Archived on 6/5/2022

Author of “Neighbours” theme tune lived in Forest Hill

anon5422159

6 Feb '19

Jackie Trent, for the Lewisham Ledger

Illustration by Peter Rhodes

The woman who wrote the Neighbours theme tune once lived in Forest Hill.

Jackie Trent was born in Staffordshire in 1940, the daughter of coal miner. She aspired to a career in pop from an early age and sang to audiences in the local British Legion and working men’s clubs.

During the 1960s she moved to Forest Hill and in 1965 she topped the charts with her single Where Are You Now , knocking The Beatles’ Ticket to Ride off the top spot. She and her husband Tony Hatch wrote more than 400 songs for stars including Petula Clark.

In the 1980s the couple relocated to Australia and were asked to write the theme tune for a new soap opera called Ramsay Street . After they wrote the song – with Hatch composing the music and Trent penning the lyrics – the name was changed to Neighbours .

Trent died in Menorca in 2015 aged 74

InTheNightGarden

6 Feb '19

What an extreme coincidence. I spoke to Tony not more than 2 hours ago with some work matters. He is in the U.K. at the moment with his wife Maggie from their home in Menorca.

weepy

7 Feb '19

Quick we need a blue plaque