He’s Ronnie Wood’s snooker buddy. He’s the Oscar-winning songwriter who Robbie Williams once described as ‘the Pele of Lyricists’. He’s Don Black OBE and he’s here to chat about writing the lyrics for Bond classics, temperament and rejection in the world of music, his love of Barbra Streisand, and everything in between.
From left to right: John Barry, Tom Jones, and Don Black
Denmark Street. England’s answer to Manhattan’s Tin Pan Alley. The street would go on to be the arena of musical legend. The Rolling Stones will record in the studio at No.4. David Bowie and the Small Faces will natter over a brew at the Gioconda Cafe at No.9. The Sex Pistols will live above No.6.
A young Don Black is trying to make his break as the hoards of music industry bods cluster the street, the smell of cigarette ash in the air. Over the coming decades, he would go on to create a series of immortal classics. Meeting at his home in London on a brisk November morning, he took us through his journey.
I feel that to get an understanding of how you go to where you are now, we need to take it back to the very start and talk about how you got into this world. What drew you into taking this route in your life?
I started my career working for the New Musical Express, surrounded by songwriters. I just loved them. They never seemed to get old and always had that twinkle in their eyes, even in their 70s and 80s. I used to love speaking with songwriters because of the amazing way they spoke. They’d say, ‘I’ve got to leave the house and get to a park. I’ve just got to get an idea for a song”. I thought – what a job! Going to the park to get an idea! I silently reckoned I could do it, so I started writing lyrics.
That does sound like a dream job. But how did that lead to being involved with James Bond?
I wrote a bunch of rubbish lyrics at the start but got my break with a gentleman called Matt Monro, who’d retired from bus driving. It was a song called Walk Away. In those days, everyone in music would congregate on our Tin Pan Alley: a bunch of singers hanging around waiting to get their break. As a publisher I could choose who sang the song, and gave Matt Monro a fiver for it. Which sounds ludicrous but was a fortune back then.
Don and his Academy Award
I ended up being his manager for over twenty years and from that song I got a top five hit from nowhere. It was a ballad and it was done just as rock n’roll was starting, which led to it getting noticed. John Barry loved that song. He said, ‘Have a go at this James Bond thing – Thunderball.’ And that’s how I got into that world.
Matt Monro, who gave Don his big break
Amazing. In terms of the success you’ve had, what character traits assisted you on this incredible career?
Luck plays a big part in a good musician’s career. And persistence. The producer of the film didn’t like my song Diamonds Are Forever. He thought it was filthy, the words: ‘touch it, stroke it and undress it’ (laughs). But Shirley Bassey and John Barry loved it. They always say that behind every songwriter there’s an astonished mother in law!
Another example is a producer who didn’t like my biggest song Born Free, but we loved it. Someone recorded it in America and it became a hit. The publishers then said if we can get this in every print of the film, we can be eligible for an academy award. And you know what, it won!
Don and Quincy Jones
Speaking to you, there’s definitely a sense of calm. How does that peaceful nature help you manage your job?
A lot of songwriters don’t get on with their partners but I can honestly say I’ve never had an argument with anyone. Whether it be Quincy Jones or Van Morrison.
My wife Shirley and I, before she passed away a few years ago, had such a stable life. I’d go and write a song with Andrew, then come home to a cup of tea with Shirley. It was a down to earth thing.
I’d go and write a song with Andrew, then come home to a cup of tea with Shirley. It was a down to earth thing.
Two words sum me up: dedication (I give everything when I’m on it), and detachment (when I come home). It sums my life up really. I work bloody hard and it’s not easy but there has to come a time where I go and play scrabble or go for a walk to take myself out of that world. It’s a mind thing.
Don and with his wife Shirley
Throughout your career have you had to deal with rejection?
The reason most people don’t last long is because they haven’t got the right temperament. To have success in anything you need to go through a lot of hard work and a lot of failure. A lot of the songwriters from the 60s don’t write anymore. If you can’t take rejection you won’t make it.
My biggest attribute is my passion for great songs. I love songs and I always have. People say they love music, but they don’t, not like I do. I dissect the craft. All of it. When you leave, I’ve got to write a song for Van Morrison. I love it so much that not being rude, I’m looking forward to you going. I will carry on doing this job forever for one simple reason: I enjoy it so much. It’s like doing crosswords, but they rhyme.
I will carry on doing this job forever for one simple reason: I enjoy it so much.
Bringing it back to the modern day, do you still consider yourself intertwined with pop culture?
Yes, absolutely. I raised my children with the kind of music I liked, and they were raised with that standard. My son last night told me to listen to this Taylor Swift song. I said I know her, but he said no seriously listen to it. I did, and it is honestly fantastic, she’s great. I take the time to listen to them, whether it be Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, or Bruno Mars. I like to hear what’s going on.
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black at the 2020 Olivier Awards
On that, talk me through some of your favourite vocalists…
Barbra Streisand always sticks out to me. She’s the singer of her generation, just amazing. I was lucky enough to work with her for the songs for Sunset Boulevard. She sticks out like Frank Sinatra does- there are few at that level. We really got on.
But to be honest I get on well with all creative people. I’m happiest and at the most ease with creative people, because we’re all working in the same factory. I tune in to how they are because I get it. They’re all full of their frailties and vulnerabilities so each collaboration is different.
I have to ask, what kind of relationship do you have with Andrew Lloyd Webber today?
I thank him for my carpets! (laughs).
So in a nutshell, how do you sum up songwriting?
When people ask questions about the story behind a song, it’s a lot more simple than you think. I love it when Sir Paul McCartney was asked how did you write Yesterday. He just said it was a good day at the office. It sums it up really, because that’s what we do for a living.
