Michael Julien (1 August 1927 – 29 December 2020), also known as Peter Warne, was a British songwriter, who was the co-writer of a number of

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

songs around the world. He wrote the lyrics of " Let's Live for Today", and co-wrote both " Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me", and " Boom Bang-a-Bang", the winning song at the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest. He received an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been ...

for songwriting. He also practised as a psychotherapist.

Early career

Julien trained and qualified as a solicitor, but never practised. Instead, he trained and practised as a

hypnotherapist Hypnotherapy is a type of mind–body intervention in which hypnosis is used to create a state of focused attention and increased suggestibility in the treatment of a medical or psychological disorder or concern. Popularized by 17th and 18th ce ...

, later having a practice in Harley Street. Songwriter Obituaries: Michael Julien, ''International Songwriters Association''
Retrieved 16 November 2022 During his early career, he wrote a song for

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...

's album ''Heart of a Clown'' called "Impossible" in 1954. Julien's first major hit came with " Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me", written with Al Timothy, sung by Shirley Bassey in 1958. It proved a great success, peaking in the charts at number three, and staying in the charts for an impressive 17 weeks. Following his early success as a songwriter, he opened and ran the Club d'Azur in Frith Street,

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

, which became popular with film stars and other celebrities. In 1965, he sold the premises to

Ronnie Scott Ronnie may refer to: * Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadiu ...

, who moved his existing

jazz club A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music, although some jazz clubs primarily focus on the study and/or promotion of jazz-music. Jazz clubs are usually a type of nightclub or bar, which is licens ...

to the property. Julien composed songs for films, including ''

Jazz Boat ''Jazz Boat'' is a 1960 British musical comedy film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey, Lionel Jeffries and big band leader Ted Heath and his orchestra. Many of the cast and the same director then made ''In the Ni ...

'' in 1960.Stubblebine, Donald J. (1997) ''British Cinema Sheet Music: a comprehensive listing of film music published in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, 1916 through 1994'', McFarland & Co., , p. 68 During the sixties, he continued to write songs for established artists such as

David Hughes David Hughes may refer to: Arts *Dave Hughes (born 1970), Australian comedian *Dave Hughes (producer), American television producer and editor *David Hughes (illustrator), British illustrator *David Hughes (Emmerdale), fictional character in the I ...

for whom he wrote "Teach me (how to love him)". Julien wrote the English lyrics to

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

's adaptation of " L'Edera", translating as "Constantly". It was a global hit, reaching the top ten in six countries. Julien's first major hit in the United States came in 1967, when he wrote new English lyrics and title of " Let's Live for Today", from the 1966 Italian-language song "Piangi con Me" ("Cry with Me"), a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

for

The Rokes The Rokes were a pop rock band formed in 1963 in Italy by English expatriates. Their most successful songs included "Piangi con Me", the original version of " Let's Live for Today", a US hit when re-recorded by The Grass Roots; and "Che Colpa ...

, co-written by David "Shel" Shapiro of The Rokes and Italian lyricist Mogol. The version using Julien's lyrics and title was first recorded by The Living Daylights, but it was the recording by

The Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums, two go ...

that earned its own

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

and reached #8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart in 1967.Shapiro, Nat (ed.) (1973) ''Popular Music: An Annotated Index of American Popular Songs'', Adrian Press, p. 162 This song was voted by troops in the

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

War as their favourite song, and is now a pop standard in the US.

Eurovision success

After his success in the United States and with Shirley Bassey, Julien wrote the English lyrics for the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest winning song "

La, la, la "La, la, la" is a song recorded by Spanish singer Massiel, written by Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa. It is best known as the Spanish winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 in London. It was the first time that Spain won the C ...

". Although the Spanish version had the most success, Julien's version reached number seventeen in the

Rhodesian Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

charts. The next year, he was invited to write the lyrics for a song for the

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...

Early career

Eurovision success

Later works

Personal life and death

Awards and accolades

References

External links