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Simon May (born 15 August 1944) is a British composer. He has composed many British television theme tunes, including ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
'' and ''
Howards' Way ''Howards' Way'' is a television drama series produced by BBC Birmingham and transmitted on BBC1 between 1 September 1985 and 25 November 1990. The series deals with the personal and professional lives of the wealthy yachting and business comm ...
'', and the music for the 1988 film ''
The Dawning ''The Dawning'' is a 1988 British drama film based on Jennifer Johnston's novel, '' The Old Jest'', which depicts the Irish War of Independence through the eyes of the Anglo-Irish landlord class. It stars Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Grant, Jean Simmon ...
''.


Biography

Born in Devizes and a pupil of
Dauntsey's School Dauntsey's School is a public school (independent boarding and day school) for pupils aged 11–18 in the village of West Lavington, Wiltshire, England. The school was founded in 1542, in accordance with the will of William Dauntesey, a maste ...
, May was a choral scholar at
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...
, where he graduated with a degree in modern languages in 1965. While teaching languages and music at
Kingston Grammar School Kingston Grammar School is an independent co-educational day school in Kingston upon Thames, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century.
, he co-wrote a musical named ''
Smike ''Smike'' is a pop musical adaptation of a small part of Charles Dickens' 1839 novel ''Nicholas Nickleby'', that was televised for the BBC in 1973. The musical is based on the character Smike from that novel. The TV production starred Beryl Reid ...
'' with a colleague, history teacher Clive Barnett and songwriting partner,
Roger Holman Roger Holman is a British musician and composer. He is best known for the televised musical ''Smike'', and as the co-writer of Stephanie De Sykes's two hit singles. As a performer, Holman released a 1971 self-produced single with two songs, "Ac ...
. Following the publicity ''Smike'' attracted, May was contacted by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, who televised the play in 1973, starring
Beryl Reid Beryl Elizabeth Reid, (17 June 1919 – 13 October 1996), was a British actress of stage and screen. She won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for ''The Killing of Sister George'', the 1980 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performan ...
and
Andrew Keir Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career t ...
. It also featured DJ Neil Fox, a pupil at Kingston Grammar, as one of the schoolboys.''PEBBLE MILL SPECIAL, SIMON MAY'', BBC1, 20 December 1994 The show has subsequently been staged many times by youth drama groups. While working at ATV, he was asked to compose some music for ''
Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...
''. Stephanie de Sykes got to number 2 in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in 1974 with the subsequent "Born With a Smile on My Face", which was used within a storyline on the show.
Kate Robbins Kate Elizabeth Robbins (born 21 August 1958) is an English actress, singer and songwriter. She came to prominence in the early 1980s when she scored a top ten single on the UK Official Charts with "More Than in Love", while she was appearing in t ...
performed another of May's songs for ''Crossroads'': "More Than in Love," which was co-written by Barry Leng and got to number 2 in the UK in 1981. He was one of the members of the vocal harmony group Rain, together with de Sykes, Alex Keenan and Chas Mill. The group recorded the theme song "Golden Day", penned by Lynsey de Paul and
Barry Blue Barry Blue (born Barry Ian Green, 4 December 1950) is an English singer, producer, and songwriter. As an artist, he is best known for his hit songs "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" and "Do You Wanna Dance" (both 1973). Blue has also been a pro ...
, for the TV programme "
The Golden Shot ''The Golden Shot'' is a British television game show produced by ATV for ITV between 1 July 1967 and 13 April 1975, based on the German TV show '' Der goldene Schuß''. It is most commonly associated with host Bob Monkhouse, but three other ...
" to co-incide with the return of
Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Ear ...
as its host. They also released an album produced by Len Beadle, with the title "Rain Featuring Stephanie De-Sykes" in 1974. May himself performed "The Summer of My Life", which reached number seven in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in October 1976. The song originally appeared in ''Crossroads'', in a scene between Meg and Hugh. It was one of the best selling singles of the year, and was one of few songs to spend three weeks in a row at number seven in the UK Singles Chart. His follow-up single, " We'll Gather Lilacs - All My Loving (Medley)", flopped, reaching number 49 in May 1977. In 1986 he released an album called ''
Simon's Way ''Simon's Way'' is an album by Britain's The Simon May Orchestra and released in 1986. Anita Dobson, who also starred in the television show '' EastEnders'' sings the theme to the show ("Anyone Can Fall In Love"). Marti Webb sings the theme to ...
'', which included his themes to ''EastEnders'' and ''Howards' Way'', which peaked at number 59 in the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. In the same year his 'Holiday Suite' theme was used for the BBC Programme 'Holiday', and was released as a single. The theme has also been used by Video 125 for three of its railway drivers-eye-view productions. He worked on his first feature film in 1988 - ''
The Dawning ''The Dawning'' is a 1988 British drama film based on Jennifer Johnston's novel, '' The Old Jest'', which depicts the Irish War of Independence through the eyes of the Anglo-Irish landlord class. It stars Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Grant, Jean Simmon ...
''. Music from the film, together with various other TV themes (including ''The Olympic Track'' and ''People like You'') was released in 1989 on the Simon May Orchestra album ''Themes''. He co-produced
Amii Stewart Amy Paulette "Amii" Stewart (born January 29, 1956) is an American disco and soul singer and dancer who found prominence with her 1979 U.S. Billboard number 1 hit cover of Eddie Floyd's song " Knock on Wood", often considered a classic of the ...
's " Knock on Wood", which reached number-one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in April 1979.


''EastEnders''

Tony Holland Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter, best known as a writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Early life Holland was the oldest of three children born to ...
and Julia Smith commissioned May to write the theme to ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
'' after being impressed by his work on spy-thriller ''
Cold Warrior The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
''. Don Black put lyrics to the popular theme, and
Anita Dobson Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949) is an English stage, film and television actress, and singer. She is best known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 1986, she reached number four in the UK Sing ...
(who portrayed
Angie Watts Angie Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the series until 1988, when Dobson decided to leave, and the character was written out. Angie is well known for her ...
in the show) reached number 4 in the UK in August 1986 with "
Anyone Can Fall in Love "Anyone Can Fall in Love" is a song, released in 1986, by ''EastEnders'' actress Anita Dobson, who played the character of Angie Watts. The song was released as a single, reaching #4 in the UK Singles Chart. The song also features on the album ...
". With Barry Rose, the theme was adapted into a
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
, "Glory Be", which was performed on ''
Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...
'' and released on single. Another soap storyline gave May a hit in 1986.
Nick Berry Nicholas Berry (born 16 April 1963) is a retired English actor and pop singer. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1990, and as PC Nick Rowan in '' Heartbeat'' from 1992 to 1998. He sang UK chart sing ...
( "Wicksy") topped the charts with "
Every Loser Wins "Every Loser Wins" is a 1986 song performed by English actor and singer Nick Berry. Written and produced by Simon May, Stewart James and Bradley James, the song was heavily featured in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' throughout the summer of ...
", which he co-wrote after plugging it in ''EastEnders'' (a storyline which Holland openly hated). In 1993 the theme itself was given an unpopular 'jazzy' update, and an updated version of the original was introduced in 1994. With Johnny Griggs, he wrote another set of lyrics for the ''EastEnders'' theme. "I'll Always Believe in You" featured lead vocals by Sharon Benson. which was based around the extended version of the 1993 theme. In 2009 he was asked to revamp the EastEnders theme again, to update the one running from 1994, making it lighter in tone and bringing back elements of the original theme missing in the previous version. However it is worth noting that one major element of all the previous themes (bar the jazzy version) is missing - the bells, which are mainly replaced with the piano. Simon wrote "Peggy's Theme" for
Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on 4 September.


Post-''EastEnders''

Lyrics were also added to May's theme to ''Howards' Way'';
Marti Webb Marti Webb (born 13 December 1943) is an English actress and singer, who appeared on stage in '' Evita'', before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one-woman show '' Tell Me on a Sunday'' in 1980. This included her biggest hit single, " Take T ...
reached number 13 with "Always There" in 1986, a year after the orchestral version of the theme (credited to May and Leslie Osborne) had reached number 21 in the same UK Singles Chart. This was the version played over the opening credits of all six series, and the second half of the closing credits of series 1. The first part of the theme was a faster, upbeat rendition (later extended and slightly updated for the season 3 credits) which merged into the more familiar version used in the opening credits. The Marti Webb version of the theme was only played over the closing credits of series 2, with an updated extended version of the first half of the original series 1 orchestral version, playing over new style credits from series 3 onwards.
Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for musi ...
wrote lyrics to May's '' Trainer'' theme. "More to Life" was performed by
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 theme won May his third TRIC award for Best TV Theme, after previous success with ''EastEnders'' and ''Howards' Way''. Following their collaboration on ''EastEnders'', Julia Smith and Tony Holland commissioned May to write the theme tune for the new Eurosoap ''
Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
''. May reworked a song called "When You Go Away" which he had written for his ill-fated musical ''Mefisto'', based on Goethe's ''Faust'', adding Spanish guitars to make it more relevant to the ''Eldorado'' project. An instrumental version of the theme was used for the opening and closing credits. However, the vocal version of the song was recorded by Johnny Griggs, and was used over the closing credits of the final episode. In 1994, '' New Vintage: The Best of Simon May'', a compilation of some of May's work was released to coincide with his "A Night Away From The TV" UK tour. The tour was not a commercial success and some dates had to be cancelled. A ''
Pebble Mill Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne on ...
'' special documentary was produced by the BBC around this time discussing his career and the tour. He has reached number one in Belgium with "Fragile Not Broken", sung by Natalia. He worked with Simon Lockyer and John Brant on "Music on Screen", and worked as a music therapist at Unsted Park near Godalming, Surrey. May recorded his latest album '' The Simon May Collection'' with his two co-writers/co-producers Simon Lockyer and John Brant. The album was released on 13 September 2010. "Peggy's Theme" was the lead track on the album. In August 2015 Simon May released his autobiography 'Doof Doof: My Life in Music' through Austin Macauley Publishers. Two versions were released; one, a book-only version and also a CD-set, with a shorter printed autobiography. May is visiting Professor at the Faculty of Media, Arts and Society,
Southampton Solent University Solent University (formerly Southampton Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near the city centre and th ...
who in 2015 conferred on him the degree of Honorary Doctor of Music. He is also Patron of the Devizes Junior Eisteddfod, Vice President of the British Federation of Festivals and Patron of the Swindon 105.5 Community Radio Station.


May's work includes


Television

*''Adventures of Enid Blyton'' *''Animal SOS'' *''Brat Camp'' *''Body Spies'' *''Castaway 2000 / Castaway 2007'' *''City Hospital'' *''Dealing with Dickinson'' *''Don't Try This at Home'' *''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
'' *''
Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
'' *''Evacuation'' *''Food & Drink'' *''Great Estates'' *''Hampton Court'' *''Health Farm'' *''Holiday '86'' *''
Howards' Way ''Howards' Way'' is a television drama series produced by BBC Birmingham and transmitted on BBC1 between 1 September 1985 and 25 November 1990. The series deals with the personal and professional lives of the wealthy yachting and business comm ...
'' *''Jobs for the Boys'' *''
Jobs for the Girls ''Jobs for the Girls'' is a BBC television documentary series in which actors Linda Robson and Pauline Quirke learned about a new profession in each episode. It ran in 1995 for one series of four episodes, followed by a Christmas special. The sh ...
'' *'' Lakesiders'' *''Lion Country (end theme of 'Animal Park')'' *''1988 Olympics (ITV)'' *''Paramedics'' *''People'' *''Pet Rescue'' *''The Really Useful Show'' *''Russ Abbott Show'' *''Seaworld'' *''Secrets of Enid Blyton'' *''Smike'' lso a stage musical* '' Skorpion'' *''Swiss Family Robinson'' *''Testing Testing'' *''Trainer'' *'' The Tribe'' *''The Trial of James Earl Ray'' *''Turnstile'' *''TV Weekly'' *''
The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson ''The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson'' is a 1998 family adventure series that originally aired on Pax. Based on the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' by Johann David Wyss Johann David Wyss (; 28 May 1743 – 11 January 1818) wa ...
'' *''The Vet'' *'' The Legend of William Tell'' *''You Know What You Ate Last Summer''


Films

*''
The Dawning ''The Dawning'' is a 1988 British drama film based on Jennifer Johnston's novel, '' The Old Jest'', which depicts the Irish War of Independence through the eyes of the Anglo-Irish landlord class. It stars Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Grant, Jean Simmon ...
'' (1988) *'' HST West'' (1986) was done for Video 125. The theme 'The Holiday Suite' is the same as Holiday programme for the BBC. And the full version can heard on the DVD of HST West & Far West. *'' HST Far West'' (1990) *'' HST Great West'' (1993) *The Fleet for The Northern Lights (1996) *''Caught in the Act'' (2008) *''House Husbands'' (2009)


Stage musicals

*''
Rip van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their liquor and falls aslee ...
'' *''
Smike ''Smike'' is a pop musical adaptation of a small part of Charles Dickens' 1839 novel ''Nicholas Nickleby'', that was televised for the BBC in 1973. The musical is based on the character Smike from that novel. The TV production starred Beryl Reid ...
'' lso dramatised for BBC television


Further reading

*


References


External links


Music On Screen
Official website, with many music clips
Peggy's ThemeSmike The Musical
Official website, with many music clips and information about the show
BBC video article about Simon may
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Simon 1944 births Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge English film score composers English male film score composers English musical theatre composers English songwriters English television composers English male composers Living people People educated at Dauntsey's School People from Devizes BBC Records artists British male songwriters