Noel Gay

Reginald Moxon Armitage (15 July 1898 – 4 March 1954) known professionally as Noel Gay was a British composer of popular music of the 1930s and 1940s whose output comprised 45 songs as well as the music for 28 films and 26 London shows. Sheridan Morley has commented that he was "the closest Britain ever came to a local Irving Berlin". He is best known for the musical, Me and My Girl.

Early life Armitage was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. A precocious talent, he had deputised for the choirmaster of Wakefield Cathedral from the age of eight, The show was revived in 1952 and again in 1984, when the book was revised by Stephen Fry and came to include some of Gay's own songs.

His son, Richard Armitage, set up the Noel Gay Artists agency and became an influential talent agent.

He died from cancer on 4 March 1954.

Shows Gay contributed to numerous shows, almost all of them musical comedies or revues. Grove Music Online lists the following, except where the genre is stated as uncertain or as pantomime:

Year Name Comedy/Revue Notes 1926 The Charlot Show of 1926 R 1927 Clowns in Clover R 1931 Hold My Hand C Folly To Be Wise R included The King's Horses 1932 She Couldn't Say No Uncertain genre 1933 That's A Pretty Thing C Rev. as La-Di-Da-Di-Da, 1943 1935 Jack O'Diamonds C Rev. as Susie, 1942 Love Laughs C Stop Press R 1936 O-Kay for Sound Book: Bob Weston & Bert Lee; music: Noel Gay, Harris Weston, Michael Carr & Jimmy Kennedy. Included The Fleet's in Port Again 1937 Me and My Girl C Filmed as The Lambeth Walk, 1939 1938 Wild Oats C 1939 The Little Dog Laughed London Palladium Revue 1940 Lights Up R included Let The People Sing, Only A Glass of Champagne, You've Done Something to My Heart, The Girl Who Loves a Soldier Present Arms C 1942 Gangway R 1943 The Love Racket C 1944 Meet Me Victoria C Ring Time C 1946 Sweetheart Mine C 1948 Bob's Your Uncle C 1949 Aladdin Score for pantomime) 1931 Girl of a Million Dreams Jos. Geo. Gilbert Noel Gay LCC 1931 Mrs Elizabeth Brown Jos. Geo. Gilbert Noel Gay LCC 1931 The King's Horses and The King's Men Noel Gay & Harry Graham LCC 1931 Laughing at the Rain Jos. Geo. Gilbert Noel Gay LCC 1931 Goddess of the Moon The Chinese Bungalow Noel Gay LCC 1931 I Want The World To Know That I Belong To You On with the Show Jos. Geo. Gilbert Noel Gay LCC 1931 The Pied Piper of Hamelin Hold My Hand Desmond Carter & Noel Gay Noel Gay LCC 1932; NLA Hold My Hand Hold My Hand Harry Graham Maurice Elwin & Noel Gay LCC 1932 Dearest, It's You Jos. Geo. Gilbert / Benny Davis Noel Gay LCC 1932 Nobody's Baby Is Somebody's Baby Now Gus Kahn Noel Gay LCC 1932 Ali Baba's Camel Noel Gay NLA 1932 Land of Love and Laughter Archie Gottler Noel Gay LCC 1932 Turn on the Music Noel Gay & Desmond Carter Noel Gay LCC 1932 Thou Shalt Not Archie Gottler Noel Gay LCC 1932 All for the Love of A Lady Archie Gottler / J P Long Noel Gay LCC 1932 The Sun Has Got His Hat On Ralph Butler & Noel Gay LCC 1932 Round The Marble Arch Ralph Butler & Noel Gay LCC 1932 Lovely Little Silhouette Archie Gottler Noel Gay LCC 1932 I Don't Want To Go To Bed Stanley Lupino Noel Gay NLA I've Found The Right Girl / Oh What A Girl Stanley Lupino & Noel Gay NLA 1933 La-di-da-di-da That's A Pretty Thing Desmond Carter Noel Gay LCC 1934 I'm Hitching My Wagon To You That's A Pretty Thing Desmond Carter Noel Gay LCC 1934 I Took My Harp to a Party Desmond Carter Noel Gay LCC 1934 Why Can't We You Made Me Love You (film) Clifford Grey Noel Gay LCC 1934 The Song You Gave To Me Clifford Grey & Noel Gay Noel Gay NLA Letting in the Sunshine Noel Gay NLA One Little Kiss From You Clifford Grey Noel Gay NLA There's Something About A Soldier Soldiers of the King (film) Noel Gay NLA The Moment I Saw You Soldiers of the King (film) Clifford Grey Noel Gay NLA 1934 Fit For Anything Desmond Carter Noel Gay LCC 1934 Happy Happy (film) Stanley Lupino & Noel Gay LCC 1934 Who's Been Polishing The Sun? The Camels Are Coming (film) Noel Gay NLA I'll Pray For You Roy King & Stanley Hill (Noel Gay) Jos. Geo. Gilbert & Noel Gay NLA 1935 Time Love Laughs! Desmond Carter Noel Gay NLA All for a Shilling A Day Where's My Man? Clifford Grey & Noel Gay Noel Gay NLA 1936 The Fleet's in Port Again O-Kay For Sound (and as film, 1937) Noel Gay NLA Let's Have A Tiddly at the Milk Bar Noel Gay NLA 1937 Red, White and Blue Noel Gay NLA The Lambeth Walk Douglas Furber Noel Gay NLA Me and My Girl Douglas Furber Noel Gay NLA Leaning on a Lamp-post Noel Gay NLA Won't You Buy My Pretty Flowers Jack Meskill & Noel Gay Noel Gay NLA 1938 Love Makes The World Go Round These Foolish Things Stanley Hill (Noel Gay) NLA 1939 Did You Go Down Lambeth Way? Noel Gay NLA You've Done Something to My Heart Lights Up Frank Eyton & Ian Grant Noel Gay NLA Run, Rabbit, Run The Little Dog Laughed Ralph Butler & Noel Gay Noel Gay NLA The Girl Who Loves A Soldier Ralph Butler & Noel Gay Noel Gay NLA Let The People Sing Frank Eyton & Ian Grant Noel Gay NLA Birthday of the Little Princess Noel Gay NLA The Moon Remembered But You Forgot Frank Eyton & Noel Gay NLA Fare Thee Well Jimmy Campbell, Frank Eyton & Noel Gay NLA 1940 All Over The Place Sailors Three (film) Frank Eyton & Noel Gay Noel Gay NLA Oh What A Wonderful Night We've Had Tonight Ralph Butler & Noel Gay Noel Gay NLA Oh! Buddy, I'm in Love Ralph Butler & Noel Gay Noel Gay NLA Whose Little What's-it Are You? Frank Eyton & Noel Gay NLA Moonlight Avenue Jos. Geo. Gilbert, Jimmy Campbell & Noel Gay NLA 1941 Come Happy Day Bill Hutter & Noel Gay NLA Mr Brown of London Town Reginald Arkell & Noel Gay NLA Hey! Little Hen Ralph Butler & Noel Gay NLA She's in Love with a Soldier David Heneker & Noel Gay NLA I'd Never Fall in Love Again Ralph Butler & Noel Gay NLA Oh! How He Misses His Missus (Since He Became A Military Man) Ralph Butler & Noel Gay NLA He Wants To Be A Pilot Muriel Watson, Jack Denby & Noel Gay NLA Who Are You A-Shovin' Of? Raymond Moore & Noel Gay NLA 1942 The First Waltz Ralph Butler & Noel Gay NLA 1943 Happy Days, Happy Months, Happy Years Frank Eyton & Noel Gay NLA Sitting on a Cloud Ralph Butler & Noel Gay NLA I'm Mad at Myself Joe Lubin & Noel Gay NLA Why Say Goodbye Tommy Angel, Joyce Cochrane & Noel Gay NLA 1944 We Don't Know Where We're Going Ralph Butler & Noel Gay NLA 1945 The Too-rie on His Bonnet George Brown Noel Gay NLA 1946 When Alice Blue Gown Met Little Boy Blue Arnold, Ralph Butler & Simpson Noel Gay NLA 1949 I'll Always Love You Frank Eyton & Noel Gay Noel Gay NLA 1950 My Thanks To You Norman Newell Noel Gay NLA

Some of his songs featured in the film Overlord