Author Topic: Gordon Lorenz  (Read 3956 times)

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Offline DaveR

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Gordon Lorenz
« on: June 06, 2011, 09:32:30 am »
TRIBUTES were last night paid to well-known record producer Gordon Lorenz, who died yesterday morning.

The 56-year-old who co-wrote the song There’s No-one Quite Like Grandma, was found at his home in Craigside, Llandudno.

The news of his sudden death sent shockwaves through the community after it emerged he only fell ill last Friday.

It comes just weeks after he recorded a CD at the legendary Abbey Road studios in London, made famous by The Beatles, with the Llandudno Town Band.
 
The band’s musical director Clive Wolfendale said: “Gordon was one of the greatest producers of his generation. He worked with some great artists over the last 50 years including Shirley Bassey.

“He also did a lot with military bands and was a very versatile and talented producer.

“Despite his involvement with a number of record companies in London, he always stayed in Llandudno.

“He was very well known and was a larger than life character.

“I will always be able to envisage him sitting in the sunshine on the promenade with his long hair and dressed in shorts. He’d be sitting there enjoying the band and chatting away to holiday makers.”

He added: “It was only two weeks ago that we were with him in Abbey Road. He was so excited about the project and though he fell ill in the middle of working on it, he tried his best to finish the production.

“I am so anxious to hear what will be his final legacy and I hope it will be a fitting tribute to a true legend.”

Mr Lorenz, originally from Liverpool, has had a long a plentiful career in the music industry, having released more than 750 albums worldwide, a figure thought to be a world record.

He has also won an Ivor Novello award and worked with the likes of Shirley Bassey, Cliff Richard, Charlotte Church and Atomic Kitten.

He co-wrote the Christmas hit There’s No One Quite Like Grandma which was sung by St Winifred’s School Choir from Stockport, and reached Number 1 for two weeks in 1980 selling over a million copies in the process.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2011/06/06/shock-as-music-producer-gordon-lorenz-dies-at-home-55578-28826261/

Offline DaveR

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Re: Gordon Lorenz
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2011, 09:37:44 am »
I only met Mr Lorenz a few times but he certainly was one of Llandudno's characters who will be sadly missed. He was often to be seen driving around town in his Mercedes convertible, his dog sitting on the back seat. A sad loss.


Offline Trojan

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Re: Gordon Lorenz
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2011, 03:19:35 pm »
I only met Mr Lorenz a few times but he certainly was one of Llandudno's characters who will be sadly missed. He was often to be seen driving around town in his Mercedes convertible, his dog sitting on the back seat. A sad loss.

He used to let his dog run around on the West Shore occasionally.

 

Offline Trojan

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Re: Gordon Lorenz
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2011, 03:22:02 pm »

Offline DaveR

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Re: Gordon Lorenz
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2011, 09:13:25 pm »
Wikipedia has a good biography:

Born in Childwall, an affluent suburb of Liverpool,[2] his parents were both members of the Salvation Army. To improve projection of his voice, his parents sent him to drama school, where he was first introduced to show business. After leaving school he became a travelling evangelist, travelling the United Kingdom in support of various Salvation Army endeavours.

After his father died, he approached his mother nervously and told her that he wanted to become a full time musician. After struggling for a while, he was offered a job by Border Television to write fill-in music between their various day time shows, where he was introduced to the recording studio: "I always liked working in studios. They don't have any windows, they're always very quiet, deliberately conducive to concentration and work."[1]

In 1980, Lorenz wrote "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" to tie in with the Queen Mother's 80th birthday, and sent it to EMI. Having initially turned it down, the managing director rang me and said he decided to put it out because he said he could not get grandma, we love you out of his mind: "If it's caught in my mind chances are that it will with the public, and we'll put it out for Christmas".[1] It was one of the last Christmas singles to sell one million copies, won an Ivor Novello Award for highest selling record of 1980 - beating Barbra Streisand's "Woman In Love" and The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me".[1]

Subsequently employed full time by EMI, Lorenz became one of the most prolific record producers in the music industry, producing over 800 albums (believed to be a world record), selling 8 million records, earning 17 platinum, gold and silver discs featuring some of the biggest international artists. After being asked by Unicef to help raise funds for children in Africa suffering from HIV and Aids, he produced The Best Gospel Album In The World . . . Ever, which featured the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Choral Society and Howells Girls Choir. He also produced the five album series Your 100 Favourite Hymns that are still the biggest-selling religious recordings in history.[citation needed] In 2002, Lorenz wrote the song "Rejoice Rejoice" for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, sung by a 1,000 strong choir conducted by Sir David Wilcox outside Buckingham Palace as the Queen left in her coach for a Thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral.[3]

Approached by music manager Jonathan Shalit, Lorenz was asked to produce two songs for a 12 year old Charlotte Church, and introduce her to the recording studio. Lorenz record and produced her first two recordings, including the recording of "Pie Jesu".

Lorenz was a member of the British Academy of Composers and Authors, The Good Turns Society and The Music Publishers Association. He was also a vice-president of the Morriston Orpheus Choir and Llandudno Town Brass Band.[4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Lorenz

Offline lizcj

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Re: Gordon Lorenz
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2014, 03:03:22 pm »
I'm new to this forum and it might seem strange adding to an obituary so far after the fact but Gordon Lorenz was an absolute gent. I used to work at Clwyd Theatr Cymru and Mr Lorenz was a regular visitor, I chatted to him about Llandudno the first time I encountered him and regardless of who he was served by on subsequent visits, he always made time to say hello to me. I was genuinely saddened when I heard he had passed on.