About Bill Martin
Hometown
Glasgow, Scotland
Born
November 9, 1938
Genre
Pop
Prolific and highly successful songwriter, record producer, and music publisher Bill Martin was born William Wylie on November 9, 1938 in Glasgow, Scotland. Although he came from a musical family and studied at the Royal Academy of Music, Martin first made his mark as a professional footballer for Partick Thistle. He subsequently played abroad in South Africa for three years, before returning to England intent on making a career as a songwriter. After Martin was introduced to Irish musician and arranger Phil Coulter by American lyricist Buddy Kaye, Martin and Coulter formed a publishing company in 1965.
They had their first success with "Hi Hi Hazel," which the Troggs and Geno Washington took into the U.K. charts. During the next ten years, they wrote and/or produced a string of hit records for artists ranging from the Bay City Rollers to Elvis Presley. In 1967, Sandie Shaw won the Eurovision Song Contest with their infectious "Puppet on a String" (U.K. number one), which earned an Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Work. There was another Ivor Novello the following year for "Congratulations," with which Cliff Richard just failed to make it two Eurovision wins in a row for the songwriters, although it was another chart-topper. After providing Cilla Black with "Surround Yourself with Sorrow" (U.K. number three), Martin and Coulter came up with the immensely popular "Back Home" for the 1970 England World Cup Squad. It too topped the chart (as did the associated album), and more or less took over as the U.K. "National Anthem" for a few weeks, until the football team lost to Germany.
A year later, Martin and Coulter wrote the English words to "My Boy" (music by Jean Bourtayre and Claude François), which was popularized by Richard Harris and revived in 1975 by Presley, who took it into the U.S. Top 20. Martin and Coulter had another U.S. hit (a number one) the following year with the Bay City Rollers' "Saturday Night." By that stage, they had already given the band several U.K. Top 20 entries, including "All of Me Loves All of You," "Remember (Sha-La-La)," "Shang-A-Lang," and "Summer Love Sensation." Two of the other acts to enjoy success with Martin/Coulter songs in the '70s were, by a strange coincidence, both called Kenny. The Irish singer of that name went to number 11 with "Heart of Stone," while Kenny, the male vocal/instrumental group, had four Top 20 hits in a row with Martin and Coulter's "The Bump," "Fancy Pants," "Baby I Love You OK," and "Julie Ann." Another U.K. group, Slik, also topped the U.K. charts in 1976 with the songwriters' "Forever and Ever."
As a songwriter, music publisher, and record publisher, Martin's worldwide sales have been estimated at over 35 million, and he is said to have had a number one record in every country in the Western world. Artists whom Martin has recorded, published, or produced include Elton John, Elkie Brooks, Rod Stewart, the New Seekers, Van Morrison, Buddy Greco, Billy Connelly, the Dubliners, B.A. Robertson, Isaac Hayes, Dana, and many more. He has also written for films and television. After selling his music business to EMI, he became involved in television productions, character-licensed merchandise, and music publishing. A member of the Variety Club of Great Britain, a Freeman of the City of Glasgow and of London, and a director of the PRS, in 1975 Martin was the co-recipient -- with Phil Coulter -- of the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year. ~ TiVo Staff
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