Thomas & Oliver Spencer sign to the Music Sales Group
11th July 2011
Thomas and Oliver are “extremely proud to be part of the Music Sales Group.” Thomas says: “The unique working relationship between my brother Oliver and me is rare and this deal gives us a fantastic opportunity to develop the music we write and perform, and enabling that to reach a global audience.”
Chris Butler, Head of Publishing at Music Sales comments:
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Thomas Spencer, who we regard as an original singing talent, and the fact that he comes as part of a writing team with his brother gives us additional optimism for the future. We expect to have a very long and happy relationship with them both.”
Their manager, Chris Craker, at 360 Music Entertainment Limited comments: “It’s so rare in this climate to find a classical cross over artist who is a truly rounded musician, both performing and composing – Thomas has an incredibly bright future ahead - the writing collaboration with his brother Oliver is really unique, and we couldn’t wish to be with a more vibrant publishing company than Music Sales.”
The duo is currently performing in Las Vegas then Los Angeles. Whilst on tour with Thomas, Oliver plays the synths and guitar. When they return to the UK they will be working on their debut single Remember Them, which will be released to mark Remembrance Day, with proceeds donated to the Royal British Legion.
About Campbell Connelly…
The songs in the Campbell Connelly catalogue have been recorded by major recording artists from all over the world. Some of the biggest hits have been:
Sunny (Hebb) – Bobby Hebb, Marvin Gaye, Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder
Big Spender (Coleman/Fields) – Shirley Bassey
Try a Little Tenderness (Connelly/Woods/Campbell) – since the original Ray Noble and his Orchestra it has been recorded by such greats as: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Rod Stewart, Percy Sledge, Nina Simone, Etta James, Tina Turner, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Michael Bolton, Tom Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin and Michael Bublé
If I Had You – Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole
I Left My Heart in San Francisco (Cory/Cross) – Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Perry Como
Campbell Connelly was founded by singer-songwriter Jimmy Campbell and his friend, the pianist Reg Connelly, on the back of one single song, Show Me The Way to Go Home (1925). Having co-written the song with Canadian Hal Swain, the pair were convinced of its potential but could not get anyone to publish it. They decided to set up their own firm to do so and rented two rooms on Tottenham Court Road in 1925. The song was a huge success on both sides of the Atlantic and sold 2 million copies within one year. The company grew rapidly and in 1926 they moved to Denmark Street with a staff of twelve. Connelly was a shrewd businessman and Campbell a resourceful song plugger and business expanded at a rapid rate. When they wrote together they often used the joint pseudonym ‘Irving King’.
As both were mainly lyricists, they usually collaborated with other composers including Ray Noble on Goodnight Sweetheart (1931), By the Fireside (1932), and with Harry Woods on Try a Little Tenderness (1932) and negotiated exclusive tie-ups with American companies. In 1936, Campbell Connelly formed a new company with Gaumont-British, called Cinephonic, with the aim of linking up film and sheet music and cornering the song output of British musical films. Connelly had realised the importance of film as a medium for popularising songs and had made numerous contacts, signing up writers wholesale. They also published the music of other film companies and had early successes plugging the material of Jessie Matthews.