Greenbank was born in London, son of Richard and Mary Greenbank. After Harry's death,
George Edwardes asked the younger Greenbank to collaborate with
Adrian Ross on the lyrics for
The Messenger Boy and also interpolated two of his lyrics into
San Toy when that score was revised ("Somebody" and "All I Want is a Little Bit of Fun"). He began to collaborate with composers
Ivan Caryll and
Lionel Monckton, as well as with Ross and the deviser of the Gaiety show plots and outlines,
James T. Tanner. For the remaining 14 years of the Edwardes era Greenbank worked at the
Gaiety Theatre, London,
Daly's Theatre and later the
Adelphi Theatre, contributing sometimes much and sometimes only a few lyrics to most of Edwardes's shows, including hits like
The Toreador (1901),
A Country Girl (1902),
The Orchid (1903),
The Earl and the Girl (1903),
Lady Madcap (1904),
Véronique (1904),
The Cingalee (1904),
The Little Michus (1905),
The Spring Chicken (1905),
The Girl Behind the Counter, (1906),
The New Aladdin (1906),
The Three Kisses (1907),
Our Miss Gibbs (1909),
The Quaker Girl (1910),
The Dancing Mistress (1912) and
The Girl From Utah (1913). During this time, he also produced shows at other theatres, such as
Three Little Maids (1902),
My Lady Molly (1902),
Lady Madcap (1904),
The Blue Moon (1905),
See-See (1906),
The Belle of Brittany (1908),
A Persian Princess (1909),
The Mousmé (1911),
Princess Caprice (1912) and ''
To-Night's the Night (opening in New York in 1914). He subsequently did occasional work as a play doctor (El Dorado
) or an adapter through the 1920s. He modernized San Toy'' with Percy J. Barrow for its 1931 revival, but slowed down into a long retirement. Greenbank died in
Rickmansworth, north west of London, in 1968 at the age of 90, and as a result, the
Edwardian musical comedies to which he contributed remain in copyright in the UK until 2039. ==Notes==