Robert Bateman

Songwriter

BORN 1936 - DIED OCTOBER 12, 2016 AGED 80

ROBERT Bateman, the writer behind Motown hits Please Mr Postman and Playboy, has died of a heart attack.

Born in Illinois, Bateman became one of the first to join Berry Gordy’s fledgling outfit when he was hired as a backup singer and engineer. In the latter role he set up the first recording equipment for the label, a tape machine discarded by a Detroit radio station.

Despite a brief flirtation with singing he decided to focus on writing and producing. With Please Mr Postman, which he co-wrote and co-produced for the Marvelettes in 1961, he gave Motown its first No1 hit on the US pop charts. The song was famously revived two years later by the Beatles.

He was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in Detroit in August this year.