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(c’35-’19) Les Reed (songwriter, arranger, musician and band leader)

Often seen in The Cricketers, Westfield; Woking Born songwriter Les Reed wrote hits for Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck and had his songs recorded by Elvis, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Lulu, Shirley Bassey, Petula Clark, Sandie Shaw and Otis Redding to name a few. Reed was a songwriter, musician, composer, conductor, arranger, producer and record-label owner of world renown.

He grew up in Granville Road and at age 6 took his first piano lesson with Rita Row, who took him through all of his grades over the next few years, including the London College of Music exams. Les’ cousin, Denis Edward Sines, who also played piano and accordion, got him his first piano and he and young Les would often play at family do’s together. In ’45 Les was part of his father Ralph Henry Reed’s local troupe of child entertainers, called “The Westfield Kids”, that entertained troops in hospitals and working men’s clubs; playing piano and accordion. It was at this time that he wrote his first songs, called “Oh Mother Dear” and “Nirvana”.

Les’s mother used to be the caretaker at the Atalanta Ballroom, Woking and introduced venue owner Bob Potter to piano playing Les. A season playing piano at the Nab Club, Hayling Island was his first professional gig in ’49. In 1950 Les was in a combo called The Weysiders, with Gerry Cheeseman, Fred Gardner, and Derek Potter. That same year The Les Reed Trio was formed with Les on piano, Bob Wooler (bass) and Johnny King (drums) doing nightclubs, weddings and parties. The house on Granville Road became where the band/s rehearsed on a Sunday. In the early 50’s he worked at Kenwoods, Woking, and briefly at Sorbo fixing bicycles, as well as playing in a skiffle group; but also undertook his National Service.

Joining the Royal East Kent Regiment in ’54 and serving in Germany, The Balkans and Denmark, he was in the regiments band, The Buffs, and learnt to play the clarinet. Demob was in ’56 and by ’58 Les, a jobbing pianist playing with Woking based The Jimmie Cole Band up and down the country and held a residency at Park Ballroom, Southampton with the Frank Joynson Orchestra. He also accepted an offer from guitarist Vic Flick to play at Butlins for a summer season, along with Cliff Richard and The Drifters. John Barry auditioned Les and he join the The John Barry Seven for a period in which they appeared on BBC’s Drumbeat and recorded the immortal ‘The James Bond Theme” for Dr No, released in ’61. In addition he formed and was a member of Les Reed and his Orchestra, Proffer, Marmelzat & Reed, The Les Reed Brass, The Les Reed Combo, and The Sounds of Les And Barry.

In ’64 The Les Reed Combo released the 7″ instrumental single “Spanish Armada” which became the theme to the ITN-TV Production “People In London”; in the early 70’s it was the Odeon’s ‘Showtime’ film trailers theme; and it was used in a Peek Freans cinema advert. The easy listening Les Reed Combo was worthy in itself, but he went on to be one of the writers of the 60’s and 70’s; penning over 2000 songs and was involved with arranging/producing some 5000 tracks in all.

“Here It Comes Again” written by Barry Mason and Les Reed in ’65; was recorded by The Fortunes and released on 10 September 1965. It reached number four on the UK and Canadian Singles Charts and 27th in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year. A cover version by Rita Pavone with Italian lyrics entitled “Qui Ritornerà” went to number one in Italy, and a version was used as a jingle for BBC DJ Tony Brandon in the early 1970s.

Reed, who had recorded at Wessex Studios, entered a partnership with the studio’s owner Ron Thompson and his partners in ’66, and purchased the church hall of St Augustine’s Church at 106a Highbury New Park in North London. Ron Thompson’s sons Mike and Robin converted the church hall into a recording studio and outfitted it with an 8-track Neve mixing console, the third console built by Thompson’s longtime friend Rupert Neve. The studio, however, did not immediately offer 8-track recording facilities – Trident Studios, Soho offered the first operational 8-track studio in London. Mike Batt recalls recording his first single at Wessex in ’68 on 4-track, then subsequently in the early seventies many other albums including all four of the Wombles’ albums, using state-of-the-art 24-track. Amongst the artists / bands to enter the old church hall were Big Mama Thornton, Eddie Boyd, Timi Yuro, P.J. Proby, Melanie, Connie Francis, and King Crimson, who recorded their first three studio albums at Wessex. The Moody Blues recorded their ’69 album, To Our Children’s Children’s Children and in ’70, a new custom 24-channel Neve console was installed and widely advertised as “London’s first 24-track desk”. In ’74, Queen recorded portions of Sheer Heart Attack at on that very desk. A year later, in ’75, the Chrysalis Group purchased both Wessex Studios.

Jumping back to our timeline, Englebert Humperdinck recorded “The Last Waltz”, by Les Reed and Barry Mason, releasing the 7″ single on Decca [F 12655] around the world in 1967. Connie Francis recorded “Connie Francis sings The Songs of Les Reed” [SE-4655] over the 6, 8 and 9 September ’69 at Wessex Studios, London; with additional vocals and overdubs laid down on 25 September in New York. The album was released in November, Francis’ last on MGM.

In 1970 the local newspaper (4 April ’70) carried a short story on Reed. His daughter, Donna’s guinea pig was pregnant and housed in the garage. The result was that Reed’s new Lamborghini Espada sat in the drive of their home in Cedar Road, Hook Heath; along with his Rolls Royce and Mercedes. That same year, Reed presented and arranged some of the songs on a recording of The Epworth Choir supported by The Choir of Woking Grammar School for Boys on the Chapter 1 label [CMS 1003] as part of the Choirs of Britain Series; which was recorded at Trinity Church, Woking by the Pye Mobile Recording Unit.

The Les Reed Orchestra’s last LP was released in 1973 on Chapter 1 [CHS 815] and titled “The New World of Les Reed”. In 1979 Polydor Records released a two-record set of “Connie Francis sings The Songs of Les Reed” and “Connie Francis Sings Bacharach & David”.

Les died on 16 April 2019 at the age of 83.

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Tracks:

Here is a brief sample of some of the tracks Reed wrote/co-wrote/composed:
“Delilah” – Tom Jones
“Here It Comes Again” – The Fortunes
“It’s Not Unusual” – Tom Jones
“Leeds, Leeds, Leeds” – Leeds United
“Man of Action” – Radio North Sea International’s
“The Last Waltz” – Engelbert Humperdinck
“There’s A Kind of Hush” – Herman’s Hermits / Carpenters’
“What New Pussycat” – Tom Jones

[Ed – As we gather more information, comments and images we will expand this bio]

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