Scottish songwriter Bob Heatlie, 76, has passed away. He composed the Christmas classic “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens.
Mr. Heatlie, an Edinburgh native who grew up in the neighborhood of Craigmillar, has written songs for artists as diverse as Aneka and Cliff Richard.
After that, he went on to write the theme song for the popular 1990s children’s game show Fun House. Mr. Heatlie passed away on April 8th.
With the release of Cry Just a Little Bit in 1983, he began recording with Shakin’ Steven. Following Breaking Up My Heart, Merry Christmas Everyone eventually topped the charts in 1985.
Stevens remembered his mate in a series of social media posts.
He remarked,
“Bob was a fantastic human being in addition to being extraordinarily gifted. The loss of our friend is like the turning off of a light.”
Bob Heatlie boasted in 2015 about the ongoing royalties from his popular holiday song.
He said to BBC Scotland,
“It is a nice little pension.” It would be lovely, I’ve always thought, to write a Christmas hit that would last forever. I never expected it to occur, but it did.”
Mr. Heatlie also penned Japanese Boy for Mary Sandeman, better known under her stage name Aneka, a Scottish folk singer. In 1981, it was a number-one hit.
The Cliff Richard song “Locked Inside Your Prison” also features him. Mr. Heatlie composed the scores for the popular kids’ TV shows Little Robots and Trapdoor.
He collaborated with David Pringle on the music for both Fun House and Wheel of Fortune’s Spin to Win segment.
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