Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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PARAMOR, Norrie

(b 1914, England; d 9 September 1979) Conductor, composer, arranger, A&R man, producer. He left school at 15 and worked as an office boy; he soon played accompaniment for Gracie Fields, then top dance bands; he was music director for Ralph Reader Gang shows during WWII; teamed post-war with tenor saxist Harry Gold in Pieces of Eight, writing some of the material (with Geoff Love, who later sold many records under his own name, and pseudonym Manuel and the Music of the Mountains; Gold and the later Eight were still active decades later, touring UK '85 in Bing Crosby biographical show. Gold d 13 November 2005 aged 98.)

Through the 1950s to '68 Paramor was A&R manager for EMI Columbia, guiding the recording careers of Cliff Richard, Frank Ifield, the Shadows, Sacha Distel, Helen Shapiro, many more. He had a top 20 hit as the instrumental Big Ben Banjo Band in the mid-'50s, under his own name with 'Theme From Summer Place', 'Theme From Z Cars' (then-innovative UK TV cop show) early '60s. He also scored several British films and was music director of BBC Midland Radio Orchestra from '72. His mood music album In London In Love '56 charted in USA.