Keith Strachan (born 21 January 1944) is an English composer and theatre director. He co-wrote the song "

Mistletoe and Wine "Mistletoe and Wine" is a Christmas song made famous as a chart-topping single by Cliff Richard in 1988. The song was written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan for a musical called ''Scraps'', which was an adaptation of Hans C ...

", which got

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

the 1988 UK Christmas number one. His TV work includes the theme music for the worldwide franchise of ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...

'' Strachan attended Blaydon Grammar School and after reading maths and science at Queen Elizabeth College,

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

he became a maths teacher including a spell at Sloane Grammar School for Boys in Chelsea, London. He then left teaching to work as a musical director in the London theatre. In 1976 he co-wrote his first musical, ''Shoot Up at Elbow Creek''. He also wrote ''The Little Match Girl'', based on Hans Christian Andersen's

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

, for the

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. T ...

, Richmond, which contained the song "Mistletoe and Wine." HTV produced the play for television in 1986. Two years later, he received an

Ivor Novello award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been ...

for the song, when Cliff Richard released it as a single. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he directed a series of pop and rock compilation musicals for Bill Kenwright. He also created the West End hit ''Dancing in the Streets''. In 1998, television production company Celador, for whom he had written the themes for '' The Detectives'' and '' Talking Telephone Numbers'', called upon him to supply some music at short notice for a quiz show called ''

'' They requested that the pop song

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Water ...

had written be rearranged, but as Celador's brief required "something dramatic and full of tension", Strachan set about composing a new piece altogether. Working with his son

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...

, he took inspiration from a dissonant chord in "Mars" from

Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

's ''

The Planets ''The Planets'', Op. 32, is a seven- movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is name ...

'' suite. The show's huge domestic and international success means that the composition has made them millionaires. In 2002, Keith and Matthew Strachan were given an award by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for the ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' theme.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strachan, Keith 1944 births British theatre directors English composers Living people People from Consett Alumni of the University of London Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?