Don Harper (192130 May 1999) was an Australian composer. Born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1921, Don Harper showed an interest in music from an early age, learning to play the violin as a child. His formal study began at the

New South Wales Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the ol ...

. In later years he would become the successful conductor of one of Australia's most popular big bands as well as being a prolific film and television composer. In 1955 he emigrated to England, and found himself much in demand for television scores. During his seven-year stay in the country he provided music and themes for '' World of Sport'', ''

The Big Match ''The Big Match'' was a British football television programme, screened on ITV between 1968 and 1992. ''The Big Match'' originally launched on London Weekend Television (LWT) – the ITV regional station that served London and the Home Counties ...

'', ''

Champion House ''Champion House'' is a BBC television drama series. The series dealt with the Yorkshire-based Champion family and the dramas surrounding the family textiles firm, Champion Mills. Two series were made between 1967 and 1968. The cast included ...

'' and ''

Sexton Blake Sexton Blake is a fictional character, a detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels and dramatic productions since 1893. Sexton Blake adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications ...

'' amongst other popular series. The Don Harper Sextet also broadcast regularly on the BBC's 'Music While You Work'. Returning to Australia in 1962, Don Harper would regularly be seen performing on Australian television and on radio as well as in many jazz clubs across the country. He also toured with the

Dave Brubeck Quartet David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

. In the late 70s, Harper formed the Harper-Wright quartet with British jazz guitarist

Denny Wright Denys Justin Wright (6 May 1924 – 8 February 1992), known professionally as Denny Wright, was a British jazz guitarist. A session musician for many years, Wright frequently acted as arranger and "fixer" for recording sessions. He was a proli ...

; the quartet was completed by

Len Skeat Leonard Skeat (9 February 1937 – 9 March 2021) was a British jazz double-bassist, and the younger brother of Bill Skeat, a saxophone player (1926 – 1999). Biography He was born in East End of London, and worked with the Ted Heath band. Duri ...

on bass and

Martin Drew Martin Drew (11 February 1944 – 29 July 2010) was an English jazz drummer who played with Ronnie Scott between 1975 and 1995 and with Oscar Peterson between 1974 and 2007. Career Martin Drew was born on 11 February 1944 in Northampton, Engla ...

on drums. In 1983 Harper took up the position of Head of Jazz Studies at

Wollongong University The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university ...

's School of Creative Arts, a position he held until 1990. He died in 1999, aged 78. His most popular recording was "The Hot Canary". He provided incidental music for the 1968 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' serial '' The Invasion''; one of the cues from this score was later reused, in reorchestrated form, as part of the De Wolfe stock score of ''Mary Millington's True Blue Confessions'' (1980). In 2005,

MF Doom Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

and

Danger Mouse Danger Mouse may refer (or appear in) to: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series * Danger Mouse (musician) (born ...

, in their collaborative project

Danger Doom DANGERDOOM was a hip hop project consisting of Danger Mouse and MF DOOM. Their first album, ''The Mouse and the Mask'', was released in 2005, and followed by the '' Occult Hymn'' EP in 2006. Background Danger Mouse and MF DOOM had previously co ...

, sampled Don Harper's "Chamber Pop" and "Thoughtful Popper". Elements of "Dank Earth" from the '' Dawn of the Dead'' soundtrack were sampled on "Intro" by

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

from ''

Demon Days ''Demon Days'' is the second studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was first released on 11 May 2005 in Japan and on 23 May 2005 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone and in the United States by Virgin Records. Produced by the band, ...

'', which was also produced by Danger Mouse.

References

External links

* 1921 births 1999 deaths Musicians from Melbourne Australian male composers Australian composers Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni 20th-century composers 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century Australian male musicians {{composer-stub