Sheila Bromberg
Sheila Bromberg (2 September 1928 – 17 August 2021) was a British harpist who worked in both classical and popular music. She was born in London into a Jewish family; her father was an orchestral viola player and her mother was a seamstress. She learned piano as a child and later studied the harp with Gwendolen Mason at the Royal College of Music, graduating in 1949. At age 70 she earned a degree in music therapy from the University of Greenwich.
Bromberg played with major London orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. She also performed in the London production of Phantom of the Opera and contributed to the soundtracks of James Bond films Dr. No and Goldfinger. As a freelance musician, she worked with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, the Bee Gees, Dusty Springfield, and Sammy Davis Jr.
In March 1967, Bromberg was hired at Abbey Road to play harp on the Beatles’ “She’s Leaving Home” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, making her the second woman to appear on a Beatles recording. She later said she was proud to be part of it, even though the piece is known for a short four-bar part.
Bromberg was also a member of the BBC’s Top of the Pops orchestra in the 1960s and 1970s and played the signature intro on Heatwave’s 1976 hit “Boogie Nights.” She appeared on Morecambe and Wise and even appeared in a Monty Python sketch with a harp in a wheelbarrow.
In retirement she taught harp and piano and trained to use music to help children with mental disabilities. She lived in Oxfordshire in 2011 and in Buckinghamshire in 2013. She married Sydney Laurence in 1949; they later divorced. She had two children, Naomi Venables and David Laurence, and five grandchildren. Her cousin is American musician David Bromberg. She died on 17 August 2021 in Aylesbury, England.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:00 (CET).