Copyright Curbs Pop Singer Macmillan

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30045, 1 February 1963, Page 9

Copyright Curbs Pop Singer Macmillan

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

LONDON, Jan. 31. * A record of Britain’s Prime Minister, Mr Macmillan “singing” a pop song, was unlikely to reach the Top Twenty, > the “Daily Express” rej ported. A firm of music publishers had stepped in and stopped the growing sale of the record. Mr Macmillan spoke part of ■ the lyrics of the song, “She ' Didn't Say Yes,” by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach, at > the Conservative Party conference in October. Mr Nicholas Luard, the 24i year-old owner of the satiri- ; cal magazine, “Private Eye,” i took a tape recording of the ■ words and added a musical i accompaniment, making Mr ' Macmillan sound like a pop singer.

Sales were creeping up over the 4000 mark when Chappell's, the publishers, who hold the English copyright for the song, stepped in. A spokesman for Chappell’s said yesterday: “They used part of the lyric without our permission. We have to protect the way our composers* and authors’ work is used.” Mr Luard said he had ordered his distributors to withhold all copies of the record.

“We made a good singing 'find' in Mr Macmillan, but perhaps they think our man did not do justice to their song." he said. “We think he was at his golden best.” Mr Luard has had to turn down an offer from an American recording company for the rights.