The Melody Lingers On: Introducing Tony Thornton
We are delighted to welcome a new regular columnist to Open Writing. Tony Thornton will be writing regularly on the tuneful music of yester-year - music which lives on in the present day because it is so easy on the ear.
The first of Tony's new columns, under the title The Melody Lingers On, will appear next Friday. You're in for a treat! It features one of Jerome Kern's most delightful songs, They Didn't Believe Me.
Soon Tony will also be writing another regular column, Bands Of Gold, which will present loads of fascinating facts and opinions about the big bands which were world-wide household names in the greatest days of popular music.
Tony is a professional writer with a wealth of personal musical experience.
He fulfilled his ambition to make money as a writer in 1992, after a successful career in engineering. Since then, he has had hundreds of articles published in newspapers and magazines. He is now the editor of eight magazines for a publisher in Carlisle.
For five years he ran his own magazine publishing company producing titles on Cumbria and The Borders.
Tony was born and bred in Lancashire. As a teenager he clambered on the Skiffle/Rock ’n’ Roll bandwagon that led to a musical adventure in a cabaret trio that toured the world on cruise liners.
He now plays bass guitar in a 15-piece Big Band.
Tony, wife Pat and Labrador Sally live in a converted farmhouse at the foot of the Cumbrian fells near Brampton, Carlisle. He is a keen vegetable gardener and amateur photographer.
Tony’s main hobby is the George Formby Society. He is a committee member and publishes the society magazine. He plays the ukulele, sings Formby songs and performs at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
Tony says: “Writing is like music. Every note, every word, should blend with those that come before and after. The result should be a harmonious whole that is easy on both brain and ear.”
tony.thornton@virgin.net
