He became well known, with Tony Waddington, as writer and producer of a series of UK chart hits in the 1970s for The Rubettes, and as a leading figure in SESAC – one of the three major American performing rights organisations.
Born in Rhyl, Denbighshire, Wales,[2] and named after his father, Bickerton grew up in Kirkdale, Liverpool.
[4][5][6][7] As well as sharing most of the singing, Bickerton and Waddington became songwriters for the group, which toured mainly in Germany and the US, before they left in 1966.
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,[9] and also reached the UK Top 10 with "Sugar Candy Kisses" by Mac and Katie Kissoon.