How Henry Mancini wrote Moon River

Moon River was made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. Her character, the New York socialite Holly Golightly, sang the song on a fire escape in an iconic scene.

But Hepburn was not a trained singer and initially Paramount filmmakers thought they would need to dub somebody else's voice. But the composer Henry Mancini persevered in composing something she could manage.

Mancini asked Johnny Mercer to write the lyrics. But much of the film's musical score, including Moon River, was never written down during the editing process.

After months of careful restoration, audiences will be able to hear it performed for the first time during a special screening at London's Royal Albert Hall on 12 and 13 June.

Edited by Bill McKenna