Brian Fahey | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1919-04-25)25 April 1919 Margate, Kent, England |
| Died | 4 April 2007(2007-04-04) (aged 87) Worthing,West Sussex, England |
| Genres | Easy listening Jazz Big band Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Composer Arranger Conductor Bandleader |
| Years active | 1938–1999 |
| Formerly of | The Brian Fahey Orchestra,BBC Big Band, BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra,Shirley Bassey |
Brian Michael Fahey (25 April 1919 – 4 April 2007) was a British musical director, composer and arranger, best known for composing "At the Sign of the Swingin' Cymbal", the signature tune toBBC Radio's long running programmePick of the Pops. From 1972 he was principal conductor of theBBC Scottish Radio Orchestra, until it was disbanded in 1981.[1]
Fahey was born inMargate,Kent, England,[2] and educated atColfe's Grammar School. He learned piano and cello from his father,[2] and became interested inbig band arranging and composing. During theSecond World War he served in theRoyal Artillery;.[2] Wounded in the leg during theDunkirk retreat, he was taken prisoner.[2] He was shot during theWormhoudt massacre on 28 May 1940.[2] After recovering from his wounds and the removal of a lung, he spent five years inprisoner-of-war camps,[2] during which time he worked on his musical skills.[3]
After the war, Fahey became a pianist with the Rudy Starita Band which, supported byENSA, toured Egypt and Palestine.[2] During that tour he met the band singer Audrey Laurie (birth name Audrey Watkins).[2] They married in 1947.[4] After that he played in various bands, but his passion was for arranging. Between 1949 and 1959, he worked for the music publishersChappells and Cinephonic Music, specialising in arrangements for singers, bands and orchestras, mainly for radio broadcasts.[2] His compositions include "The Creep" (withKen Mackintosh),[2] which reached No. 10 in theUK Singles Chart in January 1954,[5] "Fanfare Boogie" (1955, written with Max Kaye for theEric Winstone Band), which won anIvor Novello Award,[2] and "Here in a Smoky Room", which (as played by the Otto Keller Band – O.K. being a pseudonym forSyd Dale) was one of the staples of BBCtest card transmission music in the early 1970s.[6]
Fahey freelanced after 1959, working with recording companies, theBBC and in the theatre. His most famous piece, "At the Sign of the Swingin' Cymbal",[2] was first released in September 1960 under the name Brian Fahey and his Orchestra.[7] It was used as the theme tune forPick of the Pops from 1961 to 1966, and again from 1970 until the present day.[8]
He provided scores for films such asThe Break (1963),Curse of Simba (1965),The Plank (1967) andRhubarb (1969), and the theme toPete Murray's popularBBC Radio 2 showOpen House. Between 1967 and 1972, he wasShirley Bassey's musical director.[2] In 1972, he became principal conductor of the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra.[2] Under his direction the orchestra did a lot of television work, accompanyingKenneth McKellar,Lena Martell,Moira Anderson, Shirley Bassey,Lulu,Lena Zavaroni andAnne Lorne Gillies. It also had its own BBC One programme,Make Way for Music. They recorded 'inserts' for the many music and chat shows on BBC Radio 2 and Radio Scotland, recording with artists includingCleo Laine,Georgie Fame,Carol Kidd and trombonistDon Lusher. Fahey continued to work for the BBC after the orchestra was disbanded in 1981.[3]
Fahey was a close friend ofElla Fitzgerald (with whom he shared the same birthday) and of the American arrangersBilly May andNelson Riddle, who both attempted to persuade him to emigrate to the US, where he was offered several lucrative contracts. But he preferred not to disrupt his family life and so instead lived for many years inPurley,Surrey. In 1972, he moved to the Ayrshire village ofSkelmorlie on the west coast of Scotland, where he and his wife remained until her death in November 2006. He was an avid cricket and football fan and supportedArsenal. He died on 4 April 2007 atWorthing Hospital, aged 87, and was survived by his six children, 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.[3]
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