Les Reed | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Leslie David Reed |
| Born | 24 July 1935 Woking, Surrey, England |
| Died | 15 April 2019 (aged 83) Petersfield, Hampshire |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, arranger, musician, orchestra leader |
| Years active | 1959–2019 |
Leslie David Reed OBE (24 July 1935 – 15 April 2019)[1][2] was an English songwriter, arranger, musician and light-orchestra leader.[3] His major songwriting partners were Gordon Mills, Barry Mason, and Geoff Stephens, although he wrote songs with many others such as Roger Greenaway, Roger Cook, Peter Callander, and Johnny Worth.
Reed co-wrote around sixty charting songs, and is best known for "It's Not Unusual", "Delilah", "The Last Waltz" and "Marching On Together". His songs gained a number of gold discs and Ivor Novello Awards. Allmusic noted that "In the mid-1960s, it was unusual for a British singles chart not to list a Les Reed song".[3] He won the British Academy Gold Badge of Merit in 1982.[3]