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Bob Heatlie (20 July 1946 – 8 April 2023) was a Scottish songwriter and record producer who collaborated with many music acts, both bands and solo artists. He also produced multiple musical scores for television entertainment series.[1]
Born in Craigmillar, in Edinburgh, Scotland, he started learning the saxophone from his father when he was six years old. He later played drums in his father's band.
His most successful and prominent songs are "Japanese Boy" and "Merry Christmas Everyone", both substantial 1980s pop chart hits across Europe and beyond: the first being a 1981 novelty hit, recorded by Scottish singer Aneka and released by the German record label Hansa, while the latter being a 1985-released Christmas hit, recorded by Welsh artist Shakin' Stevens. Merry Christmas Everyone reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and has since become an annual mainstay of radio airplay around the December holidays.[2]
Heatlie wrote the songs "Cry Just a Little Bit" (1983) and "Breaking Up My Heart" (1985) for Shakin' Stevens.[3] Heatlie wrote another track for Stevens titled "Woman (What Have You Done To Me)", included on the 1988 album, A Whole Lotta Shaky. The song's remixed version of the same song was featured in Stevens' 2009 release, The Epic Masters. Bob Heatlie then co-produced and remixed nine songs on Stevens' albums. The last single Heatlie worked on with Shakin' Stevens was "Radio", which was released in 1992 and featured Roger Taylor from Queen.[4]
In later years, Heatlie concentrated on creating musical compositions for children's television. His career began with the 1986 children's animation, The Trap Door. He composed the music for the documentary series Worlds Apart and the television special The Curious Case of Santa Claus.
One of Heatlie's partners was Hungarian singer Éva Csepregi, lead vocalist of the disco band Neoton Família. Heatlie produced her solo albums from 1985 to 1992, which gained popularity in the Soviet Union and across Asia. In 1992, Csepregi and Heatlie had a son, David.
Heatlie died on April 8, 2023, at the age of 76.[1] [5]