Jonathan Whitehead (21 October 1960 – 26 May 2020) was an English musician and composer, born in Denton,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. He wrote music for television comedies such as ''

The Day Today ''The Day Today'' is a British comedy television show that parodies television news and current affairs programmes, broadcast from 19 January to 23 February 1994 on BBC2. It was created by Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and is an adap ...

'', ''

Brass Eye ''Brass Eye'' (stylised as brassEYE) is a British satirical television series parodying current affairs news programming. A series of six episodes aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001. The series was created and presented by ...

'', ''

Black Books ''Black Books'' is a British sitcom created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan, and written by Moran, Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley, Linehan and Arthur Mathews. It was broadcast on Channel 4, running for three series from 2000 to 2004. Starring Dyla ...

'', ''

Green Wing ''Green Wing'' is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the Sketch comedy, sketch show ''Smack the Pony'' – Channel 4 commissioner Caroline Leddy and producer Victoria Pile – and ...

'', ''

Campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

'' and ''

Nathan Barley ''Nathan Barley'' is a British Channel 4 television sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, directed by Morris and starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt, Claire Keelan, Richard Ayoade, Ben Whishaw, Rhys Thomas and Charlie Condo ...

''. He studied music at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

and later lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He sometimes wrote under the name "Trellis". His music for ''Green Wing'' was nominated for a BAFTA and won the

RTS Award The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

for Best Original Music. A selection of music from the series was released on CD under Whitehead's artistic

nom de plume A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

, Trellis. Serious documentary and drama scores composed by Whitehead include ''War In Europe'' and ''The Clintons' Marriage of Power'' for MBC, ''Metropolis'' (with

James Purefoy James Brian Mark Purefoy (born 3 June 1964) is an English actor. He played Marcus Antonius in the HBO series ''Rome'', Nick Jenkins in '' A Dance to the Music of Time'', college professor turned serial killer Joe Carroll in the series '' The Fo ...

), three series of ''Medics'' for Granada and Kay Mellor's latest drama series '' Strictly Confidential'' for ITV. He died on 26 May 2020 at the age of 59, with his death being announced the following month by the Radio 4 programme, '' Last Word''.

Composer

:''

'' - (1994) :''

The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show ''The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show'', known simply as ''Punt and Dennis'' throughout its second series, is a British stand-up and sketch show written by and starring comedians Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. The first series of 6 episode ...

'' - (1994-95) :'' Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' - (1994-95) :''

Fist of Fun A fist is the shape of a hand when the fingers are bent inward against the palm and held there tightly. To make or clench a fist is to fold the fingers tightly into the center of the palm and then to clamp the thumb over the middle phalanges; i ...

'' - (1995-96) :''

The Saturday Night Armistice ''The Saturday Night Armistice'' (later ''The Friday Night Armistice'', plus the one-off ''The Election Night Armistice'') is a British satirical television comedy programme presented by Armando Iannucci with Peter Baynham and David Schneider ...

'' - (1995-99) :'' Where's Elvis This Week?'' - (1996) :''

Nancy Lam Nancy Lam (born in Singapore in 1948) is a Singaporean celebrity chef famous for her Southeast Asian cuisine and television appearances. Beginnings Nancy Lam moved to London, United Kingdom from Singapore at the age of 22. After originally tra ...

'' - (1997) :''

'' - (1997-2001) :'' In the Red'' - (1998) :'' You Are Here'' - (1998) :'' Los Dos Bros'' - (1999-2001) :''

Smack the Pony ''Smack the Pony'' is a British sketch comedy show that was originally broadcast between 1999 and 2003 on Channel 4. The main performers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips. There were also regular appearances from ...

'' - (1999-2003) :'' Perfect World'' - (2000-01) :''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

'' - (2000) :''

'' - (2000-04) :'' The Estate Agents'' - (2002) :''

Peep Show A peep show, peepshow, or, a peep booth is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the devel ...

''- (2003-) (Jeremy's music) :''

'' - (2004-2007) :''

'' - (2005) :''Twisted Tales'' - (2005) :'' Feel the Force'' - (2006) :''

Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show ''Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show'' was a British talk show shown every weekday on the British channel ITV from 3 January until 10 February 2006. The show was presented by Richard Hammond and Mel Giedroyc, and featured a variety of reports ...

'' - (2006) :'' Strictly Confidential'' - (2007) :''

Secret Diary of a Call Girl ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' is a British drama television series that aired from 27 September 2007 to 22 March 2011 on ITV2, based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous Belle de Jour. It stars Billie Piper as Belle, a high-end call ...

'' - (2007) :''

Moving Wallpaper ''Moving Wallpaper'' is a British satirical comedy-drama television series set in a TV production unit. It ran on ITV for two series in 2008–09. The subject of the first series was the production of a soap called '' Echo Beach'', each episode ...

'' - (2008) :''

The Empress's New Clothes ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'' - (2008) :''

'' - (2009-2011) :'' Rev.'' series 1&2 (2010) :'' Mount Pleasant'' (8 x 1 hour comedy drama for Tiger aspect/Sky 2011)

Discography

:'' Green Wing: Original Television Soundtrack'' (as "Trellis") - (2007)

Awards

RTS Craft and Design Award for "Best Original Score" for ''

'' in 2005, and also nominated for a BAFTA.

References

External links

*
Jonathan Whitehead , Film & TV Composer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Jonathan 1960 births 2020 deaths Alumni of the University of Bristol English television composers English male composers People from Denton, Greater Manchester