JOHNNY ARTHEY

Born: September 24th, 1930

Died: October 27th, 2007

Nationality: British

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Johnny Arthey started his career as a pianist, but became a much sought-after arranger in the 1960s and 1970s, working with Engelbert Humperdinck, Blue Haze, Joe Dassin, and many more. He wrote the orchestration to hit records such as ‘Eloise’ by Barry Ryan and ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ by Desmond Dekker. As a producer, he helped Jamaican reggae artists trying to force a breakthrough on the British market. With his Johnny Arthey orchestra, he released a string of instrumental recordings of popular titles. He conducted orchestras for various BBC broadcasts.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

In 1970, Johnny Arthey was the musical director of A Song For Europe, the UK Eurovision heats, in which Mary Hopkin sang all entries. He travelled to the contest final in Amsterdam with Hopkin to conduct her song ‘Knock, Knock (Who’s There)’, which came second for the UK behind Dana (Ireland). One year later, Arthey did not have any part in A Song For Europe (Norrie Paramor was the musical director), but he arranged the winning song from that competition, ‘Jack In The Box’ by Clodagh Rodgers. He conducted the song in the Eurovision final, held in Dublin that year. In 1977, Arthey made a surprise return to the contest as the arranger and conductor of that year’s Luxembourg entry, ‘Frère Jacques’, sung by Anne-Marie B.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1970 Amsterdam

Country – United Kingdom

Song title – "Knock Knock (Who’s There)"

Rendition – Mary Hopkin

Lyrics – John Carter / Geoff Stephens

Composition – John Carter / Geoff Stephens

Studio arrangement – Johnny Arthey

Live orchestration – Johnny Arthey

Conductor – Johnny Arthey

Score – 2nd place (26 votes)

1971 Dublin

Country – United Kingdom

Song title – "Jack In The Box"

Rendition – Clodagh Rodgers

Lyrics – David Myers

Composition – John Worsley

Studio arrangement – Johnny Arthey

Live orchestration – Johnny Arthey

Conductor – Johnny Arthey

Score – 4th place (98 votes)

1977 London

Country – Luxembourg

Song title – "Frère Jacques"

Rendition – Anne Marie B. 

Lyrics – Guy Béart / Pierre Cour

Composition – Guy Béart / Pierre Cour

Studio arrangement – Johnny Arthey

Live orchestration – Johnny Arthey

Conductor – Johnny Arthey

Score – 16th place (17 votes)