Tributes paid to 'humble' Bray music legend Laurie Holloway

Tributes have been paid to the former musical director of Strictly Come Dancing from Bray who has died at the age of 86.

Born in Oldham in 1938, Laurence ‘Laurie’ Holloway was a ‘significant figure in British music’ and a local champion of promising musical talent.

A child prodigy on the piano, Laurie went on to become a composer and an arranger for the likes of Judy Garland and Shirley Bassey.

The Fisheries resident was the musical director on the BBC talk show Parkinson for a decade and a good friend of its host, Sir Michael Parkinson for nearly 60 years.

Although unsure of how the pair met, Sir Michael’s son, Mike Parkinson said: “Laurie was the reason my dad came to live in Bray.

“Laurie loved the village – he absolutely adored it – of course, he never moved away," he told the Advertiser.

“He was an extraordinarily humble man for [someone] who had such an illustrious career.

“What my dad loved about Laurie was that he did it so easily and without fanfare.

“Laurie knew he was talented but never made a big deal about it. He was a very generous, kind-hearted man.”

His late wife, American jazz singer Marion Montgomery was a resident singer on Parkinson.

But Laurie was scooped up by British pop singer Engelbert Humperdinck for his Las Vegas residency and had to turn down Sir Michael's request for him to be musical director for the first series of Parkinson in 1971.

Strictly Come Dancing host Bruce Forsyth with Laurie Holloway at Desborough School's Talents of the Future workshop in 2008. Ref: 99710

Cookham actress Wendy Craig reminisced about the ‘fantastic’ new year parties hosted at his Bray home during the seventies with the ‘gang of people in showbusiness’ from the Maidenhead area – including Sir Michael and Terry Wogan.

“I shall remember them with great pleasure – Laurie playing carols, everybody singing. It was delightful,” said the small-screen veteran.

“We spent many happy times at dinner and visiting each other’s gardens in the summer – it was a lot of happy socialising.”

When visiting, he would play the piano rather than talk, added Wendy, and ‘we had this amazing background of Laurie playing fabulously while we were joking and drinking and partying’.

“Laurie was such a sweet, quiet man. He was so devoted to his music and such a brilliant musician,” she added.

“He was a very busy man – highly sought after in musical circles – and always working. But he gave so much to young people. He devoted so much of his time to helping young people.”

He and Marion founded the ‘wonderful school’ – The Montgomery Holloway Music Trust – in 1998.

Talented musicians from the trust’s annual summer school would perform at Norden Farm with Laurie after a week of practice under his tutelage at Desborough School and later Highfield School, until the charity disbanded in 2021.

Laurie Holloway recording a CD with members of his summer school in 2014. Ref: 119547

Charity trustee of 24 years, Julia Dawkes-Bentley from the Reform Road woodwind and brass specialists, Dawkes, first met Laurie and Marion while studying at Leeds College of Music and described him as a 'true gentleman'.

“Laurie truly understood the value of fresh perspectives, and although I was the youngest member by at least 30 years, he made me feel completely welcomed and valued,” she told the Advertiser.

Julia, a flautist, often performed with Laurie, after he founded the Holloway Chamber Orchestra to showcase his compositions in a small ensemble format.

“He even created jazzy accompaniments for simple folk songs I use to teach my flute students,” she added.

“His kindness and willingness to generously give his time left a lasting impression on everyone who crossed his path.

“His humility shone through, even when sharing stories about working with showbiz legends — he did so with an infectious enthusiasm that inspired those around him."

Laurie coordinated weekly musical arrangements for the first three series of Strictly Come Dancing when he was appointed musical director by the BBC in 2004.

Laurie Holloway pictured ahead of a performance in Taplow in May 2011. Ref: 109926

He was formally made an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle in 2013 for his services to music and his work with the trust.

It was not Laurie’s first time in Royal company, having played privately for the Queen and Princess Margaret at Buckingham Palace before the Queen Mother's 90th birthday.

“I reminded her [Majesty] of that,” Laurie previously told the Advertiser about the investiture ceremony.

“Obviously we were on a conveyor belt, she does not know who is who. She was quite taken aback that it was me.”

Laurie is survived by his third wife, Maryann Lallyette whom he married in 2014, his two daughters, Abigail, from his marriage to his second wife Marion Montgomery, and Karon, from his first marriage to Julia MacDonald, and his three grandsons.