Richard Sanderson (born 5 March 1953 in

Taplow Taplow is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the left bank of the River Thames, facing Maidenhead in the neighbouring county of Berkshire, with Cippenham and Burnham to the east. It is th ...

) is an English singer, best known for his hit songs "

Reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

", "So Many Ways" and "She's a Lady".

Career

Born in England to a Scottish drum-playing father and a French accordionist mother, Sanderson was instilled with a love of music at a young age, and soon become a musician himself. He started playing classical music on the piano at age five. At 15, he studied guitar and two years later became the organ player of a local rock band, Lover's Love. The band released four singles, one of them being "Youth Has Gone (Amour De Papier)", a song that he would revisit years later, "Find a Reason Why". Three years later he became the official pianist of Nancy Hollaway and David Christie. At 21, he formed his own band and played in hotels all around the world. He then left for the United States and played with different bands while studying harmony and orchestration at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

. At 25, Sanderson returned to England and was hired at the famous Trident recording studio. Under Vogue Records he released his first solo single "Un Vent de Folie" under the name 'Richard Lory'. Then he released ''No Stickers Please'' in 1979, his first album. At Trident studio, he met film composer

Vladimir Cosma Vladimir Cosma (born 13 April 1940) is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist, who has made his career in France and the United States. He was born into a family of Jewish musicians. His father, Teodor Cosma, was a pianist and conductor, h ...

and was selected to perform the main theme of the hit film '' La Boum'' starring

Sophie Marceau Sophie Marceau (; born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu, 17 November 1966) is a French actress. As a teenager, she achieved popularity with her debut films ''La Boum'' (1980) and ''La Boum 2'' (1982), receiving a César Award for Most Promising Act ...

. He sings lead vocals on the songs "

", "Murky Turkey", and "Go On Forever". The songs appeared on the film's soundtrack album and as singles with other songs of the film. The song "Reality" became a number one hit in 15 countries, including France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland, and sold eight million copies all around Europe and Asia. "Reality" is well known in Germany and it has been covered multiple times on '' DSDS'', the German version of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''. In 1982, Polygram released Sanderson's album ''I'm in Love''. The German version is different in two tracks from the French version ("Not Made for Me" and "Reality"). The single "She's a Lady" became number one in Italy and number four in Europe and Asia, selling more than three million copies. The album ''Surprise'' was released in 1984, with "Your Eyes" from ''La Boum 2'', sung by him instead of Cook da Books. The album is now a rarity. ''Fairy Tale'' was released in 1984 as the film score of ''L'unique''. The album would be released in CD format three years later. In 1987, he released the album ''Reality'', under the Carrere label, and ''Songs for Lovers'' under the label Blow Up. In 1990, he released his last pop music album, ''Anytime at All''. The song "When the Night Comes" became number one in Asia, and "So Many Ways" reached the top ten in RFA. Sanderson composed for Barbara Hendricks, and produced a few albums of

Jewish music Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and in domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may origina ...

. The beauty of these

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

songs inspired him to record some of them in English with modern orchestrations. His album ''Legend: Visiting the Testament'' was released in 1999. In 2009, he made the album ''Re-creátion'' where he sang his favourite songs. In 2011, he released ''Sings the Classics'' (''Re-creátion'' under the Sound and Vision label). Sanderson has two compilation albums: ''The Best of Richard Sanderson'', released in 1984 as a two-CD album, and ''Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Richard Sanderson'', another two-CD album where the first CD has digital remasterizations of his hits and the second CD has covers of his favourite songs.

As composer

At age 35, Sanderson began working on

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

s and became the official composer of Daniel Costelle, director of many historical documentary films such as ''La Victoire en Couleurs'', which was nominated for an Emmy award in 1995 for Best Foreign Film. He has scored four films: '' Resonnances'', ''Acharnés'', ''Adam et Ève'', ''C'est facile et ça peut rapporter... 20 ans'' and the

TV miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

''Unknown Images: The Vietnam War''.

Discography

Albums

*1979: ''No Stickers Please'' *1980: ''La Boum'' (film score) *1981: ''I'm in Love'' *1982: ''Surprise'' (with songs from the film ''La Boum 2'') *1983: ''Gym Tonic'' (writer of fifteen songs) *1984: ''Fairy Tale'' (film score of the film ''L'unique'') *1987: ''Reality'' *1990: ''Anytime at All'' *1999: ''Legend: Visiting the Testament'' *2006: ''Les Plus Belles Chansons D'amour Du Cinema'' *2009: ''Re-creátion'' *2011: ''Sings the Classics'' *2018: ''How to Be Elegant'' *2023: ''Legend (Visiting the Testament)''

Compilations

*1984: ''The Best of Richard Sanderson'' *1987: ''Songs for Lovers'' *2005: ''Dreams Are My Reality'' *2010: ''Greatest Hits: The Best of Richard Sanderson''

Singles

*1971: "Youth Has Gone (Amour Du Papier)/After Yours" ''with Lover's Love'' *1971: "Le Balayeur de Harlem/Comme un Enfant" ''with Lover's Love'' *1979: "Un Vent de Folie/Viens Voir un film de Fred Astaire" ''as Richard Lory'' *1979: "Never Let You Go" *1980: "

" *1980: "I Feel the Music" *1980: "Go On Forever" *1980: "Reality/Swingin' Around" *1981: "She's a Lady/Junie Bug" *1981: "When I'm in Love/Close the Gate" *1982: "Your Eyes/Playground" *1982: "L'Hôtel/Une Semaine Avec Toi" *1982: "Lovely Lady" *1982: "When I'm in Love" *1983: "Stiamo Insieme/L'Hôtel" *1983: "Sun" *1983: "Check on the List/Let There Be Belief" *1984: "Find a Reason Why" *1984: "See What's Going On" *1984: "Check on the List/Something New" *1987: "Lovely Lady" *1988: "So Many Ways" *1988: "Maybe You're Wrong" *1990: "When the Night Comes" *1990: "Anytime at All"

External links

* *
Richard Sanderson discography at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, Richard 1953 births Living people English male singers English male film score composers English people of French descent English people of Scottish descent Musicians from Buckinghamshire