16c Fair
Intimately Yours, Llandudno Venue Cymru
LIVING and performing in the shadow of a famous father can't be easy but it's something Matt Monro Jnr has achieved where so many others have failed. When you have a dad who gained international fame on the back of a series of hit records, wowed the notoriously tough audiences in Las Vegas, and counted legends like Sinatra, Neil Diamond, The Beatles and Barry Manilow as friends it's a difficult act to follow.
But Matt Jnr, who comes to Llandudno later this month, has successfully built a music career while helping to keep his much loved dad's memory alive.
When Matt Jnr was only 13 he was invited by his father to join him on stage in 1977 to sing a duet and from then on was hooked on show business.
"I don't know whether it's in the blood but I knew then that I wanted to be a singer in my own right," he said.
Unfortunately the two Monros never got a chance to repeat their duet performance as in February 1985, Matt Monro died at the age of 54, and Matt's dream of sharing the stage with his father again were shattered.
However a year later a tribute to Matt Monro was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London and Matt Jnr performed to over 2,000 people. David Jacobs, the renowned Radio 2 DJ, was in the audience and later went on the air saying a new singer had emerged.
This led Matt to appear on talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1986, which established him as having his own individual talent.
In 1989-90 Matt did a British tour with Cannon & Ball plus Hinge and Bracket and from this evolved an act in which he paid tribute to his father by singing some of his greatest hits including Portrait of My Love and Mona Lisa.
In 1995 he was signed by EMI and thanks to the advent of modern technology was able to fulfil his dream of singing with his dad again on Matt Sings Monro. is a collection of many of the best Matt Monro songs sung as duets.
Since 2005 he has toured with a show called The Legend Lives On, and now has a new show Intimately Yours - he's just back from a nine-week tour of the Philippines where he performed for former First Lady Imelda Marcos.
"I love the new show, it's very exciting for me to be working with my dad's former musical director the fantastic Colin Keyes, and although I am performing my dad's songs we have given them a new twist and I sing them in my style which is quite different from my dad's," he said.
"Previously I've been backed by a orchestra but on this tour it's just a small group of musicians and me, which gives it a more intimate feel.
"It's important to me to keep my dad's memory and his music alive," he adds.
"As well as singing the songs I tell lots of stories about him - we have been getting a fantastic response to the show."
Intimately Yours, Llandudno Venue Cymru, June 30. Tickets 01492 872000 or venuecymru.co.uk
