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Alan Tew | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Alan Stanley Tew |
| Born | July 7, 1930 Leytonstone, London |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Died | January 10, 1997 Winterton-on- Sea, Norfolk UK |
| Genres | Music |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, arranger |
| Instrument | piano |
| Labels | PYE |
Alan Stanley Tew was a British composer and arranger. He was born in England and died in the United States.[1] Alan Tew got his start in the 1950s as a pianist and arranger for the Len Turner Band. The band was based in London and played a mix of jazz and pop music.
Tew is known as a composer of library music, including the theme tunes for British television programmes, Doctor in the House called "Bond Street Parade", and ...And Mother Makes Three. He also composed all the music for the 1975 series, The Hanged Man, some of which was used as incidental music for The Two Ronnies, The Sweeney, SpongeBob SquarePants, and the 2009 Blaxploitation spoof Black Dynamite. One of the cuts composed for The Hanged Man, entitled "The Big One", would eventually become used as the theme and bumper music for the American television series, The People's Court, which debuted on September 14, 1981. "The Big One" was used as the closing theme for the TV show "Austin City Limits" from 1980 to 1982. That corresponds to seasons 5 through 7 of the show. "The Big One" was also used in commercials for Shedd's Spread Country Crock from 1981 to 1985. The commercials were part of the "Hands" campaign. "The Big One" was also used in the episode of the British detective show Van der Valk entitled "Gold Plated Delinquents" (1977), as well as the BCTV Canadian TV series Webster (1983-1985), the erotic films Barbara Broadcast (1977), The Satisfiers of Alpha Blue (1980), Highpoint (1982), and Malibu High (1979).
Tew also led his own orchestra, The Alan Tew Orchestra, and collaborated with Cat Stevens. During his career, Tew made a number of orchestral albums including This Is My Scene on Phase 4 Stereo (1967) and The Magnificent Westerns on CBS Records (1969).