Simon Park

Born in March 1946 in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, England, Park studied music at Winchester College, Oxford, and first touched the piano at age five. In 1972 he received a commission to create the theme for the television detective series Van Der Valk. Released under the name ‘Eye Level’ and credited to the Simon Park Orchestra, the piece appeared with the programme’s opening season yet stalled at number 41 on the UK charts. Rising audience numbers for the second season prompted a reissue driven by public request; the track then ascended to number 1, marking the final chart-topper issued by the EMI/Columbia label. Park later recorded several albums that combined his own compositions with orchestral treatments of well-known classical works. He remains active as a composer.