David Mindel
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David Richard Mindel (born 25 October 1946 in
Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
, England) is a British songwriter, jingle writer and composer of music for film and television.


Early life

Mindel was educated at Finchley County Grammar School in London which he left at sixteen to attend La Colline Language School in Vevey, Switzerland. A self-taught musician, Mindel teamed up with school friend David Seys to form the singing duo "David and David" in 1970. In 1972 EMI released two self-penned singles, "Good Morning Morning" and "In The City".


Career

In 1972, Mindel joined the
Noel Gay Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city * Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, Briti ...
Organisation as a record plugger and junior A&R person. The company also published Mindel's songs, and the first to be recorded was "Let Him Go Home" by Canadian artist Nanette Workman and then by Palk Salad in 1971. In 1972 David Ballantyne and Solitude recorded "Roof Above Our Head" on the Regal Zonophone label with another Mindel composition "Sad Song of a Sad Man" as the B-side. Later that year Ballantyne formed a studio band called Esprit de Corps with future
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
DJ
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 ...
, which recorded the Mindel song "If (Would it Turn Out Wrong?)" for
Dick James Dick James (born Leon Isaac Vapnick; 12 December 1920 – 1 February 1986) was a British music publisher and singer. He and Brian Epstein established the Beatles' publisher Northern Songs. Later, with his son Stephen, James founded the DJM re ...
's Jam label. In 1974, Mindel teamed up with
Noel Gay Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city * Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, Briti ...
staff writer Gary Benson. Their first song, "Someday" of Long Live Love album, was sung by
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
in heats for the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was a hit in Hong Kong for Francis Yip and in Canada for
Isabelle Aubret Isabelle Aubret (; born Thérèse Coquerelle; 27 July 1938) is a French singer best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962 with the song "Un premier amour". Early life Thérèse Coquerelle was born in Lille, France, on 27 July ...
under the French title "Je Crois". In 1975, Mindel and Benson had another entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, "Don't Throw It All Away" for
Come on Over ''Come On Over'' is the third studio album by Canadian country music singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 4, 1997, by Mercury Records. Produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the album became the best-selling country album, the best ...
album performed by
The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
, the single, released on the State Records label (State Records STAT10), reached No. 20 in the
Record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...
. The Nashville trio Dave and Sugar had a 1977 number 3 hit with it in the US, while the soul singer
Stacy Lattisaw Stacy Lattisaw Jackson (née Lattisaw; born November 25, 1966) is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C., United States. Career The 1979 song " Ring My Bell" was originally written for then twelve-year-old Lattisaw, as a teenybopper son ...
hit number nine on the US R&B charts with her version in 1992 and Barrington Levy scored a huge hit with a reggae version. It was also covered by artists as diverse as Gino Cunico, Ed Robinson, Fire and Rain, Carl Graves,
The Delfonics The Delfonics were an American R&B/soul vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Delfonics were most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their most notable hits include " La-La (Means I Love You)", " Didn't I (Blow Your Mind Thi ...
, China Black,
Lori Balmer Lori Balmer (born 1960) is an Australian pop singer, recording artist and worked as a session singer and model; and has appeared on TV in Australia, United States, Japan, Europe and Britain. Biography Early recordings Lori Balmer was born in ...
, Helge Nielsens Orkester, Spectrum, Quench Aid, Barry Manilow and Jamie Sparks. To date, there are around 200 recordings of Mindel's songs. In 1975, Mindel left
Noel Gay Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city * Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, Briti ...
to set up the publishing company ''Cherry Music'' and continued to write with Gary Benson and others. As a producer he worked with David Seys and
Dean Ford Dean Ford , born Thomas McAleese on 5 September 1945 – 31 December 2018 was a Scottish singer and songwriter best known for his tenure as lead vocalist and frontman of the beat pop group Marmalade from 1966 to 1974. Ford (credited as McAleese) ...
, Spoof,
Little Big Man Little Big Man ( Lakota: Wičháša Tȟáŋkala), or Charging Bear, was an Oglala Lakota, or Oglala Sioux, who was a fearless and respected warrior who fought under, and was distant cousin to, Crazy Horse ("His-Horse-Is-Crazy"). He opposed the 186 ...
, Jackie Challenor, Reflections, Love Together and others. He wrote the " Shades" commercial for
Crown Paints Crown Paints is a major paint manufacturer based in Darwen, Lancashire. It is owned by Hempel Group. History The origins of the business lie in the history of paint making in Darwen, which can be traced back to the late 1850s. It initially tra ...
, recorded with the UK Symphony Orchestra, which had had a four-week run 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 ...
. It was later recorded by the South African National Symphony and String Fever. Mindel also wrote and recorded an album for Norwegian artist, Reidar. In 2015, Still in Love With You was written by Adrian Bax White and David Mindel and was selected 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. ...
...
from nearly five hundred songs entered to be the UK entry into the 60th Eurovision song contest. The song was performed with 27 other songs in Vienna on 23 May and came 24th.


Jingles and commercials

In 1974, Mindel joined forces with David Seys to launch the advertising jingle company Mingles Music, writing and recording more than 4,000 television and radio commercials. Campaigns included the
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
generic theme for Ireland and Portugal, Action Man toys,
Maxwell House coffee Maxwell House is an American brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Heinz in North America and JDE Peet's in the rest of the world. Introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek, it was named in honor of the M ...
, McVities, Bisto,
Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...
,
Ballantine's Ballantine's is a range of Blended Scotch whiskies produced by Pernod Ricard in Dumbarton, Scotland. The Ballantine's flavour is dependent on fingerprint malts from Miltonduff and Glenburgie, blended with 50 single malts and four single gra ...
whiskey,
Chambourcy Chambourcy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located west of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and about west of Paris. Its inhabitants are called ''Camboriciens''. "Chambourcy", form ...
, Cadbury's,
Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...
,
Brooke Bond Brooke Bond is a brand of tea owned by Ekaterra, formerly an independent tea- trading and manufacturing company in the United Kingdom, known for its PG Tips brand and its Brooke Bond tea cards. History Brooke Bond & Company was founded by ...
, Betty Crocker,
Dr. Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Europe ...
, Kellogg's, Lancome, KFC,
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
, Rothmans, Ryanair, Thomas Cook, Polyhilites, KP Nuts and many others.


Television, film and theatre

Mindel has composed themes for many UK television programmes including "
Jim'll Fix It ''Jim'll Fix It'' is a British television series broadcast by the BBC between May 1975 and July 1994 and was devised and presented by Jimmy Savile and produced by Roger Ordish. The show encouraged children to write in a letter to Savile with ...
", which
Time out magazine ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...
ranked the 11th greatest theme song in the history of British television. He also wrote the current themes for " The National Lottery" and "
EuroMillions EuroMillionsgerman: Euromillionen or pt, Euromilhões is a transnational lottery that requires seven correct numbers to win the jackpot. It was launched on 7 February 2004 by France's Française des Jeux, Spain's ''Loterías y Apuestas de ...
". Other UK television credits include "
Food and Drink ''Food and Drink'' is a British television series on BBC Two. First broadcast between 1982 and 2002, it was the first national television programme in the UK to cover the subject of food and drink without cookery and recipe demonstrations. Histo ...
", "Open House", "Harty", "
Challenge Anneka ''Challenge Anneka'' is a British Reality television, reality programme that aired on BBC One, BBC1 from 8 September 1989 to 15 October 1995 and was hosted by Anneka Rice. It was announced in 2006 that the series was returning, but this time o ...
", " Boom", "The Hot Shoe Show", "Passport", " Get Your Act Together", "
House Hunters ''House Hunters'' is an American unscripted television series that airs on HGTV and is produced by Pie Town Productions. Each episode follows people making a decision about a new home purchase or rental. Format ''House Hunters'' follows indiv ...
", " The District Nurse", " Rory Bremner, Who Else?", "
Coogan's Run ''Coogan's Run'' is a 1995 UK TV series featuring Steve Coogan as a series of odd characters living in the fictional town of Ottle. It was written by various people including Coogan, Patrick Marber, David Tyler, Graham Linehan, Arthur Mathews, ...
" and others. He scored two award-winning documentaries, "All The King's Horses", a film about Budweiser's Clydesdale horses, and "Concertos", about whisky making in Scotland (from which the soundtrack was released). He also scored the feature films "Real Life" starring Cristina Raines and
Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...
, and "Bob's Weekend". He composed the musical Soul Searchers.


"Issues" project with The Band of Sisters

In 2012, Mindel had the idea of cowriting with women songwriters a collection of songs that deal with issues of special significance to woman, such as domestic abuse, depression, and bullying. The 2013 CD "Issues" by The Band of Sisters comprises sixteen songs, by women, about women, for women. Performers include
Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961 in Ilford, Essex) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and ca ...
, Lynda Hayes, Mim Grey,
Miriam Stockley Miriam Arlene Stockley (born 15 April 1962) is a British singer. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and her work is influenced by the African music of her home country. Her distinctive '' vocalise'' style gained international acclaim whe ...
,
Stevie Lange Stevie Vann (born Stevie van Kerken), also known as Stevie Lange, is a Zambian singer and vocal coach. She is best known for her work as a backing vocalist and studio singer for many groups and solo performers in the 1970s and 1980s. As lead vocal ...
,
Alissa Moreno Alissa Moreno is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of Indie-pop, Country, Americana, and Folk. Her co-write " Every Day", recorded by Rascal Flatts, reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Coun ...
, Leigh Matty, PP Arnold, Mandy Bell, Jacqi Michaels, Tor Richards, Angela Kaset, Kim Alvord, Monica Ward, and Alison Joy Williams. Versions of the project have been performed live in London and in
Nashville, TN Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
.


Honours and awards

Mindel has given master classes in commercial music at the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...
in London. He has been commissioned to write music for
Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
stars Wayne Eagling and
Wayne Sleep Wayne Philip Colin Sleep (born 17 July 1948) is a British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor who appeared on the BBC series '' The Real Marigold on Tour'' and ITV's '' The Real Full Monty''. Early life Sleep was born in Plymouth, D ...
. He has received two ASCAP awards, 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 ...
nomination, three New York Clio Awards, an ILR statuette, and one from the
Jameson Dublin International Film Festival The Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF; ) is an annual film festival held in Dublin, Ireland, since 2003. History Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003. It was revived by Michael Dwyer, international film critic and ' ...
, among many others. In 2018, three of Mindel's songs are included on an Eve Graham CD, four on an album by Dead Crow Road, and a single by Eurovision duo
Electro Velvet Electro Velvet are a British vocal duo that represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song " Still in Love with You" finishing 24th. The duo consist of Alex Larke and Bianca Nicholas. Career Early beginnings Nic ...
, Take Me Home was released in September.


Personal life

In February 1975, Mindel married Cherry Gillespie, actress and dancer with the BBC dance troupe
Pan's People Pan's People were a British all-female dance troupe most commonly associated with the BBC TV music chart show ''Top of the Pops'', from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. They appeared on many other TV shows in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, and al ...
. They were divorced in September 1989. On 3 March 2010 he married Darcie Gage, with whom he lives in the south of France.


References


External links


David Mindel's website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mindel, David 1946 births English male film score composers English songwriters English male musicians Musicians from Twickenham Living people British male songwriters