Shaper was born on 18 July 1931 in
Muizenberg near
Cape Town as the third and youngest child of
Jewish parents. His father was from
Manchester and his mother from the
ghetto of Lodz in
Poland. He was inspired to become a songwriter after seeing the
Mickey Rooney film
Words and Music (1948), saying: he was "enchanted by the quality of the songs and the freshness of them" In 1949 Hal met young pianist and budding songwriter,
Charles Segal who was holidaying in Muizenberg. Charles encouraged Hal to write his first lyrics for one of Charles's songs - "I Never Loved Before", beginning a musical collaboration and friendship that spanned many decades. Young Charles introduced young Hal to one of Charles's well-established lyricists,
Anton De Waal. Encouraged by his friend, Charles Segal, Hal gained confidence and other songs soon followed (I Got Troubles of My Own", "I'll Never Dream Again", "Tanganyika" and many others). Hal's initial attempts at musical theatre were performed in local theatres; his professional songwriting career did not begin until later. In 1955, Shaper was certified as a lawyer in Cape Town. However, he did not pursue a career in law but rather left immediately for London in seek of a songwriting career. After returning to South Africa, he wrote
La Bohème Noire, a stage musical adaptation of
La Bohème' set in contemporary
Soweto. Shaper married twice, first to Susan from 1972 to 1989 with whom he had a daughter, Hollie; and later to Pippa in 1990 with whom he had four children: Jack, Pia, Harry and Lucy. Hal Shaper died in Cape Town on 8 January 2004 at the age of 72. == Songs ==