They co-wrote ‘Neighbours become good friends’. So why DID Mr and Mrs Music end up as such bitter enemies?
TOGETHER they wrote a string of chart-topping hits for some of the world’s biggest stars and created the memorable theme tune of Australian television soap Neighbours. Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent, who were married for more than three decades, were dubbed ‘Mr and Mrs Music’ after composing for artists including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Scott Walker, Shirley Bassey and Petula Clark.
So when Trent died last month aged 74 after a long battle with cancer, Hatch was expected to be at her funeral to say a final goodbye. True, their marriage had ended in divorce, but they had a daughter together and one of the most successful creative unions in showbusiness.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Hatch was banned from the funeral by Trent’s second husband, Colin Gregory, who today accuses the composer of breaking his wife’s heart. He says that not only did she never forgive Hatch for the infidelity that ended their marriage, but she believed to her dying day that he had denied her the credit she was due for some of their compositions.
Although they were responsible for about 400 songs together, they had been mired in a long-running feud over seven that Trent claimed she co-wrote.
After years of pressure, says Gregory, Hatch agreed to acknowledge Trent’s part and her name now appears against some of the songs on the Tony Hatch website.
But on other songs, Hatch is the only composer credited.
Gregory told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Yes, I banned Hatch from attending Jackie’s cremation.’
The 71-year-old former policeman, who married Trent in 2005, said: ‘It might seem petty and churlish of me because, whatever anybody says, Hatch and Trent are welded at the hip for all the wonderful work they did together.
‘I would never contest that. Jackie never contested that. But her firm words to me were, “I hate him for what he did to me and for what he’s still doing to me.” I couldn’t and wouldn’t contact Tony Hatch myself. It would be inappropriate because we’re in litigation.’
Instead, he passed the message to Trent’s son from her first marriage, Darren, who Hatch had adopted when they married.
Gregory said: ‘Darren rang, giving it the smooth patter of, “Oh, they had such a lovely warm life together”, which they did not. And when he said he wanted to invite Hatch to the cremation, I said quite firmly, “No. If he turns up, I shall call the police.”
‘Suffice it to say that Jackie would not want Tony Hatch anywhere near her final moments on this earth. He and his wife were specifically banned from attending her funeral, or anything in connection with it.
‘Jackie always told me, “No service – just you.”’
The cremation was held on the Spanish island of Menorca, where Trent lived with Gregory. It is also home to Hatch and his wife.
Hatch, 75, clearly got the message, writing on his Facebook page on the day of the funeral: ‘Today was final departure day for her soul but I was BANNED by her husband Colin Gregory from attending the crematorium.’
Gregory now plans to bring Trent’s ashes home to Britain for a memorial service in May at her local parish church in Chesterton, Staffordshire. Much of Trent’s wealth, he said, had recently been eroded – not least by the legal battle with her former husband over the songs, which Gregory claimed has cost about £20,000.
It’s a far cry from 1965 when Hatch and Trent met and fell in love. Hatch was already married and the couple embarked on an affair before marrying the next year and going on to become one of the most successful teams in music, earning millions of pounds.
But if Hatch, the son of a pianist, who grew up in Pinner, North West London, and Trent, the daughter of a miner from Newcastle-under-Lyme, made a fortune, they seemed to have trouble holding on to it.
The couple moved to Ireland at one point because of its tax benefits for artists.
Hatch wrote the theme tune to Crossroads and is still remembered by many as the ‘Mr Nasty’ judge on 1970s TV talent show New Faces. In 1982, the pair moved to Australia and were later asked to write the theme song for Neighbours.
Their marriage ended abruptly and abrasively back in Britain at Trent’s 55th birthday party in 1995, when Hatch confessed that for years he had been in love with one of his wife’s friends. Trent was devastated.
Gregory plans to persevere with Trent’s legal battle over the disputed songs: ‘not for financial gain – Jackie was getting her share [of songwriting royalties] – but because it was her dying wish that he finally admitted she co-wrote those songs.’
Hatch declined to comment.