Ronnie Hazlehurst Tribute

Ronnie Hazlehurst served as musical director for the United Kingdom three times, and conducted the orchestra eight times in all. He will be most fondly and vividly remembered by Eurovision fans for conducting the UK entry for Wembley, 1977, with an umbrella instead of a baton. The song, Rock bottom, went on to come second place for the host country, performed by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran.

Hazlehurst was also the man behind many well-loved British TV theme tunes, including Are you being served?, Blankety blank and Some mothers do 'ave 'em.

Early life

Ronnie Hazlehurst was born in Dukinfield, Cheshire in 1928, to a railway worker and piano teacher. Having attended a grammar school, he left at the age of 14 and became a clerk for a cotton mill.

During he spare time he played in a band and soon became a professional musician earning earning £4 a week. The band appeared on the BBC Light Programme, but Hazlehurst left when he was refused a payrise. Moving to Manchester he became a freelance musician until he was offered a place on another band at a nightclub in London. Ronnie Hazelhurst worked at Granada for about a year, and after he left there worked on a market stall in Watford to make ends meet.

Hazlehurst joined the BBC in 1961 and became a staff arranger, and his early works included the incidental music for The Likely Lads, The Liver Birds and It's a Knockout. In 1968 he became the Light Entertainment Musical Director, and during his tenure he composed the themes tunes of many of sitcoms, including Are You Being Served?, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Last of the Summer Wine, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, To the Manor Born, Sorry!, and Three Up, Two Down. He also arranged the themes for Butterflies and Only Fools and Horses. In addition, he wrote the theme tunes for the sketch show The Two Ronnies, the game show Blankety Blank and the chat show Wogan.

His theme tunes were often written to fit the programmes, such as a cash till in Are You Being Served?, rises and falls in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, a gentle them for Last of the Summer Wine and Big Ben chimes for Yes Minister. For Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Hazlehurst used Morse code to spell out the programme's title. During his BBC career he composed the music for the opening of the BBC's coverage of the 1976 Olympics.

Ronnie Hazlehurst was also involved with the Eurovision Song Contest and was the musical director when the event was hosted by the United Kingdom in 1974, 1977 and 1982. He also conducted the British entry on seven occasions, in 1977, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991 and 1992. In 1977 as well as conducting the British entry he also conducted the German entry. To conduct the British entry that year, Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran, he used a umbrella and wore a bowler hat.

He also conduced two singers for their voice-over for two opening credits, Clare Torry for Butterflies ("Love Is like a Butterfly") and Paul Nicholas for Just Good Friends