Ridley was born in St Pancras, London. He started learning piano as a child, and helped in his father's general store by demonstrating pianos for sale. By the age of nine, he performed at local functions, and at 13 won a scholarship to the Northern Polytechnic Institute to learn about piano making.[1][2][3]
Early career
He joined the Feldmanmusic publishing company in 1928, and demonstrated songs in the company's catalogue to musicians and performers. He met Ted Shapiro who encouraged him to write songs, and his first published song, "The One Little Hair on His Head", written with veteran songwriter Harry Castling, was recorded by Gracie Fields.[1][2][3]
Ridley joined His Master's Voice (HMV) in 1948, when its parent company EMI wanted to develop the label beyond its existing classical music range. As A&R manager and producer, he signed existing stars including Joe Loss, Donald Peers and Max Bygraves to the label, and encouraged new talent, including Alma Cogan – promoted by Ridley as "the girl with the giggle", and the most successful British female singer of the 1950s – as well as Rosemary Squires, Ronnie Hilton, the Mike Sammes Singers, and Malcolm Vaughan. As well as becoming a successful record producer, Ridley also continued to write songs, including "I'm in Love for the Very First Time", written with Paddy Roberts for Jeannie Carson in the film An Alligator Named Daisy.[1][2][3]
