Peter Brewis is a composer and instrumentalist who has been active in several spheres of music from ballet and

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

music theatre Music theatre is a performance genre that emerged over the course of the 20th century, in opposition to more conventional genres like opera and musical theatre. The term came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s to describe an avant-garde approac ...

and rock music. Although he was classically trained, studying under the famous French music educator

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

, he has also written for comedy shows such as ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ov ...

'', for which he composed "

I've Never Met a Nice South African "I've Never Met a Nice South African" is a satirical song originating in a sketch on the British television series ''Spitting Image'' (series 2, episode 5). It was written by John Lloyd and Peter Brewis and was sung by Andy Roberts. In 1986 i ...

Career

Brewis studied composition at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

where he won the

Cobbett Prize Cobbett is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hilary Dulcie Cobbett (1885–1976), British artist * William Cobbett (1763–1835), British radical agriculturist and prolific journalist. * Walter Willson Cobbett Walter Willson ...

for composition. After graduation he took lessons in composition from Nadia Boulanger, studied

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

with Lawrence Casserly and Javanese

Gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

with

Alec Roth Alec Roth (1948) is an English composer. He is best known for his collaboration with Vikram Seth to produce the opera ''Arion and the Dolphin'' in 1994 based on the myth of Arion. Roth studied music from 1976 as a mature student at Durham Unive ...

. Brewis spent a period as composer-in-residence with

Scottish Ballet Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. Founded in 1969, ...

's Movable Workshop. He composed the music for the company's joint production with

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary pla ...

of C. P. Taylor's ''

Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

''. Stuart Hopps was the choreographer. Other dance projects includes ''Finale for Charlie'' composed for

Charles Augins Charles Augins is an American actor, dancer and choreographer for stage and screen. A native of Virginia, in 1981 Augins choreographed Ray Davies' first musical '' Chorus Girls'', at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London, as well as appear ...

and ''Endangered Species'' created for the Kosh Theatre Company. He has composed several musicals. Some of these were for educational projects. However, his ''Don Quixote'' was composed for the husband and wife team of Reg Bolton and Annie Stainer and the

Mel Smith Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and director. Smith worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. S ...

and

Bob Goody Robert Goody (born 16 April 1951) is a British actor, librettist, writer and former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Theatre work Bob Goody trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1973-1975). He was a founder member of the acclaim ...

were working on a two-man show at the same venue. Brewis teamed up with them and together they created three

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

musicals, including ''Irony in Dorking'' which won a Fringe First Award and ''The Gambler'' whose 1986 revival at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

was nominated for an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

and was also recorded by the specialist musical theatre label First Night Records. Brewis's other musicals include ''Hansel and Gretel'', put on at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith in 1999 and ''Rat's Ahoy'', co-written with

Ruby Wax Ruby Wax (; born 19 April 1953) is an American-British actress, comedian, writer, television personality, and mental health campaigner. A classically-trained actress, Wax was with the Royal Shakespeare Company for five years and co-starred on t ...

but as yet unperformed though Brewis has provided music for other stage shows of hers. Another revue that won the Fringe First Award in which Brewis was involved was ''White Collar Club''. Brewis has collaborated on several of Smith's other projects. These include the television shows, ''

Smith and Goody ''Smith and Goody'' is a children's sketch show on ITV from the 1980s. It was made for the ITV network by Thames Television. It starred, and was written by Mel Smith (at the time, part of the ''Not The Nine O'Clock News'' show on BBC2) and Bob ...

'', ''

Not the Nine O'clock News ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show which was broadcast on BBC2 from 1979 to 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, it features satirical sketches on then-cur ...

'' and ''

Alas Smith and Jones ''Alas Smith and Jones'' is a British comedy sketch television series starring comedy duo and namesake Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones that originally ran for four series and two Christmas specials on BBC2 from 1984 to 1988, and later as ''Smi ...

'', for the last two of which Brewis provided music and lyrics, the films ''

Morons from Outer Space ''Morons from Outer Space'' is a 1985 British comedy-science fiction film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith, Joanne Pearce, Jimmy Nail and James B. Sikking. Plot The story begins on a small spaceship docking with ...

'' and ''

The Tall Guy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' and the stage show ''Not in Front of the Audience'' in which the cast of ''Not the Nine'O'clock News'' performed Brewis's short musical ''Laker!'' as well as material from the television show, including several of Brewis's songs. Other television shows on which Brewis has worked include the comedy programmes '' Three of a Kind'', ''

A Kick Up the Eighties ''A Kick Up the Eighties'' was a 1981–1984 BBC 2 comedy sketch show starring Robbie Coltrane (Series 2), Tracey Ullman, Richard Stilgoe (Series 1), Miriam Margolyes, Rik Mayall, Ron Bain and Roger Sloman. The show was created by Tom Gutterid ...

'', ''

The Lenny Henry Show ''The Lenny Henry Show'' is a comedy sketch show (and in its 1987–1988 incarnation, a sitcom) featuring Lenny Henry. It was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1988, and was later revived twice, in 1995 and 2004–2005. History Original vers ...

'', ''

Carrott's Lib ''Carrott's Lib'' is a British satirical comedy series broadcast between 2 October 1982 and 30 December 1983. It starred Jasper Carrott and a cast of many comedians. The show was a satirical comedy and sketch show, featuring many comedians who wen ...

'', '' Lenny Beige'' and ''

''. Although he provided lyrics for all of these shows, Brewis also composed music for other people's lines, for example in the song ''I've Never Met a Nice South African'' which was the B-side for the chart-topping ''

The Chicken Song "The Chicken Song" is a novelty song by the British satirical comedy television programme ''Spitting Image'' (series 3, episode 6). The nonsensical lyrics were written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor; the music was written by Philip Pope, who also ...

''. He has music credits for the shows ''

The Strangerers ''The Strangerers'' is a British television comedy-drama science fiction series written by Rob Grant (best known as co-creator of '' Red Dwarf'') and was broadcast on Sky One between 15 February and 11 April 2000. A single series was made ...

'', ''The History of the World'', ''

Filthy, Rich and Catflap ''Filthy Rich & Catflap'' is a BBC sitcom produced in 1986 and broadcast in 1987. The series featured former '' The Young Ones'' co-stars Nigel Planer, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson as its three title characters. It was written by Ben Elton ...

'', ''

Hardwicke House ''Hardwicke House'' is a seven-episode sitcom produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. It was originally produced in the beginning of 1987. It was so negatively received that only the first two episodes were transmitted. ...

'', ''

Friday Night Live Friday Night Live may refer to: * ''Friday Night Live'' (''Big Brother Australia''), a television series aired on Network Ten as a part of ''Big Brother Australia'' * ''Friday Night Live'' (UK TV show), successor to ''Saturday Live'' * ''Friday L ...

'', ''

The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer ''The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer'' is a BBC TV sketch show written by and starring double act Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. Its first series appeared in 1993 following the duo's move to the BBC after parting company with Channel 4. The show d ...

'', ''

Hale and Pace Hale and Pace were an English comedy double-act that performed in clubs and on radio and television in the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s. The duo was made up of Gareth Hale and Norman Pace, with the ''Hale and Pace'' television sho ...

'', ''

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

'', '' The Young Ones'', ''

Angus Deayton Gordon Angus Deayton (; born 6 January 1956) is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian, and broadcaster. He was the original presenter of the satirical panel game '' Have I Got News for You,'' the host of British panel show '' Would I Lie ...

's End of the Year Show'' and ''

Too Much Sun ''Too Much Sun'' is a 1990 American comedy film directed by Robert Downey Sr. and starring Robert Downey Jr., Eric Idle, Andrea Martin, Allan Arbus, Ralph Macchio and Howard Duff. It was filmed in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, California, ...

''. Brewis has also provided music for documentaries, children's programmes and commercials. Film credits include '' About a Boy'', for which Brewis wrote and composed "Santa's Super Sleigh", '' Staggered'' and several films by

Vera Neubauer Vera Neubauer is a Czech born British experimental filmmaker, animator, feminist activist and educator. She is known for her jarring, provocative and anti establishment approach. Her life's work spans genres, from cinematic short film to televisi ...

Phil Mulloy Phil Mulloy (born 29 August 1948) is an Irish-English animator. He was born in Wallasey, Merseyside and studied both painting and filmmaking. Mulloy worked as a screenwriter and director of live-action films until the late 1980s before becomin ...

and Claire Barwell. Brewis has also composed music for several stage plays, including a production of ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'' which he himself directed at the

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a Grade ...

.Rathbone, Niky "Professional Shakespeare productions in the British Isles, January–December 1996" in: Stanley Wells (ed.) ''The Shakespeare Survey 51'', (1998, 2003,) Cambridge,

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, p.257 . Brewis has not only played his own music but he has also performed or recorded with a number of bands. These include; * Swan Revived, who supported

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

when they toured in 1973 at the height of the latter's success, * the electronic-folk group

Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

which was formed for and appeared in the original film of ''

The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 ...

'', *

Stomu Yamashta Stomu Yamashta (or Yamash'ta), born , is a Japanese percussionist, keyboardist and composer. He is best known for pioneering and popularising a fusion of traditional Japanese percussive music with Western progressive rock music in the 1960s and 1 ...

's large touring rock and dance troupe The Man from the East, * the backing group of

The Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

* and The Peter Straker Band who recorded an album for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

co-produced by

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

. He has also been musical director for many shows, including: * the Japanese tour by the original cast of ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...

'', * that show's transfer to the West End * and the original run of '' Chorus Girls'' at the

Theatre Royal, Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose s ...

References

Sources

Composer's website
contains biographical and career details as well as musical snippets.

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewis, Peter British composers British musical theatre composers British film score composers British male film score composers British television composers Alumni of the Royal College of Music Living people Year of birth missing (living people)