Winifred Atwell, who was an important influence on his early career. She recommended him to her own recording company, Decca Records, who signed him. She became his mentor, providing him with his stage name, Matt Monro. Matt came from Matt White, a journalist friend, and Monro was Atwell's father's Christian name.
Matt Monro was born Terence Edward Parsons on 1 December 1930 in Finsbury, north London, to Frederick and Alice Parsons.