Paddy Roberts

John Godfrey Owen "Paddy" Roberts (18 January 1910 – 24 August 1975) was a British songwriter and singer who lived in Devon, England having previously been a lawyer and a pilot (serving with the RAF in World War II). He then joined BOAC and flew Lockheed Constellations for that airline in the late 1940s/1950s.

Roberts, who was born in Durban, Colony of Natal (in modern day 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 risqué lyrics. One of his most popular and amusing compositions that he recorded himself was titled "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 1955 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 Singles Chart in 1956.

Roberts died in August 1975 in Dartmouth, Devon, England.

Birth and Death Data: Died August 24, 1975

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1938 - 1954

Roles Represented in DAHR: songwriter, lyricist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia (U.K.) CL6792 10-in. 9/20/1938 Horsey! Horsey! (Giddy up we're homeward bound) Jo Bouillon ; Orchestre Jo Bouillon Instrumental ensemble songwriter  
Columbia (U.K.) CL10043 10-in. 12/31/1954 La Tamise et mon jardin Tino Rossi ; Pierre Spiers Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble songwriter  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Roberts, Paddy," accessed December 26, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/352881.

Roberts, Paddy. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/352881.

"Roberts, Paddy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 26 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/352881

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