(recorded by both Anthony Newley and Andy Williams), "Big Time" (a 1961 cover by Jack Jones of his show tune from Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be), "Easy Going Me" by Adam Faith, "Always You And Me" by Russ Conway, and several songs recorded by Tommy Steele ("A Handful of Songs", "Butterfingers" and "Little White Bull").

The following year the pair auditioned for a production of the Leonard Irwin play The Wages of Eve at London's Unity Theatre.

[5] He also wrote comedy songs for the Sunday lunchtime BBC radio programme The Billy Cotton Band Show.

[6] He first gained widespread recognition through his pop songwriting, penning numerous hits for the stable of young male singers promoted by artist manager and music publisher Larry Parnes.

Bart's pop output in this period includes the hits "Living Doll" (written for Cliff Richard) and "Rock with the Caveman", "Handful of Songs", "Butterfingers" and "Little White Bull" (all for Tommy Steele).

His other hits include "Do You Mind", recorded by both Andy Williams and Anthony Newley, whose recording reached number one on the UK charts on 30 March 1960[7] and was the 100th song to do so, "Big Time" (a 1961 cover by Jack Jones of his show tune from Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be), "Easy Going Me" (Adam Faith), and "Always You and Me" (with Russ Conway).

was made into a movie starring Ron Moody, Oliver Reed and Shani Wallis that won several Oscars, including best film.

(1965), a musical based on the Robin Hood legend, was a flop and La Strada (1969), which opened on Broadway after the removal of most of Bart's songs, closed after only one performance.

[13] Bart used his personal finances to try to rescue his last two productions, selling his past and future rights to his work, including Oliver!

He eventually stopped drinking, although the years of substance abuse seriously damaged his health, leaving him with diabetes and impaired liver function.

[13] He wrote Next Year in Jerusalem in 1975–1976, but it was not staged until 2021 in a virtual performance of the Jewish Music Institute featuring Maureen Lipman.

[citation needed] Cameron Mackintosh, who owned half the rights to Oliver!, revived the musical at the London Palladium in 1994 in a version featuring rewrites by Bart.

At the peak of his career, Bart was romantically linked in the media with singers Judy Garland and Alma Cogan,[6] though he was homosexual.

was presented in concert at Theatre Royal Stratford East in 2015 featuring Neil McDermott as Bart, Jessica Hynes as Joan Littlewood and Sonny Jay as Charlene, with an appearance by 1960s pop-star Grazina Frame, who was an original cast member in Bart's Blitz!.