John Godfrey Owen "Paddy" Roberts was a South African songwriter and singer, having previously been a lawyer and a pilot. He then joined BOAC and flew Lockheed Constellations for that airline in the late 1940s/1950s. Roberts, who was born in Durban, South Africa, enjoyed success with a number of songs in the 1950s and 1960s and wrote songs for several films. He released several LPs and EPs of his own material, often featuring what were, for the time, slightly risqu� lyrics. One of his most popular and amusing compositions that he recorded himself was entitled "The Ballad of Bethnal Green" which was also recorded by Beatrice Lillie. Roberts was five times the winner of an Ivor Novello Award, four for songwriting and one for services to the British Music Industry. He co-wrote the UK chart-topper, "Softly, Softly", as sung by Ruby Murray and "Lay Down Your Arms" by Anne Shelton which reached No. 1 in the UK charts in 1956. Roberts died in August 1975 in Dartmouth, Devon, England. 

January 18th, 1910 in South Africa  /  Died:   Sep 1975