April 2024

Thank goodness Spring is here, now I just need the weather to know. I don’t think it’s stopped raining here all year. What is frightening is the older you get the quicker time seems to go. In December I was willing the new year to start and now it’s already April! French philosopher Paul Janet has a theory sometimes known as ‘log time’. It’s that as we age, a year becomes a smaller fraction of our entire lives up to that point. A year for a 5-year-old is one fifth (or 20%) of their life so far, but a year to a 50-year-old is one fiftieth of their life (or 2% of it) so it seems to pass ten times faster. If you’re 33, a year is 3% of your life so far, so time passes almost seven times faster than it did when you were five. Time for an 80-year-old passes almost in the blink of an eye, sixteen times faster than it does for a 5-year-old. There you have it so don’t nap too often otherwise you will soon be wrapping Christmas presents again, lol

Talking of gifts. Congratulations to Peter Barjonas who won first prize in our exclusive YouTube Raffle. Dad’s YouTube channel is going from strength to strength and to recognize all the loyal followers, we launched a fabulous Raffle on 9^th February which ran for six weeks. As we speak a copy of the Special Edition of The Singers Singer together with the latest CD ‘The Complete EMI Recordings 1971-1984”, the DVD of “The Man and His Music” and lastly “Words & Music”, is winding its way over to Peter

I am very proud of dad’s YouTube website and it has given me a chance to give back to the fans. This was highlighted by offering free of charge ‘The Boy From Shoreditch’ the four-part audio documentary Richard and I made to celebrate dad’s special 90^th birthday. The programmes were written and narrated by myself and feature an intimate portrait of the man behind the voice, drawing on previously un-broadcast interviews, extremely rare recordings previously thought lost, interviews with his family and friends and messages from some of his more famous fans.  

To celebrate Eurovision in May we will be uploading a unique video reconstruction of dad’s entry which is awesome and all thanks to Dani at awuga ESC. I am extremely grateful that he has given us permission to use this wonderful historic piece of Eurovision nostalgia which I know you will all enjoy as much as me.

There is a wealth of content on the site and new material is added regularly, and being a subscriber, which is totally free, means you are informed when new content is added so you never miss an exciting new arrival.

https://www.youtube.com/c/MattMonroOfficial

Talking about a wealth of content, through the years, dad’s recordings have been featured in a huge number of radio and television commercials. In July 2020, the Unilever brand Axe began airing an American TV campaign for its deodorant line that spoofed the restrictions on dating during the COVID-19 pandemic, with “Born Free” as the soundtrack theme. Although I have known about this for some time, I have only recently seen the advert and wanted to share it with you.

If you haven’t grabbed the new release yet, it is definitely worth having. Previously only available through Cherry Red, it is now available through all good sites. Historically these recordings hadn’t been treated very well but Richard, as always, has done a stellar job on the new project. Two albums – For the Present and The Other Side of the Stars had been issued on CD before (as an old EMI 2on1), but large chunks of these, for reasons unknown, were dubbed from vinyl and not very good quality vinyl either. What makes it worse is that these travesties are what is available on download and streaming services these days so avoid at all costs!

The other two albums, The Long and Winding Road and If I Never Sing Another Song had never been issued on CD in their entirety and again some of the tracks from the latter LP had also been taken from vinyl when issued on compilations.

If you like to listen to the raw tapes and then compare them to what Richard restored and remixed then go to his website page

Complete EMI

The release presents as a digipack which unfolds to reveal some great portraits of dad – some not previously seen – and each disc sits on the cover of the LP featured on each CD. The final flap contains a booklet with extensive notes and more photos. Designed by the ever-brilliant John Sellards and with an incredible previously unpublished front cover photo by Neil Dalrymple, it looks as good as it sounds.

Finally last December the last four Capitol albums were uploaded. It’s been a long time coming but it was a fitting present to dad on his birthday.

I am very proud that since dad left us Richard and I have managed to bring some unique recordings to the fans rather than just the normal “Greatest Hits” or “The Best Of’ recordings. Dad never got the chance to record and release a “live” concert album, preferring the technical purity of the recording studio and wanting his public performances to retain an element of uniqueness. However, we have managed to rectify this including “Operation Santa Claus: Live in Hong Kong 1962”, a 1967 cabaret performance from his first tour of Australia; a 1967 a BBC concert with Nelson Riddle; a 1966 arena concert before 24,000 people in Manila; and “Live in Australia” one of his final concerts, recorded on the last night of his fifteenth and final tour there in 1984.

In fact, since 1985 there have been more than 60+ releases so make sure you haven’t missed out on one of rarities.

You can buy the new album here:-

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/matt-monro-the-complete-emi-recordings-19711984-4cd#

or 

https://amzn.to/4aBjVNs

I’ve been booked to do my unique talks on dad on Ambassador’s Ambition on 15 July which I’m really looking forward to. Because cruise ships present a wealth of entertainment, I get people attend who might ordinarily not know about dad’s vast catalogue so it usually gains him a new fan base. If you happen to be booked on that cruise please come and say hello.

At the moment there is nothing new in the pipeline record wise but I look forward to catching up with you next month. In the meantime, stay safe and keep spreading the MM legacy.

Much love

Michele xx