Alfred Nieman was born in the East End of London in 1914 to Polish and Russian immigrant parents.
He left school in 1928 at the age of fourteen and got a job playing piano for movies at the silent cinema in order to help support his family.
Prior to World War II, Nieman joined in a piano duo with his contemporary Cimbro Martin, under the name "Merlin and Martyn".
[2] Because his health was too poor to be a soldier, during WWII Nieman joined the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), which led him to work for the BBC as a performer and arranger.
[1] At the BBC, he carried out tasks such as accompanying Noël Coward and standing in for the soloist in a broadcast piano concerto.
Nieman composed extensively and wrote under several pseudonyms, including "Alfred Merlin" and "Robert Legray".