Geoff Morrow

Geoff Morrow
Born
Geoffrey Stanton Morrow

(1942-05-16) 16 May 1942
London, England
OccupationsSongwriter, producer
Years active1964–present
Formerly of

Geoffrey Stanton "Geoff" Morrow (born 16 May 1942, in London, England)[1] is a British songwriter, composer, and businessman. His compositions have been recorded by Butterscotch (of which he was a member), Sandie Shaw,[2] the Carpenters,[3] Elvis Presley,[4] Johnny Mathis,[5] Jessie J,[6] Barry Manilow[7] and other musicians.

Many of his early compositions were co-written by David Martin and/or Chris Arnold, with whom he also recorded, both as the songwriting and production trio Arnold, Martin and Morrow and as the soft rock band Butterscotch.[8]

Career

Arnold, Martin, and Morrow

Morrow started out as a songwriter with Chris Arnold in the mid 1960s. In 1965, they met with singer David Martin, as they wanted him to record the demo for a song they had written for Billy Fury, "In Thoughts of You".[9] Martin recorded the demo, and gave advice on changing some of the lyrics.[9] The single was released with Martin's newer lyrics, and was Morrow and Arnold's first big songwriting success, as the song was taken to the top ten of the UK Singles Chart in 1965.[10] This led to Morrow and Arnold adding Martin in as a third songwriting partner, which began the Arnold, Martin, and Morrow partnership. All three songwriters composed "Annabella", which was originally recorded in the UK by Dave Dee without chart success,[11] but which reached the US charts via a cover version by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds in 1971.[12]

In 1970, the three decided to write and release their own record. The song, "Don't You Know (She Said Hello)", was released in January 1970 under the name Butterscotch, and featured Martin on vocals, Morrow on piano, and Arnold on guitar (fellow songwriter and producer Phil Wainman played the drums on the record).[13] The song was a hit in the UK and Ireland, where it peaked at number 17 and 18, respectively.[14][15] The trio released more singles, and an album, under the Butterschotch name, but none of them ever charted or had any commercial success, leaving Butterscotch as a one-hit wonder.

The Arnold, Martin and Morrow team wrote four songs for Elvis Presley between 1969 and 1973. One, "Let's Be Friends", made the title track of a 1970 budget compilation album.[16] They went on to compose and produce a number of more or less successful songs throughout the early to mid-1970s, including "There's a Whole Lot of Loving" which provided Guys 'n' Dolls with a UK #2 hit in 1974; they also wrote and/or produced the group's follow-up hits. Although the Guys 'n' Dolls hits all appeared on Peter Shelley's Magnet label, in about 1975 the team started their own record label named AMMO and several releases on that label achieved moderate success in the UK. The team also wrote "Can't Smile Without You", originally recorded by Martin, made famous by Barry Manilow.[7]

In 2005, Morrow asked Elvis impersonator Gordon Hendricks to record a song he, Arnold and Martin had written for Presley, "Where Would I Be", but never gave to him as he died in 1977.[17] He gave the recording to Hendricks as he "thought Gordon could just recapture the spirit of that song."[17]

Business

Morrow established Geoff Morrow Music.[18] One record company was sold to RCA and the other to EMI. In 1990, he bought the Manchester Opera House and Palace Theatre, Manchester for £6 million, and would produce numerous shows held there.[19][20] He was also a major shareholder of the Caesars Palace cabaret in Luton,[19][20] and was appointed director in January 1993. As of 2015, he is currently chairman for Gate Ventures.[19][20]

Morrow is also a director at "Send Me Back", a clothing business, "Theatre Experience", a sports leisure business, and Generation Films.[21]

Writing and composing

Morrow wrote "Shouting for the Gunners", a top 40 hit for the Arsenal football team, in 1993.[22] Morrow was the screenwriter for the 1999 film Don't Go Breaking My Heart.[19]

In 2017, he was composer and lyricist to the musical A Legendary Romance,[23] produced by Laurence Myers, which successfully "tried out" in New Hampshire between 3 and 20 August.[24][25][26][27]

Personal life

Morrow is married with six children.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Check Company : Geoffrey Stanton Morrow". Check Company. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "I Must Be Lucky – Sandie Shaw | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Can't Smile Without You – Carpenters | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Little Bit of Green – Elvis Presley | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "You Saved My Life – Johnny Mathis | Song Info". AllMusic. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Jessie J – Who You Are (CD, Album)". discogs. 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 Steve Huey. "Can't Smile Without You – Barry Manilow | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Butterscotch (2) Discography". discogs. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Episode #736 – David Martin – THE PAUL LESLIE HOUR". Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  10. ↑ "Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Dave Dee – Annabella / Kelly – Fontana – UK – 6007 021". 45cat. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Annabella (song by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds) • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. 28 August 1971. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Billboard, June 13, 1970, page 4 / retrieved 21 August 2026
  14. ↑ "BUTTERSCOTCH". Official Charts. 2 May 1970. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  16. ↑ "Elvis Presley – Let's Be Friends (Vinyl, LP, Album)". discogs. 26 October 1970. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Song written for Elvis recorded". 20 June 2005. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  18. ↑ Geoff Morrow Music, Open corporation 15 December 2020
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 "Geoff Morrow - United Agents". www.unitedagents.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  20. 1 2 3 Foster, Geoff. "Gate Ventures' float hits the right note as shares soar 55 per cent". This is Money. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  21. ↑ Geoffrey Stanton Morrow, FortmationDate / retrieved 22 August 2026
  22. ↑ "Post-millennium, football's jukebox of songs has steadily wind down, FourFourTwo revisits the history of the beautiful game's relationship with music". FourFourTwo. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "A Legendary Romance (New Musical)". Ron H. Stephenson. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "An Inside Look at New Hampshire's New London Barn Playhouse". Nhmagazine.com. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  25. ↑ "Take a Look at the World-Premiere Musical A Legendary Romance at Williamstown". Playbill. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "A Legendary Romance | 2017". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "A Legendary Romance | a Curtainup Berkshire Review". www.curtainup.com. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
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