Biography
Light music composer Harry Parr-Davies entered the world in Neath, South Wales, during 1914. A self-taught piano prodigy, he attracted the notice of Sir Walford Davies while serving as a church accompanist throughout his teenage years, at a time when he still intended to pursue a classical career. At the age of fourteen, soon after finishing his first opera, The Curfew, he encountered theatrical impresario Julian Wylie, who urged him to contribute a song to an upcoming musical still in preparation. From that point forward the stage claimed his exclusive attention. In 1931 he was engaged to accompany the musical actress Gracie Fields, and he stayed at her side for the balance of the decade, supplying material for every one of her films: Sing As We Go, Looking on the Bright Side, Look Up and Laugh, The Show Goes On, Queen of Hearts, We're Going to Be Rich, and Shipyard Sally.
Once World War II began, Parr-Davies concentrated on the wave of wartime musicals then in preparation. Black Velvet opened in November 1939 and completed 620 performances, introducing the blackout favorite “Crash, Bang, I Want to Go Home.” He wrote the complete scores for Haw-Haw, Come Out to Play, and Top of the World, then joined George Posford in 1942 to create the hit Full Swing, which occupied London’s Palace Theatre for a full year. The 1943 successor The Knight Was Bold failed commercially, yet the war-themed Lisbon Story became a major success until heavy bombing forced most London theatres to close in July 1944. Jenny Jones reached the stage later that same year, Fine Feathers followed in 1945, and The Shepherd Show appeared in 1946. Although he had enlisted with the Irish Guards, Gracie Fields insisted on his services when she was invited to tour with the Entertainment National Service Association, and his military assignment was accordingly redirected.
After the war he supplied the successful shows Her Excellency and Dear Miss Phoebe. His largest triumph arrived with 1951’s Blue for a Boy, which ran for 650 performances. The 1953 production The Glorious Days marked an unforeseen conclusion to his career. Long averse to medical consultation, he declined treatment for a perforated ulcer and succumbed to internal hemorrhaging on October 14, 1955.
Once World War II began, Parr-Davies concentrated on the wave of wartime musicals then in preparation. Black Velvet opened in November 1939 and completed 620 performances, introducing the blackout favorite “Crash, Bang, I Want to Go Home.” He wrote the complete scores for Haw-Haw, Come Out to Play, and Top of the World, then joined George Posford in 1942 to create the hit Full Swing, which occupied London’s Palace Theatre for a full year. The 1943 successor The Knight Was Bold failed commercially, yet the war-themed Lisbon Story became a major success until heavy bombing forced most London theatres to close in July 1944. Jenny Jones reached the stage later that same year, Fine Feathers followed in 1945, and The Shepherd Show appeared in 1946. Although he had enlisted with the Irish Guards, Gracie Fields insisted on his services when she was invited to tour with the Entertainment National Service Association, and his military assignment was accordingly redirected.
After the war he supplied the successful shows Her Excellency and Dear Miss Phoebe. His largest triumph arrived with 1951’s Blue for a Boy, which ran for 650 performances. The 1953 production The Glorious Days marked an unforeseen conclusion to his career. Long averse to medical consultation, he declined treatment for a perforated ulcer and succumbed to internal hemorrhaging on October 14, 1955.