Les Reed O.B.E.  is an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 and light orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 leader.

Career

Reed was an accomplished musician by the age of fourteen, playing the piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, accordion

Accordion

The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

 and vibraphone

Vibraphone

The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....

. He studied at the London College of Music

London College of Music

The London College of Music is a music school which is part of the University of West London in England.The LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at Great Marlborough Street in central London until 1991...

 before joining the Willis Reed Group, with whom he toured for four years. Having been called up for National Service

National service

National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

, he played piano and clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

 in the Royal East Kent Military Band. Following National Service he turned professional, and became resident pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 at the Lido Nightclub in the West End of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

In 1959 Reed joined the The John Barry Seven

The John Barry Seven

The John Barry Seven was a band formed by John Barry in 1957, after he abandoned his original career path of arranging for big bands.-Origins:...

 as pianist. He appeared with them on BBC's Drumbeat (TV series)

Drumbeat (TV series)

Drumbeat was a BBC television series that aired every Saturday from 4 April to 29 August 1959. It was the BBC's answer and rival to ITV's TV series Oh Boy!, though as the latter finished on 30 May, for most of its run Drumbeat had no comparable competition.It launched the careers of singer Adam...

, played on many of their hits

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

 including "James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 Theme", "Hit And Miss" and "Walk, Don’t Run". He also played piano on hits for the likes of Adam Faith

Adam Faith

Terence "Terry" Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith was a Teen idol English singer, actor and later financial journalist. He was one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the Top 5...

 ("Poor Me

Poor Me (song)

"Poor Me" is a single released by the English singer, Adam Faith. On 10 March 1960, it reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, staying there for two weeks.-Song profile:...

" and "What Do You Want?"); Eden Kane

Eden Kane

Eden Kane is an early 1960s British pop singer.-Life and career:Like Cliff Richard, Pete Best, and Engelbert Humperdinck, Eden Kane was born in India, but returned to Britain as a child...

's ("Forget Me Not"), and Lance Fortune's ("Be Mine").

In the mid-1960s he began a successful songwriting partnership with Geoff Stephens

Geoff Stephens

Geoffrey 'Geoff' Stephens , was one of the top British songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:...

 which yielded such hits as "Tell Me When

Tell Me When

"Tell Me When" is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League. Written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey and Paul C. Beckett, it was recorded at 'Human League Studios', Sheffield in 1994...

", a hit for The Applejacks

The Applejacks

The Applejacks were a UK pop and beat group of the 1960s. They were the first "Brumbeat" group to reach the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, and were unusual for having a female bass guitarist, Megan Davies....

; "Here It Comes Again

Here It Comes Again (The Fortunes song)

"Here It Comes Again" is a song written by Barry Mason and Les Reed in 1965. It was recorded by The Fortunes and released on 10 September 1965. It reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and number twenty-seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.A cover version by Rita Pavone...

" for The Fortunes

The Fortunes

The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in Birmingham, The Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US and UK Top 10s...

; "Leave A Little Love" for Lulu

Lulu (singer)

Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...

; and "There's a Kind of Hush

There's A Kind Of Hush

"There's a Kind of Hush" is a popular song written by Les Reed and Geoff Stephens which was a hit in 1967 for Herman's Hermits and again in 1976 for the Carpenters.-First recordings:...

", a 1967 success for Herman's Hermits

Herman's Hermits

Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...

. During 1964 Reed penned "It's Not Unusual

It's Not Unusual

"It's Not Unusual" is a song written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, first recorded by a then-unknown Tom Jones after having first been offered to Sandie Shaw. Jones recorded what was intended to be a demo for Shaw, but when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones' delivery that she declined the...

" with ex-Viscounts

The Viscounts (UK)

The Viscounts were a British pop group from London. Its members had formerly been part of a TV ensemble called Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang. They quit the group and formed The Viscounts in 1958, playing local shows and eventually attracting the attention of manager Larry Parnes...

 member and Tom Jones

Tom Jones (singer)

Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...

' manager

Management

Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

 Gordon Mills

Gordon Mills

Gordon William Mills , was a successful London-based music industry manager and songwriter who was born in Madras, India and grew up in Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales...

, which gave Jones a UK

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...

 number one. Reed also arranged

Arrangement

The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...

 and played piano on the song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

.

Around this time Reed struck up another songwriting partnership with Barry Mason

Barry Mason

John Barry Mason is an English songwriter, originally from the village of Coppull, near Chorley in Lancashire....

 from Wigan

Wigan

Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. Among their successes was "Delilah

Delilah (1968 song)

"Delilah" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Tom Jones in 1968. It was written by Barry Mason, with music by Les Reed.-Success:It reached No 1 in the charts of several countries including Germany and Switzerland. It reached No 2 in the British charts in March 1968 and was the sixth best selling...

", again a Top Ten hit for Tom Jones. "Delilah" was originally written for P. J. Proby

P. J. Proby

P.J. Proby is an American singer, songwriter, and actor, who has portrayed Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison in musical theater productions as well as enjoying a successful recording career in his own right....

 and later covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band in 1975. Reed and Mason also wrote "The Last Waltz

The Last Waltz (song)

"The Last Waltz" is a song written by Barry Mason and Les Reed. It was one of Engelbert Humperdinck's biggest hits, spending five weeks at number one on the British charts in September and October 1967...

", which became a million selling UK number one for Engelbert Humperdinck

Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)

Engelbert Humperdinck is a British pop singer, best known for his hits including "Release Me " and "After the Lovin'" as well as "The Last Waltz" .-Early life:...

 in September 1967. Mason and Reed wrote "Who's Doctor Who", a novelty song recorded by Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

 star Frazer Hines

Frazer Hines

Frazer Hines is an English actor best known for his roles as Jamie McCrimmon in Doctor Who and Joe Sugden in Emmerdale. Hines was born in Horsforth, a civil parish of Leeds.-Acting career:...

 in 1967, but it failed to chart. In 1968 the duo scored another UK #1 hit with Des O'Connor

Des O'Connor

Des O'Connor, CBE is an English comedian and singer. A former talkshow host, he was the presenter of the long-running Channel 4 gameshow Countdown for two years...

's recording

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 of "I Pretend

I Pretend

I Pretend is a song written by Barry Mason and Les Reed. Des O'Connor's recording of this song became a number-one hit in the UK in July 1968, and a number-one hit in Ireland the following month....

". That same year, "I've Got My Eyes on You

I've Got My Eyes on You (1968 song)

"I've Got My Eyes on You" is a popular song by Jackie Rae and Les Reed, published in 1968.The song was recorded by a number of artists:*Petula Clark *Ray Conniff *P. J...

", written by Reed and Jackie Rae

Jackie Rae

Jackie Rae, CM DFC was a Canadian singer, songwriter and television performer.He was born John Arthur Rae in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1922. Rae began performing at the age of three with his brother and sister on the vaudeville circuit in Canada...

, was recorded by Petula Clark

Petula Clark

Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...

, Ray Conniff

Ray Conniff

Joseph Raymond Conniff was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.-Biography:...

, P. J. Proby

P. J. Proby

P.J. Proby is an American singer, songwriter, and actor, who has portrayed Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison in musical theater productions as well as enjoying a successful recording career in his own right....

 and The Vogues

The Vogues

The Vogues are an American vocal group from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The original group consisted of Bill Burkette , Don Miller , Hugh Geyer and Chuck Blasko .-Career:...

.

In 1970 Reed's orchestra recorded "Man of Action" which was used as the theme tune for Radio North Sea International

Radio North Sea International

Radio North Sea International also known as Radio Nordsee International in German and Radio Noordzee Internationaal in Dutch, was a European offshore radio station, run by the Swiss firm Mebo Telecommunications, jointly owned by Swiss engineer, Edwin Bollier, and his business partner, Erwin Meister...

 until 1974. Reed composed

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...

 the score for the 2004 musical Beautiful and Damned

Beautiful and Damned

Beautiful and Damned is a musical with a book by Kit Hesketh Harvey and music and lyrics by Les Reed and Roger Cook.Drawing its title from F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel, it focuses on the turbulent relationship he shared with his wife Zelda during the Jazz Age...

, based on the lives of Zelda

Zelda Fitzgerald

Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald , born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama, was an American novelist and the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was an icon of the 1920s—dubbed by her husband "the first American Flapper"...

 and F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...

. Reed is also responsible for co-composing "Marching on Together

Marching On Together

Leeds! Leeds! Leeds! is the name of the anthem of Leeds United A.F.C. Unlike many football songs that are just new words set to existing music, Leeds! Leeds! Leeds! is an original composition by Les Reed and Barry Mason...

" (aka "Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!"), the anthem

Anthem

The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...

 of Leeds United A.F.C.

Leeds United A.F.C.

Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

.

In 1971, fellow pensmith Mitch Murray

Mitch Murray

Mitch Murray , is an English songwriter, record producer and author.-Musical career:...

 conceived and founded the Society Of Distinguished Songwriters (SODS). Current members include Reed, Sir Tim Rice, Guy Chambers

Guy Chambers

Guy Chambers is an English songwriter and record producer, perhaps best known for his long partnership with Robbie Williams.- Biography :...

, Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and is currently the head judge on the eighth series of The X Factor. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters...

, David Arnold

David Arnold

David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...

, Mike Batt

Mike Batt

Michael Philip "Mike" Batt is a British songwriter, musician, producer and Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry...

, Justin Hayward

Justin Hayward

Justin Hayward is an English musician, best known as singer, songwriter and guitarist in the rock band The Moody Blues.Hayward was born in Dean Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, England...

, Don Black

Don Black (musician)

Don Black, OBE is an English lyricist. His works have included numerous musicals, movie themes and hit songs. He has provided lyrics for John Barry, Charles Strouse, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Quincy Jones, Jule Styne, Henry Mancini, Michael Jackson, Elmer Bernstein, Michel Legrand, Hayley Westenra,...

, and more than thirty others.

April 1998 Philosophical Paper [published by Hazel Speed] which featured reference to Les Reed's theme for the film 'The Lady Vanishes' (which starred Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury

Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...

). Reed wrote Letter of Introduction within philosophical text and the Paper was subsequently lodged with the Cultural Department of the European Commission.

In 2006, Reed wrote two theme songs for short animation pilot entitled 'B-Mail'. He is project Composer in Residence.