Tony Macauley
(Songwriter, producer and author)
by Graham Sclater
Tony Macauley was born in London on April 1944 and was an incredibly successful songwriter during the late sixties and early seventies and is considered by his many luminaries to be one of the best songwriters from that period.
Macauley started out as a song
plugger for Essex Music before moving to Pye in the late sixties as a record producer and songwriter. At this label he achieved his first hits with two consecutive releases from The Foundations. They were: “Baby Now That I’ve Found You,” co-written with John Macleod and “Build Me Up Buttercup” written with Mike D’Abo, of Manfred Man. (Mike D’Abo went to write the multi times covered hit song, “Handbags and Gladrags”)
Like so many songwriters and producers during the late sixties and seventies it was often difficult to find suitable and proficient working bands, so session musicians and singers would often be used to record those songs and then other musicians and singers used as a band to front successful records.
His hits with the Foundations were followed by songs he wrote on his own and they included: “Baby Make It Soon” and “Falling Apart at the Seams” both hits for Marmalade, “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All” by 5th Dimension, David Soul’s, “Don’t Give Up On Us,” followed by Donna Summer’s 1977 hit, “Can’t We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over).”
He continued to write hit songs in collaboration with other successful writers of that time and they came thick and fast. “Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes,” a hit for Edison Lighthouse written with Sylvan Whittingham and Barry Mason, “Let The Heartaches Begin,” written with John Macleod and recorded by Long John Baldry, “Something Here In My Heart (Keeps Telling Me),” by The Paper Dolls and the Pickettywitch hit, “That Same Old Feeling.”
More hits followed including: “Lights of Cincinnati” - Scott Walker, “Sorry Suzanne” - The Hollies and “You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me” - The New Seekers, all of which he co-wrote with Geoff Stephens. Laterally he collaborated with Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway to write, “Blame It on the Pony Express” - Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon and, “Home Loving Man,” a huge hit for Andy Williams.
In the ensuing years he reduced his songwriting output due to a protracted legal battle with his publishers and in 1974 he finally won the case on appeal. By then it was clear that he was disillusioned with the pop music side of the business and for several years he scored a number of films and musicals with some success. But he knew it was time to redirect his creativity and he turned to writing novels.
Macauley was winner of the British
Academy of Songwriters, Composers
and Authors as well as a two times
winner of “Songwriter of the Year”
in 1970 and 1977. And in 2007 he deservedly became the nine times
winner of the Ivor Novello Awards.
Check out his numerous books on the
web.
Graham Sclater is a music publisher, record producer and author and is the CEO of Tabitha Publishing Limited.
https://tabitharecords.webs.com
"Ticket to Ride" was Graham's first novel and originally published by Flame Books in 2006. It was re-issued by Tabitha Books in October 2012, with additional reviews and photos. It is a gritty novel loosely based on events during his time as a professional musician in Hamburg during the 60's.
"We're Gonna Be Famous", a children's novel, was our first publication by Graham in April 2009, followed by his second, "Hatred Is The Key", in 2010, which is an historical novel based on true events between 1812 and 1814.
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