Bob Heatlie

Bob Heatlie (born 1946) is a Scottish songwriter and producer who has collaborated with many leading music industry figures. He has been successful in producing musical scores for the television entertainment industry.

Background

He started learning the saxophone from his father when he was six years old. He later played drums in his father's band.[1]

Chart hit songs

His most successful and prominent songs are "Japanese Boy" and "Merry Christmas Everyone", both substantial 1980s pop chart hits across Europe and beyond. "Japanese Boy" (released by the German label Hansa) was a novelty hit recorded by Aneka.[1] It sold in excess of 4.5 million copies.

Heatlie wrote "Cry Just A Little Bit" in 1983 and "Breaking Up My Heart" for Shakin' Stevens in 1985.[1]

Heatlie wrote "Merry Christmas Everyone", a Christmas no 1 in 1985. "Merry Christmas Everyone" has since become an annual mainstay of radio airplay in and around the December holidays.[2] He wrote the song in the middle of a heatwave during the summer.[3]

Heatlie also wrote an album track "Woman (What Have You Done To Me) for Shaky on the 1988 album "A Whole Lotta Shaky". A remixed version of the same song was featured within The Shakin' Stevens release "The Epic Masters Box Set" in 2009. Heatlie also co-produced and remixed nine songs on Shaky's album "A Whole Lotta Shaky". The last single Heatlie worked on with Shaky was the single "Radio" which featured Roger Taylor from Queen.

Personal life

One of the partners of Bob Heatlie was Hungarian singer Eva Csepregi, lead-vocalist of famous disco-band "Neoton Família". Bob Heatlie produced her solo albums from 1985–1992; these were released in Europe and South Korea and were popular in USSR and Asia. In 1992 Eva and Bob had a son, David.

Current status

In later years, Heatlie concentrated on doing musical compositions for children's television. He also composed the music for the documentary series Worlds Apart and the television special The Curious Case of Santa Claus.

Songwriting credits

Solo
  • Aneka – "Japanese Boy" (single, 8 August 1981, UK No. 1)
  • Cliff Richard – "Locked Inside Your Prison" (album track on Silver, October 1983, UK No. 7)
  • Shakin' Stevens – "Cry Just a Little Bit" (single, 5 November 1983, UK No. 3)
  • Shakin' Stevens – "Breaking Up My Heart" (single, 2 March 1985, UK No. 14)
  • Shakin' Stevens – "Merry Christmas Everyone" (single, 7 December 1985, UK No. 1)
  • Ann Turner – "Too Hot to Handle" (runner-up in the UK's Song For Europe Eurovision Song Contest selection TV programme, 1987)
  • Shakin' Stevens – "Woman (What Have You Done to Me)" (album track on "A Whole Lotta Shaky" 1988)

With Gordon Campbell
  • Local Hero – "Why Don't You" (B-side to the single "Daydream Believer")
  • Anya – "Moscow Nights" (single, 1985)
  • Shakin' Stevens – "Radio" (single, 10 October 1992, UK No. 37)

For TV

References
  1. Scougall, Murray (15 December 2020). "Shakin Stevens' Christmas song writer, Bob Heatlie: Snow wasn't falling all around me and children weren't playing, having fun... but I still knew it was a hit". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  2. Moore, Sam (21 December 2020). "Seasonably rich: here's how much musicians make from our favourite Christmas songs". NME. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  3. "The end of the Christmas Number One era". The Independent. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
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