David Lowe
Encyclopedia
David Lowe is a British
composer
, focusing primarily on music for television and radio, including all the current themes for BBC News
. His first television composition was the 1983 title music for BBC Midlands Today, followed in 1988 by BBC Wales Today
and he went back to BBC Birmingham
and Midlands Today again in 1992, creating title music for both Midlands Today and Pebble Mill.
Lowe's work on other British television programmes includes The One Show
, Panorama
, Wildlife on One
and The Really Wild Show
(all on BBC One
), Grand Designs
on Channel 4
, and the Channel 5 motoring programme Fifth Gear
. He has also created musical identities for the Al Arabiya
Channel and Abu Dhabi TV
in the Middle East, NDTV
in India and TV2
in Norway. For radio he produced the current identity for the BBC World Service
.
. He performed a live mix that year at the first Thames River Festival, which accompanied a record breaking tightrope walk across the river.
His single "Would You...?
" under the name Touch and Go
was a top 3 hit in the UK in 1998 and a hit in the rest of Europe in early 1999. The album I've Noticed You Around spawned more hit singles in Eastern Europe and Russia. "Straight...to Number One" was chosen by Apple to launch the iTunes
site in the USA, where every track on the album has been used in films, television and/or commercials.
In 1999, Lowe created probably his most famous compositions, the current BBC News themes. Whilst previous themes had been orchestral, these new themes made extensive use of the 'pips' that are used on the hour on BBC Radio stations, along with more electric sounds. Since 1999 his themes have been remixed numerous times for BBC News in the UK as well as the international BBC News station BBC World News. Two CDs of Lowe's music have been released by the BBC
. BBC World: The Music is a compilation of some of Lowe's work for BBC World, made available after significant demand from viewers. Wild Caribbean features the best of Lowe's music from the BBC2 series of the same name, and remixes of his Touch and Go tracks "So Hot" and "Life's a Beach".
Through his website, Lowe has released compilations of some of his television soundtracks. TV Chill is a mix from a variety of different programmes, whilst Grand Designs features a full length arrangement of the main theme, and other music from the Channel 4 series. Both were produced after interest from viewers, including a request from one to have the Grand Designs music played at her wedding.
Lowe also co-produced an album for poet Roger McGough
. Between excerpts of McGough's live performance, he set some of the poetry to music.
Lowe was invited by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters to compose the theme for the 50th Ivor Novello Awards
ceremony in 2005. In 2006 he was commissioned to write the music for the BAFTA Film and Television Awards and for the BBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics.
He has performed at several WOMAD festivals worldwide. In 2004, he was commissioned to provide a music soundscape for The Tropical Biome at the Eden Project
, which was performed at WOMAD Reading in 2005. Reinforced with several new songs, the material has been reworked to form his second Dreamcatcher album, What...is in Between?, released on Oval Records in October 2006. Featured vocalists are poet and novelist Benjamin Zephaniah
and Japanese artist and composer Mieko Shimizu, while Lowe himself sings on "Still The Greatest."
David Lowe is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. in 2005 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Staffordshire University
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, focusing primarily on music for television and radio, including all the current themes for BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
. His first television composition was the 1983 title music for BBC Midlands Today, followed in 1988 by BBC Wales Today
BBC Wales Today
Wales Today is the BBC's national news programme for Wales, broadcast on BBC One Wales from the headquarters of BBC Wales in Llandaff, Cardiff....
and he went back to BBC Birmingham
BBC Birmingham
BBC Birmingham is one of the oldest regional arms of the BBC, located in Birmingham, West Midlands. It was the first region outside of London to start broadcasting both the corporation's radio and television transmissions, the latter from the Sutton Coldfield television transmitter...
and Midlands Today again in 1992, creating title music for both Midlands Today and Pebble Mill.
Lowe's work on other British television programmes includes The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...
, Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
, Wildlife on One
Wildlife on One
Wildlife on One was the BBC's flagship natural history programme, first broadcast in 1977. Each programme ran for half an hour. The narrator was Sir David Attenborough. When repeated on BBC2, the programmes were retitled Wildlife on Two. The programme was terminated in 2005.The 2003 season...
and The Really Wild Show
The Really Wild Show
The Really Wild Show was a long-running British television show about wildlife, broadcast by the BBC as part of their CBBC service to children. It also runs on Animal Planet in the USA.The show was broadcast continuously since January 21, 1986...
(all on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
), Grand Designs
Grand Designs
Grand Designs is a British television series produced by Talkback Thames and broadcast on Channel 4 which features unusual and often elaborate architectural home-building projects....
on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, and the Channel 5 motoring programme Fifth Gear
Fifth Gear
Fifth Gear is a motoring television magazine show from the United Kingdom. Originally shown on Channel 5, the show is currently presented by Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Jason Plato, Jonny Smith and Ben Collins...
. He has also created musical identities for the Al Arabiya
Al Arabiya
Al Arabiya is a Pan-Arabist Saudi-owned Arabic-language television news channel. Launched on March 3, 2003, the channel is based in Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates, and is majority-owned by the Saudi broadcaster Middle East Broadcasting Center ....
Channel and Abu Dhabi TV
Abu Dhabi TV
Abu Dhabi Al Oula is an Arabic television station that originally launched in 1969 but was re-launched in 2000 and again in 2008. It broadcasts from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates and is owned by Abu Dhabi Media Company...
in the Middle East, NDTV
NDTV
NDTV is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988. It was founded by Prannoy Roy, an eminent journalist and current chairman and director of NDTV Group. NDTV currently has more than 1,000 employees producing news from over twenty locations in India...
in India and TV2
TV 2 (Norway)
TV 2 is the largest commercial television station in Norway. Over 30% of the time Norwegians spend watching TV is spent watching TV 2. The station has 65% of the market for TV commercials in Norway....
in Norway. For radio he produced the current identity for the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
.
History
In 1997, Lowe released his debut album, DreamcatcherDreamcatcher
Dreamcatcher is a Native American cultural object.Dreamcatcher may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Dreamcatcher , a 2001 novel by Stephen King** Dreamcatcher , based on the Stephen King novel...
. He performed a live mix that year at the first Thames River Festival, which accompanied a record breaking tightrope walk across the river.
His single "Would You...?
Would You...?
"Would You...?" is an electronic/house song by the British band Touch and Go. It was released as a single in October 1998.The track is marked by its distinctive sampling of a woman's voice saying "I've noticed you around / I find you very attractive / Would you go to bed with me?". It reached the...
" under the name Touch and Go
Touch and Go (band)
Touch and Go is a British jazz-pop musical ensemble. Their most notable singles include "Would You...?", "Straight... to Number One", and "Tango in Harlem".-Career:...
was a top 3 hit in the UK in 1998 and a hit in the rest of Europe in early 1999. The album I've Noticed You Around spawned more hit singles in Eastern Europe and Russia. "Straight...to Number One" was chosen by Apple to launch the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
site in the USA, where every track on the album has been used in films, television and/or commercials.
In 1999, Lowe created probably his most famous compositions, the current BBC News themes. Whilst previous themes had been orchestral, these new themes made extensive use of the 'pips' that are used on the hour on BBC Radio stations, along with more electric sounds. Since 1999 his themes have been remixed numerous times for BBC News in the UK as well as the international BBC News station BBC World News. Two CDs of Lowe's music have been released by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. BBC World: The Music is a compilation of some of Lowe's work for BBC World, made available after significant demand from viewers. Wild Caribbean features the best of Lowe's music from the BBC2 series of the same name, and remixes of his Touch and Go tracks "So Hot" and "Life's a Beach".
Through his website, Lowe has released compilations of some of his television soundtracks. TV Chill is a mix from a variety of different programmes, whilst Grand Designs features a full length arrangement of the main theme, and other music from the Channel 4 series. Both were produced after interest from viewers, including a request from one to have the Grand Designs music played at her wedding.
Lowe also co-produced an album for poet Roger McGough
Roger McGough
Roger Joseph McGough CBE is a well-known English performance poet. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme Poetry Please and records voice-overs for commercials, as well as performing his own poetry regularly...
. Between excerpts of McGough's live performance, he set some of the poetry to music.
Lowe was invited by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters to compose the theme for the 50th Ivor Novello Awards
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...
ceremony in 2005. In 2006 he was commissioned to write the music for the BAFTA Film and Television Awards and for the BBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics.
He has performed at several WOMAD festivals worldwide. In 2004, he was commissioned to provide a music soundscape for The Tropical Biome at the Eden Project
Eden Project
The Eden Project is a visitor attraction in Cornwall in the United Kingdom, including the world's largest greenhouse. Inside the artificial biomes are plants that are collected from all around the world....
, which was performed at WOMAD Reading in 2005. Reinforced with several new songs, the material has been reworked to form his second Dreamcatcher album, What...is in Between?, released on Oval Records in October 2006. Featured vocalists are poet and novelist Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is an English writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008....
and Japanese artist and composer Mieko Shimizu, while Lowe himself sings on "Still The Greatest."
David Lowe is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. in 2005 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
.