Born: unknown
Died: unknown
Nationality: American
In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview
BIOGRAPHY
Pianist and organist Michael Thatcher hails from California, where he worked with jazz greats such as Tony Scott and Art Farmer. He was the musical director of the musical comedy Godspell, put on stage in Hamburg. It was the beginning of Thatcher’s career in West Germany, where he played in the Munich-based combo of Heinz von Hermann (1970) and arranged and produced records for Donna Summer, Gitte Hænning, Peter Maffay, and Mireille Mathieu. He wrote film soundtracks and music for television. Either as a conductor or a pianist, he accompanied Katja Ebstein and Howard Carpendale.
Various sources confirm that Michael Thatcher passed away at quite a young age - probably quite soon after his Eurovision conducting stint -, but, unfortunately, further information regarding his life and passing are not available.
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
In 1983, Michael Thatcher was the keyboard player in the orchestra put together by musical director Dieter Reith for that year's Eurovision Song Contest final in Munich.
As a conductor in his own right, Thatcher took part in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, for which he orchestrated and conducted the West German entry, ‘Lied für einen Freund’. This song, written by Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger, was performed by mother-daughter team Maxi & Chris Garden.
EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR
Country – West Germany
Song title – “Lied für einen Freund”
Rendition – Maxi & Chris Garden
Lyrics – Bernd Meinunger
Composition – Ralph Siegel
Studio arrangement – Rainer Pietsch / Hermann Weindorf / László Bencker
Live orchestration – Michael Thatcher
Conductor – Michael Thatcher
Score – 14th place (48 votes)
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