By the early 1960s, composing royalties on films and television series including Steptoe and Son, Maigret and Doctor Who were earning Ron Grainer an estimated £25,000 a year. But it was his failing eyesight, rather than his new-found wealth, that prompted him to leave his adopted home in London for the sunnier climes of Portugal.
Grainer was a self-confessed workaholic, who in 1966 told Australia’s New Idea magazine that he only slept for around four hours a night and once wrote 22 minutes of music for Maigret in a single weekend. This turnover was, however, starting to aggravate an eye condition that he’d inherited from his grandparents. According to New Idea’s Roslyn Owen, ‘Mr Grainer had to find himself a place in the sun where he could write his music by natural lighta
If he spends three consecutive days working under artificial light he loses his sight. Now the only times he comes to London are for recording sessions, musical auditions or conferences.’ Ron had first moved to Portugal in 1961 when he bought a holiday villa in the thenfashionable resort of Albufeira. Cliff Richard, Frank Ifield and Eric Morecambe were just some of the celebrities who either lived in the area or liked to visit.