Terry Dempsey (songwriter) explained

Terry Dempsey
Birth Date:8 March 1941
Birth Place:England
Origin:South Africa
Death Place:Vaal Marina, South Africa
Occupation:Songwriter
Past Member Of:

Terry Dempsey (8 March 1941 – 10 February 2019)[1] was a South African songwriter whose songs were made famous by a number of artists.

Early life

Born in England, he moved to South Africa in 1978 and formed two record labels, Storm and MAP.[2] He wrote the song "Daydreamer", which he took to Tokyo Music Festival in 1974 where it was picked up by Artie Wayne and recorded by David Cassidy. Cassidy's recording spent three weeks at the top of the UK singles chart in October and November 1973.[3] A French adaptation, "Le Mal Aimé", recorded by Claude François, reached number 1 in France.

He also wrote "Love Is a Beautiful Song", performed by Dave Mills, which reached number 1 in South Africa, Canada and Australia.[4] Two other songs written by him reached Number 1 in South Africa – "Spider Spider" by Tidal Wave and "Kentucky Blues" sung by Lauren Copley.[2] His song "Home" recorded by Dave Mills won a SARIE award in 1971 for Song of the Year.[5]

He also wrote theme songs for South African TV shows, including Twist Grip, TopSport, DriveTime, as well as the Comrades Marathon and television series' The Power of Persuasion and Wings Over Africa.[4]

In 1988 he joined the board of the National Organisation of Rights In Music (later called the Southern African Music Rights Organisation) for a period of three years before being elected as chairman for a further two years.[6]

In 1999 he produced and wrote the film score for the South African feature film Heel Against the Head.[4]

Writing credits

Some of his writing credits include:

Song Performed by
Spider, SpiderTidal Wave
She's a Gypsy Cliff Richard
We grew up on Rock 'n RollThe New Seekers
SmileyPetula Clark
Time after timeEngelbert Humperdinck
Dancing heart to heartRoddy
VickyLance James
Flower of LifeLauren Copley
Kentucky BluesLauren Copley
Butchers and BakersThe Staccatos[7]
Love Is A Beautiful SongDave Mills[8]
You've got all of me Clout

Death

He was killed when he was struck by the blades of a gyrocopter when it made an emergency landing at the Vaal Marina during a family ash scattering.[9] [4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Obituary: Terry Dempsey . Prowrite . 3 March 2019.
  2. Book: History of Contemporary Music of South Africa Part 1 . Toga Publishing . Chivers, G . Jasiukowicz, T . 1994 . 28–29 . 0-620-18121-4.
  3. Web site: David Cassidy . Official UK Charts Company . 26 May 2012.
  4. News: Dempsey kon nie skroef vryspring . February 12, 2019 . February 19, 2019 . Otto, Hanti.
  5. New Faces in SA 1970 SARIE Awards . Billboard Magazine . November 6, 1971 . 49.
  6. Web site: SAMRO SENDS ITS DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO TERRY DEMPSEY'S FAMILY, FRIENDS AND MUSIC INDUSTRY . SAMRO . February 19, 2019.
  7. Web site: COVER.INFO.
  8. Web site: COVER.INFO.
  9. Web site: Elderly man killed by gyrocopter blades during emergency landing . News24 . February 10, 2019 . February 19, 2019 . Petersen, Tammy.