The name of Cyril Ornadel may not be known to many outside the musical theatre. The back of his head, however, was for many years the most famous on television, for Cyril Ornadel was the conductor in the orchestra pit for ITV's immensely popular programme, Sunday Night at the London Palladium. But this efficient and unassuming man was the musical director for numerous West End 'hit' shows: Kismet, Call Me Madam, Pal Joey, Wonderful Town, The King and I and My Fair Lady, to name but a few.He is also a composer in his own right. His song 'Portrait of My Love' is a standard, known and loved by an entire generation, while 'If I Ruled the World' from Pickwick, the musical he wrote with Wolf Mankowitz and Leslie Bricusse, became a world-class hit and turned into what was virtually the late Sir Harry Secombe's theme tune.Now, in this rich and illuminating memoir, Cyril Ornadel shares the fruits of his experience in almost every aspect of the music business - theatre, films, recording, composing, orchestrating, conducting, producing. With wit, wisdom and humility he candidly discusses the triumphs and disasters of his lifelong love affair with Show Business.
