Ed Welch
Encyclopedia
Edward William "Ed" Welch (born October 22, 1947) is an English
television composer
.
, and session musicians including Mike de Albuquerque and Cozy Powell
. In 1972, acted as producer on a version of “I Don't Know How to Love Him
” by Sylvie McNeill
(a.k.a. Sylvia McNeill
) on a UK 45 on United Artists UA UP35415 released in time for the first UK Stage Musical of “Jesus Christ Superstar
”.
In 1978 and 1979, he appeared in the Spike Milligan
BBC series Q8
and Q9
, performing his own songs (including The Carpet is Always Greener Under Someone Else's Bed and Love to Make Music by) and songs co-written with Milligan, including I've Got This Photograph of You and Silly Old Baboon. This unlikely duo released an album in 1979 on the United Artists label, Spike Milligan and Ed Welch Sing Songs from Q8. Also in 1978, he composed the score for the remake of The Thirty Nine Steps, including an extended piano piece entitled The Thirty Nine Steps Concerto (a nod to Richard Addinsell
's Warsaw Concerto
). Welch recorded the piece with Christopher Headington
as soloist.
In 1982, he composed the Television South West
(TSW) idents and the local news programme, and for the Gus Honeybun
character on TSW and in 1987, Welch composed music for Television South
(TVS).
Ed composed the theme to the popular ITV/BBC Two/Sky1 Blockbusters quiz show which ran from 1983 to 2001, and soon became one of the most recognisable television themes of the times.
Welch adapted fairy tales and wrote the scripts for the children's
cartoon series
, Wolves, Witches and Giants
, which ran from 1995 to 1999. He is credited for the music in the 2001 cartoon series, Binka
, and in 2004, he composed a piece of music for Liberal Democrat, Mike Treleaven. He writes the songs for the new format of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
.
Welch is credited as a co-writer of the 1995 Iceland
ic entry to the Eurovision Song Contest
(with Björgvin Halldórsson
)
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television 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...
.
Career
In 1971, he recorded an album, Clowns, including songs he had co-written with Tom PaxtonTom Paxton
Thomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
, and session musicians including Mike de Albuquerque and Cozy Powell
Cozy Powell
Colin Flooks , better known as Cozy Powell, was an English rock drummer who made his name with many major rock bands.-Early history:...
. In 1972, acted as producer on a version of “I Don't Know How to Love Him
I Don't Know How to Love Him
"I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song from the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice , a torch ballad sung by the character of Mary Magdalene who in Jesus Christ Superstar is presented as bearing an unrequited love for the title character...
” by Sylvie McNeill
Sylvia McNeill
Sylvia McNeill was born 5 August 1947 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.She began her career singing and playing bass guitar with various groups and bands. She went abroad for several years, touring American bases on the continent...
(a.k.a. Sylvia McNeill
Sylvia McNeill
Sylvia McNeill was born 5 August 1947 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.She began her career singing and playing bass guitar with various groups and bands. She went abroad for several years, touring American bases on the continent...
) on a UK 45 on United Artists UA UP35415 released in time for the first UK Stage Musical of “Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
”.
In 1978 and 1979, he appeared in the Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
BBC series Q8
Q (TV series)
Q... was a surreal television comedy sketch show from Spike Milligan which ran from 1969 to 1982 on BBC2. There were six series in all, the first five numbered from Q5 to Q9, and a final series titled There's a Lot of It About...
and Q9
Q (TV series)
Q... was a surreal television comedy sketch show from Spike Milligan which ran from 1969 to 1982 on BBC2. There were six series in all, the first five numbered from Q5 to Q9, and a final series titled There's a Lot of It About...
, performing his own songs (including The Carpet is Always Greener Under Someone Else's Bed and Love to Make Music by) and songs co-written with Milligan, including I've Got This Photograph of You and Silly Old Baboon. This unlikely duo released an album in 1979 on the United Artists label, Spike Milligan and Ed Welch Sing Songs from Q8. Also in 1978, he composed the score for the remake of The Thirty Nine Steps, including an extended piano piece entitled The Thirty Nine Steps Concerto (a nod to Richard Addinsell
Richard Addinsell
Richard Stewart Addinsell was a British composer, best known for film music, primarily his Warsaw Concerto, composed for the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight .-Life:...
's Warsaw Concerto
Warsaw Concerto
The Warsaw Concerto is a single-movement piano concerto written for the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight . It was written by British composer Richard Addinsell...
). Welch recorded the piece with Christopher Headington
Christopher Headington
Christopher Headington was an English composer and pianist.Born in London, he studied at Lancing College and the Royal Academy of Music, later studying composition with Lennox Berkeley...
as soloist.
In 1982, he composed the Television South West
Television South West
Television South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-Origins and Launch:...
(TSW) idents and the local news programme, and for the Gus Honeybun
Gus Honeybun
Gus Honeybun was the station mascot for Westward Television, and later Television South West, from 1961 to 1992. A puppet rabbit, and star of Gus Honeybun's Magic Birthdays, he achieved a longevity for a TV puppet second only to Sooty....
character on TSW and in 1987, Welch composed music for Television South
Television South
Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK...
(TVS).
Ed composed the theme to the popular ITV/BBC Two/Sky1 Blockbusters quiz show which ran from 1983 to 2001, and soon became one of the most recognisable television themes of the times.
Welch adapted fairy tales and wrote the scripts for the children's
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
cartoon series
Cartoon series
A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...
, Wolves, Witches and Giants
Wolves, Witches and Giants
Wolves Witches and Giants, narrated by Spike Milligan, is a children's cartoon series of humorous adaptations of classic fairy tales, featuring a collection of villains including the Big Bad Wolf as a wily wolf, a wicked witch and an enormous giant. It was written by musician Ed Welch, based on an...
, which ran from 1995 to 1999. He is credited for the music in the 2001 cartoon series, Binka
Binka
Binka was an animated children's cartoon about the adventures of a fat tomcat named Binka who frequently travels to three houses for three meals a day. The show was produced and screened in 2001, running for 26 five minute long episodes on weekday mornings. It can still be frequently seen as...
, and in 2004, he composed a piece of music for Liberal Democrat, Mike Treleaven. He writes the songs for the new format of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...
.
Welch is credited as a co-writer of the 1995 Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic entry to the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
(with Björgvin Halldórsson
Björgvin Halldórsson
Björgvin Helgi Halldórsson is an Icelandic pop singer from Hafnarfjörður...
)
Projects
- The $64,000 QuestionThe $64,000 Question (UK game show)The $64,000 Question is a UK game show based on the US format of the same name that originally ran from 19 May 1956 to 18 January 1958 produced by ATV and was originally hosted by Jerry Desmonde, and called simply The 64,000 Question with the top prize initially being 64,000 sixpences , later...
- All Clued UpAll Clued UpAll Clued Up is a United Kingdom game show based on the American entry The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime, which was produced by TVS and aired on ITV from 17 April 1988 to 19 July 1991...
- Blockbusters (1983-2001)
- Catchphrase (1986-1994)
- CrosswitsCrosswitsCrosswits is a British TV quiz show, originally hosted by Barry Cryer, then comedian Tom O'Connor took over until the show ended in 1998....
- Family CatchphraseFamily CatchphraseFamily Catchphrase was a spin-off of the popular UK prime-time game show Catchphrase. Andrew O'Connor presented.-History:Roy Walker started the idea in 1992, , in which teams of family would play Catchphrase. In early 1994, the Family Channel produced a spin-off series called Family Catchphrase,...
- Funky ValleyFunky ValleyFunky Valley is a UK television series created designed, and directed by Sarah and Simon Bor. It is produced by Honeycomb Animation for Five. Aimed at the pre-school audience, rendered in a texture-rich animation style. Each five-minute episode is set in a farmyard full of the usual farm animals...
- The HoobsThe HoobsThe Hoobs is a BAFTA-winning children's television programme created and produced by The Jim Henson Company. It stars five creatures called Hoobs from the fictional Hoobland, and their interactions with Earth and the human race...
- KnightmareKnightmareKnightmare is an English television program for children, produced by Broadsword Productions for Anglia Television and was broadcast on ITV from 7 September 1987 to 11 November 1994...
- The National LotteryNational Lottery (United Kingdom)The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
- North TonightNorth TonightNorth Tonight was a Scottish nightly regional news programme covering the North of Scotland, produced by STV North .-History:North Tonight began on 7 January 1980 with presenters John Duncanson and Selina Scott...
(1988-1990) - One Foot in the GraveOne Foot in the GraveOne Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series written by David Renwick. The show ran for six series, including seven Christmas specials, two Comic Relief specials, over an eleven year period, from early 1990 to late 2000...
- That's My Dog!
- The RattiesThe RattiesThe Ratties is a British cartoon series that ran in 1987 with 26 episodes.It is about a family of rats that live in a country house. The rats try to emulate the human owners of their house. The show was created by Mike Wallis and Laura Milligan, and is narrated by Spike Milligan...
(1987) - Shillingbury TalesShillingbury TalesShillingbury Tales was a British television sitcom comedy-drama series made by ATV for ITV and broadcast 1980-81.Comprising a single feature length pilot and six one-hour episodes, the series deals with life in an idealised fictional English village and stars Robin Nedwell, Diane Keen, Nigel...
(1981)