Biography
Born on 24 July 1907 in Manchester, England, and dying on 6 October 1995 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, Hughie Charles worked throughout his life as a songwriter and theatre producer. Alongside his early partner Ross Parker, he supplied two of the most fondly remembered popular anthems of World War II, ‘There’ll Always Be An England’ and ‘We’ll Meet Again’. An exceptional athlete as a young man, Charles declined an offer to play for Lancashire County Cricket Club so he could pursue music instead. He started his own dance band that performed at local spots around Manchester, then relocated to London where he took a position in music publishing. When war broke out in 1939, he assumed control of the Irwin Dash Music Company after its proprietor returned to the USA. The previous year he and Ross Parker had scored their initial success with ‘I Won’t Tell A Soul (That I Love You)’. In 1939 they delivered the resolutely upbeat ‘There’ll Always Be An England’ and ‘We’ll Meet Again’, both of which proved hits for Vera Lynn as well as numerous other performers. During the war years Charles composed more than 50 songs, largely ballads, working with Parker, Sonny Miller, Joe Irwin, Roma C. Hunter, Leo Towers, Louis Elton, Joe Lubin, and Noel Gay. Among them were ‘Blue Skies Are Round The Corner’, ‘I Shall Be Waiting’, ‘Russian Rose’, ‘The King Is Still In London’, ‘I Shall Always Remember You Smiling’, ‘Silver Wings In The Moonlight’, ‘There’s A Land Of Begin Again’, ‘When They Sound The Last All Clear’, ‘By Candlelight’, ‘Where The Waters Are Blue’, ‘Till Stars Forget To Shine’, ‘Sing A Song Of Tomorrow-Today’, ‘Journey’s End’, ‘The Wedding Waltz’, and ‘Till All Our Prayers Are Answered’. Once peace arrived, Charles entered the Jack Hylton theatrical production organization and eventually rose to general manager. He helped bring several major American productions to British stages, including Kiss Me, Kate, Call Me Madam, and Kismet, together with the long-running Crazy Gang revues. In the 1960s he operated his own production company for a period before retiring to Sussex in the early 1970s alongside his second wife, the former musical comedy actress Joan Mann. In 1986 he was presented with the Jimmy Kennedy Award by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.