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''.

Life and career

Heneker was born in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

, England, in March 1906, the eldest son of the Canadian-born Lieutenant Colonel William Heneker, a notable military strategist and tactician, who would later serve with distinction in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, rising to the rank of General. Educated at

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

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 Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

from 1925 to 1937, and again in the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

. 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), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's '' Bitter Sweet'' 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 a British actress, singer and comedian. A star of cinema and music hall, she was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

wartime hit " The Thing-Ummy Bob". 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 ran ...

at the Embassy Club, while continuing his songwriting. In 1958, the writer Wolf Mankowitz invited Heneker to work with him and

Monty Norman Monty Norman ( Noserovitch; 4 April 1928 – 11 July 2022) was a British film score composer and singer. A contributor to West End theatre, West End musicals in the 1950s and 1960s, he is best known for composing the "James Bond Theme", first ...

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 French musical '' Irma La Douce''. The show transferred to Broadway two years later and was nominated for a

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

. 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 Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recor ...

vehicle '' Half a Sixpence'' (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'' 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 (with

and Julian More) * '' Irma La Douce'' (1958) – lyricist (with

and Julian More) * ''Make Me an Offer'' (1959) – composer, lyricist (jointly with

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

) * '' Half a Sixpence'' (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 * '' The Biograph Girl'' (1980) – composer, lyricist (jointly with Warner Brown) * ''Peg'' (1984) – composer, lyricist

Work on Broadway

*'' Irma La Douce'' (1960) – Tony nomination for Best Musical 1961 *'' Half a Sixpence'' (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 male songwriters People from Southsea Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army brigadiers 20th-century British male musicians