AMERICAN crooner Frank Sinatra once said that Matt Monro was the only British singer he ever listened to.

Praise does not come higher than that for a recording star who was regarded as the singer’s singer.

A former East London bus driver, who was then known as Terence Edward Parsons, he perfected his lyrical baritone techniques while serenading his passengers.

And his golden coated tones were just the ticket for his army of fans as he became one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s and 1970s.

Known as The Man with the Golden Voice, he filled cabaret clubs, music halls, and stadiums in Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas in his 30-year career.

A leading music journal described Monro as one of the most underrated pop vocalists of the sixties, who possessed the easiest, most perfect baritone voices in the business.

It is more than 30 years ago that he died but his recordings, including mega hits like Born Free and From Russia With Love, probably get more radio air play than any other artiste.

Now his rich musical legacy is being continued by his son Matt Monro Junior who will be bringing The Matt Monro story to The Concorde on September 27 as part of a nationwide tour.

He will be celebrating the music of the singer’s singer by showcasing his dad’s glittering back catalogue including Born Free, Portrait of My Love, Walk Away, Softly As I Leave You, From Russia With Love, If I Never Sing Another Song, Gonna Build a Mountain. On Days Like These, Change The World, Birth of The Blues, Yesterday and This Is The Life.

Likened to Perry Como because of his effortless versions of the ballads of the day, Monro, who died at the aged of 54, had the speaking voice of a Cockney but phrased like an English troubadour.

In 1960 Monro recorded Portrait of My Love and followed it with Walk Away. Both were popular in England and abroad but it was his agent, lyricist Don Black, who made Monro a true international star.

Monro recorded Black's lyrics to Born Free, the theme from the film about a lioness domesticated by a British couple in Africa, and the song topped charts in Britain, America and Japan.

And the singer grasped an opportunity which had been missed by the recording industry by covering The Beatles classic Yesterday. Up to then it had not been released as a single and Monro filled that gap with his own brilliant version.

His warm, relaxed interpretations of old and new songs and his gentle phrasing made him a favorite among fellow vocalists, including of course Ol' Blue Eyes.