Alan Hawkshaw

A prolific British composer, arranger, and session musician, Alan Hawkshaw generated an enormous catalog of widely recognized music while remaining entirely out of the public eye, an arrangement that aligned perfectly with his temperament. Although he performed as a member of the Shadows, contributed keyboards to recordings by artists ranging from David Bowie to Donna Summer, and secured a U.S. number one dance hit, his most lasting legacy emerged through library music that found extensive placement in film and television beginning in the late 1960s. At the time of his death in 2021, the theme music he supplied for British programs including Countdown, Grange Hill, and the Channel 4 News continued to resonate with large audiences.

Born in Leeds, Hawkshaw launched his professional career in the early 1960s by joining the rock group Emile Ford and the Checkmates, appearing on their hit single “Counting Teardrops.” He soon became a sought-after session musician in the London scene, recording with David Bowie and the Hollies before forming the short-lived studio band the Mohawks, whose 1968 track “The Champ” later received extensive sampling, especially within hip-hop. Throughout the 1970s he joined the Shadows and contributed to sessions for Serge Gainsbourg, Cliff Richard, Donna Summer, Olivia Newton-John, and numerous others. Despite his abilities, he consistently avoided the spotlight and chose instead to focus on composition and behind-the-scenes support.

Although his performances appeared on countless commercial releases, the core of his work involved creating and recording material for publisher Keith Prowse’s KPM library. The instrumental pieces he produced for KPM surfaced across television programs such as The Dave Allen Show and On the Move as well as in American filmmaker Radley Metzger’s late-1970s erotic films. British soap opera Grange Hill adopted one of these library compositions as its theme beginning in 1978, and Channel 4 News followed suit a few years later. The Channel 4 game show Countdown likewise used a Hawkshaw composition for its signature “Chimes” jingle, while his work also featured in hundreds of commercials. He additionally entered the disco arena, reaching the top of the U.S. dance charts in 1979 with “Here Comes That Sound Again” by his studio project Love De-Luxe.

He subsequently established the charitable Alan Hawkshaw Foundation to assist underprivileged music students. Shortly before his death from pneumonia in October 2021, he received both a British Empire Medal and a Leeds fellowship.