Doug Flett
Australian songwriter (1935–2019)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Douglas Jackson Flett (13 October 1935 – 15 July 2019) was an Australian songwriter based in the UK, best known for his collaborations with longtime songwriting partner, Guy Fletcher. Collectively, the duo have also been known as Fletcher & Flett. Since the mid-1960s, they wrote and composed hit songs for many artists.
Career
Before moving to London in the early 1960s, Flett had worked in Sydney as a TV cameraman and in advertising. While in London, he was introduced to Guy Fletcher in 1965 by Shadows drummer Tony Meehan through a phone call, and the two met up. Since then, the duo wrote many songs for a wide number of artists including Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Cliff Richard and Frankie Valli.[2]
Flett and Fletcher's song "Save Me" (originally recorded by Merrilee Rush in 1977) was later covered by several other artists:
- Brian Chapman - 1977
- Clodagh Rogers - 1977
- Donna McDaniel - 1977
- Clout - 1978
- Mary Wilson of The Supremes - 1980
- Louise Mandrell - 1983
In 2016, they were each awarded a Gold Disc for their song "Just Pretend" due to sales of the Elvis Presley & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra compilation album The Wonder of You; the song features twice on the album, including a duet version with Helene Fischer.[3]
Death
It was announced that Flett had died on 15 July 2019 after a long illness.[4] He was survived by his daughter, journalist and broadcaster Kathryn Flett.[5][6]
