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Theme tune queen dies
A FORMER South Yorkshire woman behind a host of world-famous theme tunes including Dallas, Star Wars and E.T. has died aged 84.
Angela Morley – who moved to Swinton, Rotherham, from Leeds when she was nine – helped create famous theme tunes for both TV and film including Watership Down, Dynasty and Superman.
The 84-year-old, who died in Arizona last week after a long battle with cancer, was born Wally Stott and underwent a sex change in 1972.
Born in Leeds in 1924, Angela grew up on Kirkstall Road where her father had a jeweller's shop.
On her website, Miss Morley wrote: "My earliest musical memory was of sitting on the floor surrounded by records of the bands of Jack Payne and Henry Hall and playing them on our enormous wind-up gramophone.
"When I was eight-years-old, my dad bought a brand new Challen upright piano that had pride of place in our over-the-shop Sunday sitting room and he sent me to a lady a few streets away for piano lessons.
"Three months later, my dad became ill and, unexpectedly, died at the age of 39.
"My piano lessons were immediately stopped and never recommenced."
After his death she and her mother moved to Swinton to live with her mother's parents.
Miss Morley started to play the accordion, aged 11, until a judge from the BBC told her mother there was no future in accordion playing and she should try the clarinet or saxophone.
She said: "My mother bought me a clarinet from the local pawnbrokers for 1. I had lessons on it and started to play in the school orchestra."
She progressed to the saxophone and joined Bert Clegg's band – playing at the Empress Ballroom in Mexborough.
Miss Morley went on to play for several bands and during World War II was selected to play lead alto in Oscar Rabin's Band.
She toured, broadcasted and recorded several records and it was during this time she began to concentrate on composition and arranging.
In 1944, aged 24, she joined the Geraldo Orchestra, one of the most popular bands in the UK at the time.
She became musical director of Phillips Records, writing and conducting for albums by many famous UK singers, and American artists including Rosemary Clooney and Mel Torm.
She also wrote the theme and incidental music for the BBC comedy series Hancock's Half Hour and for The Goon Show.
In the 1960s she worked with Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield and on the first three highly regarded solo albums by Scott Walker.
She also wrote the scores for a number of films, including Watership Down and When Eight Bells Toll, as well as The Slipper and the Rose for which she received Oscar and Bafta nominations.
She also received an Oscar nomination for The Little Prince.
Miss Morley moved to California in the 70s and wrote music for many TV series including Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest and Cagney and Lacey.
She developed a close relationship with famous film composer John Williams and worked on the scores for many of his blockbusters such as Star Wars, Superman, E.T. and Schindler's List.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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