Warren Harry (born Warren Philip Harry, 16 September 1953 – 10 March 2008) (also known as Warren Bacall) was a British

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and performer, he was mainly known for writing hit songs for the British band "Bucks Fizz."

Biography

Harry was born in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, England. In the late 1970s, Warren Harry performed with his band, 'The Yum Yum Band'. Members of Harry's backing band included Graham Dibble (guitar, vocals), Michael (Paddy) Burns (drums, backing vocals), Paul Kendal (

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

), John Clarke (drums), John Kayne ( keyboards), Pete Farley (bass), Jakko M Jakszyk (guitar) and Josh Gale (bass). From 1976 to 1984, Warren Harry released a number of singles under both the name Warren Harry and Warren Bacall. These were: "I Don't Care" (Sonet Records 1976), "I Am A Radio" (Bronze Records 1977), "Sail On" (

Bronze Records Bronze Records was an independent English record label founded in 1971 by record producer Gerry Bron on Oxford Street in London, eventually relocating to Chalk Farm. History Bron had been producing Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep for Vertigo Reco ...

, 1977), "1965" (Ellie Jay Records, 1978), "Radio Show" (

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

), 1979), "Welcome to Judy's World" (Polydor Records,1980), As "Warren Bacall" He released these singles: "Lions and Tigers" (Stage Coach Records, 1982), "Brief Encounter" (Pilot Records, 1984), "Crystal Tears" (Pilot Records, 1984). In 1986, he had a single in his then new band "Strange Moves" which he started with his friend "Michelle Morrison". Their single was called "Passionate Strangers" which Warren wrote and produced. They still have an unreleased album which is most likely lost, however one unreleased song by them goes on to be published on YouTube in mid 2023. He subsequently wrote a number of songs for other artists including several songs by

Bucks Fizz Bucks Fizz were an English pop group, that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and c ...

(such as " When We Were Young" a UK Top 10 hit),

John Otway John Otway (born 2 October 1952) is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter who has built a cult audience through extensive touring. Biography Early life Otway was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. From the age of nine all he ever wanted ...

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, director, comedian, singer, and composer. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest ...

and Japanese singer

Yōko Oginome , married name , is a former pop idol, actress and voice actress, who gained popularity in the mid-1980s. Her fans often call her Oginome-chan. Her husband is Ryuso Tsujino. Career Oginome spent most of her elementary and junior high years ...

. Other songs written for Bucks Fizz included "I'd Like to Say I Love You" (as Warren Harry) from '' Hand Cut'', and as Warren Bacall: " Rules of the Game" and "Oh Suzanne" from ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'', "Indebted to You" and "Thief in the Night" from '' I Hear Talk'' and "In Your Eyes" from Writing on the Wall. The latter four were all co-written with Andy Hill. The majority of these songs were written about tragic female characters and were sung by the female members of the group. Harry died from a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

in his home in Cymmer,

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

after having an asthma attack earlier that day on 10 March 2008, aged 54. He was living with his partner Annie Harry and her son at the time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harry, Warren 1953 births 2008 deaths People from Aylesbury British male songwriters British pop singers Deaths from pulmonary embolism