I beg to differ, I think Hal David had a far bigger impact on British culture than Max ever did.
Interesting point Rimms, but then it depends on how you measure impact on British Culture. You'll have already seen Max related qoutes above - Tell you a story, Sing a long a max, you need hands etc. - and so you begin to understand that he has had an impact, and indeed left a legacy, on British culture. During the 50s and 60s was possibly the biggest performer in the UK, aside from Norman Wisdom, on television, recording, stage and film, with huge audiences, measured in tens of millions.
With the exception of a handful of Bacharach/David songs covered by British artists (Cilla Black et al) you'll be hard put to find much of a contribution to British culture by Hal David. That's not to demean his work in anyway, but he was an American writing for an American audience, and overwhelmingly for American artists, that was heard and bought in the UK market. I am the greatest advocate of the power of the songwriter (including David as a lyricist) however in the matter of British culture David was a pygmy to the goliath (LOL) Max ... which is why I cannot understand the BBC making more of David than Bygraves, particularly as the 'engine' and 'sounding board' of British Culture.
