BBC News Online: UK

Oliver! creator dies after cancer battle

He had been receiving treatment for cancer at Hammersmith Hospital in London.

Mr Bart was central to the revival of musicals in the UK at a time when American productions dominated the West End stage.

He also won dubious fame for losing his fortune from Oliver! and surviving years of alcoholism and excess.

Lord Lloyd-Webber, a composer of hit shows including Cats and Phantom of the Opera, said: "Lionel was the father of the modern British musical.

"As composer, book writer and lyricist of Oliver!, he was responsible for one of the greatest musicals of all time and if this wasn't enough, he wrote arguably the all-time perfect pop song, Living Doll.

"Lionel's genius has in my view never been fully recognised by the British establishment. The loss to British musical theatre caused by his untimely death is incalculable."

Sorely missed

Singer Cliff Richard paid tribute to the composer who gave him his first Number One hit, Living Doll.

He said: "In my opinion, Lionel Bart was probably responsible for the best musical we have ever produced - Oliver!

"He is a talent that will be sorely missed and never forgotten, especially by me."

Screamin' Lord Sutch said Lionel Bart "composed the classic rock and roll songs for Cliff Richard before anyone else was doing them when the Beatles had not yet got out of their nappies".

He added: "He is up there now writing lyrics for Elvis with the great rock and roll band in the sky. His lyrics will live on forever."

Entertainer Roy Hudd described him as a "great tunesmith", adding: "Anyone who can write like that is going to be terribly missed."

Drink and drug addictions

Mr Bart's most famous legacy is Oliver!, the 1960 show based on Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, which combined simple melodies and catchy lyrics.

It followed on from the success of his first musical Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be, which had a two-year run in London.

After the film adaptation won six Oscars he became romantically linked with the likes of Judy Garland and Alma Cogan.

Following the lesser successes of follow-ups Blitz! (1962) and Maggie May (1964), and the failure of 1965's Twang!!, he began a long decline into drink and drug problems, which lasted for much of the 1970s and 1980s.

He signed away the rights to Oliver! to finance Twang!! - a move that cost him an estimated £100m.

At his peak he was among the Britain's most successful pop songwriters, penning hits for the likes of Cliff Richard, Anthony Newley, Shirley Bassey and Adam Faith.

He also wrote the famous James Bond theme From Russia With Love.

Born Lionel Beglieter, he was the son of a Jewish tailor in London's working-class East End, and had no formal musical education.

By the late 1970s his drinking had brought on diabetes and he had moved to a flat in Acton, west London, where he lived surrounded by packing cases.

He later kicked the drink and joined Alcoholics Anonymous, with a third of his liver destroyed.

He began composing again and saw his profile rise through revivals of his work, most notably Sir Cameron Mackintosh's 1994 West End production of Oliver!.

A member of his family said he had been working on a revival of the 1969 musical La Strada right up until his death.

He is survived by two elder sisters.

Relevant Stories

Musical master who couldn't read a note (03 Apr 99 | UK)

In this section

Next steps for peace
Blairs' surprise over baby
Bowled over by Lord's
Beef row 'compromise' under fire
Hamilton 'would sell mother'
Industry misses new trains target
Quins fightback shocks Cardiff (From Sport)
Vodafone takeover battle heats up (From Business)
IRA ceasefire challenge rejected
Thousands celebrate Asian culture
Christie could get two-year ban (From Sport)
Colleagues remember Compo (From Entertainment)
Mother pleads for baby's return
Toys withdrawn in E.coli health scare
Nurses role set to expand (From Health)
Israeli PM's plane in accident
More lottery cash for grassroots
Pro-lifers plan shock launch
Double killer gets life
Cold 'cure' comes one step closer (From Health)
Straw on trial over jury reform (From UK Politics)
Tatchell calls for rights probe into Mugabe
Ex-spy stays out in the cold
Blair warns Livingstone (From UK Politics)
Smear equipment `misses cancers' (From Health)
Boyzone star gets in Christmas spirit (From Entertainment)
Fake bubbly warning
Murder jury hears dead girl's diary
Germ warfare fiasco revealed (From UK Politics)
Blair babe triggers tabloid frenzy
Tourists shot by mistake
A new look for News Online