written many of the songs performed by Édith Piaf ("Milord", " Hymne à l'amour") and for the music in the stage musical '' Irma La ...

French musical '' Irma La Douce''. The show transferred to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

two years later and was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

. After collaborating again with Norman on ''Make Me An Offer'' in 1959, Heneker saw his greatest West End triumphs with the full score to the Tommy Steele vehicle ''

'' (1963) and a collaboration with John Taylor on '' Charlie Girl'' (1965). ''Half a Sixpence'' gave him his second Broadway success, this time earning two Tony Award nominations, for Best Musical and Best Original Score, while ''Charlie Girl'' enjoyed a five-year West End run. He was the first British writer to have two shows on Broadway which ran for more than 500 performances. ''Jorrocks'' (1966) and ''Popkiss'' (1972) were less successful, but he returned to form in his mid-seventies with ''

The Biograph Girl ''The Biograph Girl'' is a musical with a book by Warner Brown, lyrics by Brown and David Heneker, and music by Heneker. Its plot focuses on the silent film era and five pioneers of American cinema - actresses Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish, di ...

'' in 1980, collaborating on this occasion with Warner Brown. His final musical, 1984's ''Peg'', a musical version of the 1913 comedy ''Peg O' My Heart'', was less successful.

West End theatrical credits

* '' Expresso Bongo'' (1958) – composer, lyricist (jointly with

) * '' Irma La Douce'' (1958) – lyricist * ''Make Me an Offer'' (1959) – composer, lyricist (jointly with

) * ''The Art of Living'' (1960) – composer, lyricist (jointly with

) * ''

'' (1963) – composer, lyricist * '' Charlie Girl'' (1965) – composer, lyricist (jointly with John Taylor) * ''Jorrocks'' (1966) – composer, lyricist * ''Phil the Fluter'' (1969) – composer, lyricist * ''Popkiss'' (1972) – composer, lyricist * ''

'' (1980) – composer, lyricist (jointly with Warner Brown) * ''Peg'' (1984) – composer, lyricist

Work on Broadway

*'' Irma La Douce'' (1960) – Tony nomination for Best Musical 1961 *''

'' (1965) – Tony nominations for Best Musical and Best Original Score 1965

Sources

Who's Who in Musicals

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heneker, David 1906 births 2001 deaths English musical theatre composers English male composers English musical theatre lyricists English songwriters People from Southsea Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army brigadiers 20th-century British male musicians British male songwriters