Harry Robertson

Henry MacLeod Robertson (19 November 1932 – 17 January 1996), often credited as Harry Robinson, was a Scottish musician, bandleader, music director and composer. He worked as a musical director on British television shows in the 1950s and 1960s, and also arranged for theatre shows and films, notably those of the Hammer production company.

Early life He was the son of Henry Robertson of Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland. He learned piano, but then determined to become an archaeologist, studying the subject at university before giving up his academic studies because of his poor health, and becoming a music teacher in London.

Career He started working occasionally as an arranger for Decca Records, before becoming the musical director for Tommy Steele. He explained that in the late 1950s he began using the name Robinson, as well as Robertson, in his professional activities:

He arranged and conducted the stage shows Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be (1960) and Maggie May (1964) and also co-wrote the West End hit musical Elvis. Robinson was the conductor for the United Kingdom entry in the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest. He also wrote the string arrangements for English folk singers, such as Nick Drake (notably, "River Man", from Drake's debut album Five Leaves Left) and Sandy Denny, mostly notably the seven-minute "All Our Days" from her 1977 album Rendezvous.

In 1968, he wrote the theme tune for a TV series, Journey to the Unknown, produced by Hammer Film Productions. He then began scoring films for the company. Robertson was the composer, arranger or screenwriter of these films and others: The File of the Golden Goose (1969) The Oblong Box (1969) Arthur? Arthur! (1969) The Vampire Lovers (1970) Countess Dracula (1971) Lust for a Vampire (1971) Fright (1971) Demons of the Mind (1972) Twins of Evil (1972) The Best Pair of Legs in the Business (1973) The House in Nightmare Park (1973) Hijack! (1975) Legend of the Werewolf (1975) The Ghoul (1975) Not Now, Comrade (1976) There Goes the Bride (1980)

Robertson also produced and composed the music of Hawk the Slayer (1980), Prisoners of the Lost Universe (1982) and Jane and the Lost City (1988), co-writing the script of the first two. He wrote a number of film scripts, television series and books, including The Electric Eskimo, The Boy Who Never Was, Sammy's Super T-Shirt. He created and wrote the music for the TV series Virtual Murder.

Personal life and death He married Ziki Arbuthnot, who inherited the Wharton Barony in 1990. They had four children, the eldest of whom, Myles, is now the 12th Baron.

Harry Robertson died in London in 1996.