After leaving school aged 12, he worked for a printing company before joining a concert party in Eastbourne as a violinist and singer.
He returned to Leicester and in 1906 set up his own market stall to sell music, including his own composition, "Down by the Stream", which became successful.
[8] In 1926, he founded The Melody Maker, which initially gave special prominence to songs written by him, as "Horatio Nicholls", and published by his own company.
[9] The journal became popular, especially among musicians, but because of his conflict of interests Wright sold it to Oldhams Press in 1929;[9] it continued in publication until 2000.
[13] Wright's publishing company also obtained the rights to the compositions of American musicians including Hoagy Carmichael, Fats Waller and Duke Ellington.
He continued to write songs, and to supervise his publishing interests, and in 1962 received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Popular Music.