Colin William Towns (born 13 May 1948 in

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

, London) is an English composer and keyboardist. He was noted for playing in bands formed by ex- Deep Purple singer

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

, and later worked extensively in composing

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

s for film,

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

and

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

. Learning piano as a child, by the age of 13 he was earning money playing at weddings and birthdays in his neighbourhood of the East End of London. He went on to play in numerous dance bands, jazz ensembles and also became a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

. His main musical passion is jazz and he has made several well-received albums together with his

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

, the Mask Orchestra. He has also founded an independent record label, Provocateur.

Career

In 1976 he was recruited as keyboardist to replace

Mickey Lee Soule Mickey Lee Soule (June 6, 1946 in Cortland, New York) is an American musician. He was the keyboard player for New York hard rock band Elf and a founding member of Rainbow. Soule had a band in the mid-1960s until he was drafted into the army ...

in the

Ian Gillan Band The Ian Gillan Band were an English progressive jazz-rock band formed by singer Ian Gillan of Deep Purple in 1975. History After leaving Deep Purple in June 1973, Ian Gillan had retired from the music business to pursue other business venture ...

. Over the time he developed an increasing interest in composing, and Gillan credits the Towns-penned 'Fighting Man' as pointing the direction in which Gillan should go. Gillan dissolved the band, with its jazz-rock leanings, and retained only Towns, putting together the rockier Gillan. Encouraged by Gillan, Towns co-wrote many of the songs for the new band. Whilst with the band he used his free time to seek opportunities to compose music beyond the heavy metal direction of Gillan. His 1980 solo album remains unreleased, although one track was reworked for the 'For Gillan Fans Only' LP, and ''Making Faces'' was released in 1982. He submitted a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film * Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhe ...

soundtrack for the 1977

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequen ...

-starring film '' Full Circle'', which received reviews praising the music. With bassist John McCoy, Towns guested on Samson's 1979 album 'Survivors'. In 1982, Towns played with the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

rock band

Barón Rojo Barón Rojo (') is a Spanish heavy metal band from Madrid that achieved international success in the 1980s. The band is led by siblings Carlos and Armando de Castro, previously from the band Coz, and is considered one of the most important rep ...

, when they recorded ''Volumen Brutal''. In 1982, Ian Gillan dissolved the band, and Towns decided to pursue soundtrack composing full-time. In that year he won the commission to write the score for the film ''

Slayground ''Slayground'' is a 1983 British crime thriller film directed by Terry Bedford. Starring Peter Coyote, Mel Smith and Billie Whitelaw, the film is adapted from ''Slayground'', the 14th Parker novel (although the main character has been renamed to ...

''. From then on he was in constant demand, particularly in British television, where his body of work is extensive, and includes ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''Into the Blue'', ''

The Blackheath Poisonings ''The Blackheath Poisonings'' is a 1978 historical mystery novel by the British writer Julian Symons.Bargainnier, Earl F. ''Twelve Englishmen of Mystery''. Popular Press, 1984. p. 217. . It is a murder mystery set in the late Victorian era. Plot ...

'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', '' Pie in the Sky'', '' The Beggar Bride'', ''

Our Friends in the North ''Our Friends in the North'' is a British television drama serial produced by the BBC. It was originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC2 in early 1996. Written by Peter Flannery, it tells the story of four friends from Newcastle upon Tyne o ...

'', '' Between the Lines'', ''

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

'', '' Cold Blood'', ''

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'', ''

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'', '' Half Broken Things'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

Hot Money In economics, hot money is the flow of funds (or capital) from one country to another in order to earn a short-term profit on interest rate differences and/or anticipated exchange rate shifts. These speculative capital flows are called "hot money" ...

'', ''

Deceit Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...

'' and ''Imogen's Face''. He also composed the music for the popular children's animation series ''

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'' as well as several other animation series and films for children including ''

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'', ''The Story Store'', ''

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'', ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

'', ''The Willows in Winter'' ''The Tale of Jack Frost'', ''Oi! Get Off our Train'', ''

Toot and Puddle Denise Holly Hobbie (née Ulinskas; 1944) is an American writer, watercolorist and illustrator. Holly Hobbie is also the name of a fictional character whom she created. Personal life Hobbie is from Connecticut. She married Douglas Hobbie in 196 ...

'', ''

Fungus the Bogeyman ''Fungus the Bogeyman'' is a 1977 children's picture book by British artist Raymond Briggs. It follows one day in the life of the title character, a working class Bogeyman with the mundane job of scaring human beings. The character and all relate ...

'', '' The Sandman'' and ''

Faeries A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

''. His other film credits include '' Rawhead Rex'' (1986), '' Bellman and True'' (1987), ''

Vampire's Kiss ''Vampire's Kiss'' is a 1988 American black comedy horror film directed by Robert Bierman and written by Joseph Minion. Starring Nicolas Cage, María Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals, and Elizabeth Ashley, the film tells the story of a liter ...

'' (1988, starring

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), '' Getting It Right'' (1989), ''

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'' (1989), ''

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'' (1990, starring

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), ''

The Puppet Masters ''The Puppet Masters'' is a 1951 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, in which American secret agents battle parasitic invaders from outer space. It was originally serialized in ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' (September, Oc ...

'' (1994, featuring

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), ''

Captives ''Captives'' is a 1994 British romantic crime drama film directed by Angela Pope and written by the Dublin screenwriter Frank Deasy. It stars Julia Ormond, Tim Roth and Keith Allen. The picture was selected as the opening film in the Venetian Ni ...

'' (1994, featuring

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut ...

), ''

Space Truckers ''Space Truckers'' is a 1996 comic science fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Dennis Hopper, Stephen Dorff, Debi Mazar and Charles Dance. It was filmed at Ardmore Studios, County Wicklow, Ireland. The story concerns John Canyon ...

'' (1996, featuring

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in '' Giant'' (1956). In the next ten year ...

), ''

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'' (1999), ''

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'' (2000), ''

Man Dancin' ''Man Dancin is a 2003 Scottish crime drama film directed by Norman Stone and starring Alex Ferns, James Cosmo, Tom Georgeson, Kenneth Cranham and Jenny Foulds. Plot Ex-boxer Jimmy Kerrigan (Alex Ferns) is released from a Northern Irish prison a ...

'' (2003), '' Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse'' (2004), and ''

Red Mercury Red mercury is purportedly a substance of uncertain composition used in the creation of nuclear weapons, as well as other weapons systems. Because of the great secrecy surrounding the development and manufacturing of nuclear weapons, there is no ...

'' (2005). Several times he has worked for the German director

Claudia Garde Claudia Garde (born 1966 in Bremen) is a German film director and screenwriter. She has worked for the German TV-series '' Stubbe – Von Fall zu Fall'', '' Doktor Martin'', ''Flemming'' or the series ''Tatort''. Biography Claudia Garde, born ...

for the TV-series

Tatort ''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by ...

. Towns' principal musical passion is

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and has released several albums with the

he founded, the Mask Orchestra. A long-term collaboration with the Italian-born jazz singer

Maria Pia De Vito Maria Pia De Vito is an Italian jazz singer, composer, and arranger. Career A native of Naples, Italy, she studied classical music, opera, and Italian folk music. In 1976 she performed folk songs as a singer, guitarist, and pianist. In 1980 she ...

began in 1996. In 2010 Towns formed Blue Touch Paper with German and UK musicians. Alongside Towns were Mark Lockheart (Polar Bear, Loose Tubes), Chris Montague (Troyka, Kit Downes), Benny Greb (Stoppok, Ron Spielman), Stephan Maass (Randy Brecker, Kruder & Dorfmeister), and Edward Maclean (Peter Fox, Nils Wülker). Blue Touch Paper released their debut album 'Stand Well Back' in May 2011. Their second album 'Drawing Breath' was released in October 2013.

References

External links

Colin Town's official websiteColin Towns
at Provocateur Records
Behind the Mask
Unofficial Colin Towns Website * *
Colin Towns
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Blue Touch Paper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Towns, Colin 1948 births Living people English keyboardists English film score composers English male film score composers People from West Ham English television composers English male composers Musicians from London Gillan (band) members Ian Gillan Band members ACT Music artists Virgin Records artists