Nicky Henson, RIP

[JimN]

The death of actor Nicky Henson was reported yesterday. Here, for example:

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/16/fawlty-towers-actor-nicky-henson-dies-at-74

There is a Shadows connection of sorts because Nicky was once married to actress / dancer Una Stubbs (of Una Stubbs fame), but the Guardian obit also says that he:

"...recorded his first single in 1961 and had a three-year contract writing songs for the Shadows and Cliff Richard...".

Not recognising the name as a composer, I checked my Shadows track database. The name "Henson" does not feature in it, either for The Shadows or Cliff and The Shadows. Does anyone know anything about that contract? One thing that occurred to me was that it might not have been in the name "Henson", though that does seem to have been Nicky's real surname.

[Moderne]

Hi Jim,

I saw the reference in several obituaries (not that I'm a habitual obituary reader, you understand!) to Nicky Henson "being under contract to write songs for The Shadows and Cliff Richard". I had an idea in my head that Nicky Henson was linked to Paul Ferris and when I Googled the pair of them I found a single on '45-Cat' which they had written and recorded in 1966 called Love Song b/w One More Time...

http://www.45cat.com/record/db7935

...both sides published by Shadamm Music - which I thought was the publishing subsidiary company set up by The Shadows and the 'Arnold, Martin, Morrow' songwriting team (they wrote One Way to Love from the Shadow Music LP, and I'll Never Quite Get Over You and In Thoughts of You for Billy Fury. They also wrote Can't Smile Without You - a hit for Barry Manilow; Hank also produced a version by Des O'Connor on his Another Side LP...).

Interesting! Neither side of this disc is on YouTube (indeed, as soon as you type Paul Ferris into the 'Search' box you get loads of 'gangland murder' items - hopefully relating to another Paul Ferris!) although there is a 1963 Nicky Henson disc on there, so I don't know what it sounds like. Interest starting to wane now...

[George Geddes]

The 'other' Paul Ferris was a noted 'enforcer' for a Scottish crime lord... Now pursuing a career as an author. There was another PF who was a noted author and biographer, who passed away in 2018.

George

[davec]

As well as Love Song/One More Time, Paul Ferris wrote Visions, recorded by Cliff and Maroc7, recorded by The Shadows. He also wrote the score for the film Witchfinder General, in which Nicky Henson played Trooper Swallow.

Nicky Henson and Paul Ferris were close friends so he may have contributed to or co-written some music.

DaveC.

[StuartD]

Hi

Paul Ferris had a part in Witchfinder General.

He also wrote a couple of songs with Hank, Wish you were Here being one of them. Sadly he had chronic Crohns Disease and took his own life.

I met him when he played Bass for the Shadows for a couple of weeks when John Rostill was with Tom Jones.

He was a reaaly nice guy

Regards

Stuart

[alewis41]

John Farrar told me he knew Paul Ferris because Paul wrote "Curly Headed Rooster" which Pat Carroll (John's wife) released as a single (including in the U.S. in 1977). Produced by John and Hank, executive producer Alan Hawkshaw.

Andrew

[Moderne]

He also wrote a couple of songs with Hank, Wish you were Here being one of them.

Are you sure, Stuart? On the label, Mistress Fate and Father Time is credited to Marvin, Ferris - Wish You Were Here is listed as a Marvin, Welch song. Paul also co-wrote The Joy of Living, which was a 1970 'Cliff & Hank' single - and he then resurfaced in 1983 as co-writer on Leila and 99 Days on Hank's All Alone With Friends LP. I wondered at the time (and still wonder now!) whether these two contemporary-sounding songs were left over from Hank and Paul's early-70s writing - or whether they met up again to write songs in the early 1980s. I still don't know of any definite links between Nicky Henson's songs and Cliff and The Shadows.

[GoldenStreet]

One More Time and Love Song are the only songs by 'Nicholas' Henson and Paul Ferris entered on the PRS database, original publishers Carlin Music Corp/Shadows Music Ltd., which might suggest these are the only compositions produced by the collaboration. Possibly, Carlin, as the parent company (known as Belinda at the time), decided not to continue with the deal after their initial efforts.

Bill

[Moderne]

I just got a clip from The Sorcerers in my YouTube feed...and noticed that Paul Ferris wrote the music, not surprising as the film was written and directed by Michael Reeves who also wrote Witchfinder General. Just re-read the above messages...but it was Huntingdon's Chorea that Paul Ferris suffered from...not Crohn's Disease.