Trivia

Laurie missed out on credits for his work on the Saturday Night Drama series 'Wicked Women' because it was not realized till near the transmission dates that the music had been credited to (the easily confused with) Laurie Johnson.To avoid the copyright minefield it would have invoked, the music credits were removed, but to recreate the credit with the technology of the day would have been too time consuming and costly so it was just left out.

He was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Music. He is the musician and co-founder of the Montgomery Holloway Music Trust.

Bray, Berkshire, England: musician (June 2013)

His professional association with Michael Parkinson (a Berkshire neighbour and friend) began in 1998 when be became musical director of the Parkinson chat show. He worked on the show until 2004 for BBC, and when the show transferred to ITV from 2004 to 2007.

Holloway became more associated with jazz after working as musical director for the singer Cleo Laine, which soon led to him joining the John Dankworth Band as pianist and arranger. He worked with Dankworth on the 1967 album The $1,000,000,000 Collection, and on subsequent Dankworth albums.

In 1990, Holloway accompanied Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, Princess Margaret, on the piano for a recording the two made of Scottish childhood songs at Buckingham Palace for the 90th birthday of their mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. A single cassette was produced featuring a dozen songs, but the recording was lost after the Queen Mother's death.

He began performing at ballroom dances and turned professional in 1954 when he joined Syd Willmott and his Band as a pianist.

Aged 12 he was the organist and choirmaster at his local church.

He composed several well-known theme tunes such as Game for a Laugh, Wicked Women, Maggie and Her, Blind Date and Beadle's About.

Laurie Holloway was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to music.

In the 1970s he was the Musical Director for the singer Englebert Humperdinck, and on the television talk show Parkinson.

Laurie Holloway was an English pianist, musical director and composer from Oldham, Lancashire, England.

The list of artists he has worked with includes Stephane Grappelli, Tom Jones, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., Gilbert O'Sullivan, Mel Torme, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Lesley Garrett, Bob Monkhouse, Barry Humphries and Ronnie Corbett.

He also composed "Hook, Line and Sinker" for the 1970 LWT fishing series Casting Around.

In 2004, he became the Musical Director for the first three series of the popular dance show Strictly Come Dancing, for which he provided many arrangements every week.

He began playing piano at the age of four, taking his first formal lessons aged seven.

He was musical director for Englebert Humperdinck from 1970 to 1975, working on his albums and touring the US, including Las Vegas.

Laurie Holloway played with Geraldo on cruise ships, with the Cyril Stapleton band, and then as a studio session musician, playing on many tracks, including on Downtown by Petula Clark with musical director Tony Hatch in 1964.

He was awarded the Gold Badge of Merit by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters and he appeared as a subject of This Is Your Life.

From 2004 to 2006, he was the original Musical Director for the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.