Richard Stilgoe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Henry Simpson Stilgoe (1943-03-28)28 March 1943 (age 82) Camberley, Surrey, England |
| Genres | Musical theatre |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter Lyricist Musician Broadcaster |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Website | richardstilgoe |
Sir Richard Henry Simpson StilgoeOBE DL (born 28 March 1943)[1] is a British songwriter, lyricist and musician, and broadcaster who is best known for his humorous songs and frequent television appearances. His output includes collaborations withAndrew Lloyd Webber andPeter Skellern.[2] He is also a keen puzzler who has hosted several quiz shows and written several books on the subject.
In the 1980s, he founded the Alchemy Foundation which is funded from his royalties from the American productions ofStarlight Express andThe Phantom of the Opera.[3] He is patron of the Surrey Care Trust inWoking. In the late 1990s he founded the Orpheus Centre which offersperforming arts experiences to young people with disabilities.[4] In 2012, Stilgoe wasknighted in theQueen's Birthday Honours for his extensive charity work.
Stilgoe was born inCamberley,Surrey, on 28 March 1943. He was brought up inLiverpool, where, as lead singer of a group called 'Tony Snow and the Blizzards',[1] he performed at theCavern Club. He was educated atLiverpool College,Monkton Combe School in Somerset and atClare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of theCambridge UniversityFootlights.[1]
In 1966, Stilgoe played Benjamin in theWest End musical,Jorrocks. He made his name on theBBC television teatime programme,Nationwide, followed byEsther Rantzen'sThat's Life!, a light-hearted consumer affairs programme for which he wrote comic songs satirising minor domestic misfortunes, often to the tune of "Oh! Mr Porter". One notable song concerned officials who have "Statutory Right of Entry to your Home", with Stilgoe playing and singing, in barber-shop style, all parts himself using trick photography.
His ability to write a song from almost any source material and at speed is part of his cabaret act, which includes singing the instructions from a Swedish payphone; a pastiche of theKing's Singers listing the kings and queens of England in which he sings all four parts; and composing a song in the interval from words and musical notes called out by the audience. He has also written and presented BBC radio programmes, includingHamburger Weekend,Used Notes,Stilgoe's Around,Maestro andRichard Stilgoe's Traffic Jam Show onBBC Radio 4.
In 1979, the BBC aired "Decision '79 Breakfast Special" as part of its coverage of the parliamentary elections that broughtMargaret Thatcher to power; the show featured Stilgoe singing the election results.[5] In 1981,Southern Television commissioned him to write a satirical song about the company that outbid them for southern England'sITV franchise,Television South; the result was "Portakabin TV", a reference to the portable buildings TVS was forced to use as studios and offices until its own purpose-built complex inMaidstone, Kent could be completed and until Southern's contract expired. The song was aired as part of Southern's final broadcast on 31 December 1981, a retrospective programme titledAnd It's Goodbye From Us, with a fragment heard inDay By Yesterday.[6][non-primary source needed]
In 1980, he wrote two Christmas songs, "Christmas Bells" and "Imitation Myrrh", which he sang with Broom Leys Junior School choir, fromCoalville, Leicestershire. The songs were sold as a record at Christmas throughoutLeicestershire to raise money for the Leicestershire Arts and Music Association. These two, with other Christmas pieces of his composition, also appeared inThe Truth about Christmas – or Gold, Frankenstein and Merv – a one-off television programme in 1984, performed by Stilgoe and children from the Broom Leys Junior School Choir.[7]
Stilgoe is a fan ofanagrams and in 1980 he wroteThe Richard Stilgoe Letters; a Jumble of Anagrams, using characters made of anagrams of his own name. These included Chris Dogtailer and Giscard O'Hitler. He has appeared over 200 times on the daytime TV quiz show,Countdown, and hosted quiz shows such asThe Year in Question on Radio 4,Finders Keepers (1981–1985), andScoop (1981–1982).[8] His 45-minute poem, "Who Pays the Piper?", outlined the history of music fromPan to the modern day, interspersing classical music with re-written lyrics. He also appeared on a satirical BBC TV show of the 1980s,A Kick Up the Eighties.
Stilgoe wrote lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber'sCats andStarlight Express,[1] and collaborated withCharles Hart on the lyrics toThe Phantom of the Opera. He also wrote two musicals for schools,Bodywork andBrilliant the Dinosaur. He has appeared on theRoyal Variety Performance, presented the Schools Proms for over 20 years and toured solo and withPeter Skellern.[1]
Throughout the 1980s, Stilgoe hosted theBBC 2 fitness programmeLooking Good, Feeling Fit.
In 1984, Stilgoe founded the Alchemy Foundation, which distributes money to good causes. The foundation is funded from Stilgoe's royalties from American productions ofStarlight Express andThe Phantom of the Opera. Before The Alchemy Foundation, Stilgoe gave all his royalties as lyricist onStarlight Express to a village in India. Such was the musical's success that for some years these were exceeding £500 a day.
Stilgoe founded theOrpheus Centre in 1998, in his former family home inGodstone, Surrey, offeringperforming arts experiences to young people with disabilities; he also started the Stilgoe Family Concerts series at theRoyal Festival Hall, which feature young performers and regular commissions of new music.
He is President of the Surrey Care Trust inWoking, Surrey, which provides education, training, skills and volunteering opportunities to those who need motivation or a second chance in life.[9] The charity also runs a fund to help those facing hardship throughout Surrey.
Stilgoe has five children: a son and daughter with his first wife Lizzie, and two sons and a daughter with his second wife, Annabel, including musicianJoe Stilgoe.[10]
He wasHigh Sheriff of Surrey in 1998–99,[11] and is aDeputy Lieutenant.[12] He became president ofSurrey County Cricket Club in 2005. He has also been president of theLord's Taverners.
He ownsWinifred Atwell's "other" piano, the one which she used for herhonky-tonk performances and recordings.[citation needed]
Stilgoe has twoTony nominations, threeMonte Carlo Prizes, and aPrix Italia. He hashonorary doctorates from the Universities ofGreenwich,[13]Southampton andSurrey,[14] is an honorary Fellow ofLiverpool John Moores University,[15] an honorary Associate of theRoyal Academy of Music, and an Honorary Member of theRoyal College of Music.[16] He was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the1998 Birthday Honours, "for services to the community,especially Disabled People."[9]
Stilgoe wasknighted in the2012 Birthday Honours for charitable services through the Alchemy Foundation.[17]
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