Tony Waddington (songwriter)

He became well known with Wayne Bickerton, as writer and producer of a series of UK chart hits in the 1970s for The Rubettes.

His first job was working at a solicitor's office in Liverpool, but he played with several local bands including Lee Curtis and the All-Stars and the Pete Best Four (later the Pete Best Combo), at the same time as his childhood friend Wayne Bickerton was the band's lead vocalist.

One of the most successful was "Nothing but a Heartache", recorded by American girl singing group The Flirtations, which reached No.

They wrote and produced all of the Rubettes' subsequent UK hits – nine Top 50 hits in all between 1974 and 1977 – winning an Ivor Novello Award as Songwriters of the Year, and also reached the UK Top 10 with "Sugar Candy Kisses" by Mac and Katie Kissoon.

His music has been used in several films including Muriel's Wedding (1994), Resurrection Man (1998) and Breakfast on Pluto (2005).