Les Penning is a British folk musician and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, best known for his work with

Mike Oldfield Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English retired musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut studio album ''Tubular Bells'' (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a gu ...

on the album ''

Ommadawn ''Ommadawn'' is the third studio album by English musician, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 7 November 1975 on Virgin Records. ''Ommadawn'' peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart, No. 74 in Canada, and No. 146 on ...

'' and several of Oldfield's singles. He is credited with introducing Oldfield to

medieval music Medieval music encompasses the sacred music, sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the Dates of classical music eras, first and longest major era of Western class ...

through their time playing together at Penrhos Court. He has worked with many other artists, playing woodwind, as producer or as recording engineer, and has created radio drama for BBC Hereford and Worcester and music for two

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

television series: ''Gwydion'' and an adaption by Gareth Miles of the William John Griffith novel '' Storïau'r Henllys Fawr''. In 1978 he was a musician and performer on the BBC adaptation of ‘Kilvert’s Diary’. He has appeared at Leominster Festival playing medieval music as "Leslie Penning and Company" In 1977 he was given the title of Sir Les Penning, Master of the King's music, by

Richard Booth Richard George William Pitt Booth (12 September 1938 – 20 August 2019) was an English bookseller, Bibliophilia, bibliophile and literary publicist. Seated at Hay Castle, and a scion of the Booth baronets, ancient Cheshire family, Booth est ...

, the King of Hay. He has recently worked on several projects in collaboration with

Robert Reed Robert Reed (born John Robert Rietz Jr.; October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor. He played Kenneth Preston on the legal drama '' The Defenders'' from 1961 to 1965 alongside E. G. Marshall, and is best known for his role as pa ...

including "Doctor Who Theme" and "Sanctuary II" and his albums ''Belerion'', ''Return to Penrhos'', and ''The Ringmaster Part One and Two''.

Discography

;Albums *''The Worldes Goodnyte'' (2007) *''Througham Slad's Lost Sessions'' (2014) with

(unofficial release) *''Belerion'' (2016) with

, Phil Bates, and Miguel Engel de la LLave Jiménez *''Return to Penrhos'' (2019) with

and Tom Newman *''Pipes of Penning'' (2021) with

*''The Last Bells of Winter'' (2021) with

*''The Goat of Christmas Past'' (2021) with

;Singles and EPs *'' Cuckoo Song'' with Mike Oldfield, Virgin, 1977 *''The British Grenadiers'',

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

, 1977 *''The Hay National Anthem'', Hay Gramophone Gesellschaft, 1977 *''Should Have Been Forever'', Plant Life Records, 1983 *''Willow Fair'', Plant Life Records, 1983 *''Sussex Carol'' (with Rob Reed), 2016 *''In Dulci Jubilo'' (with Rob Reed), 2018 *''The Floral Dance'' (with Rob Reed), 2019 ;As a contributing artist *''

'',

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, 1975 – Recorder, Conductor *'' In Dulci Jubilo'', Virgin, 1975 *''

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

'', Virgin, 1976 – Recorders and feet *''Argiers'', Virgin, 1976 *

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

, '' Heaven Up Here'', 1981 *Harmony Revival, ''Original Copy'' (LP), Ellie Jay Records, 1981 *Robert Reed, ''Sanctuary III'' (LP, Album), Plane Groovy, 2018 *''Theme from Doctor Who'' (with Robert Reed and Tom Newman), 2016 *Robert Reed, ''The Ringmaster Part One and Two'', Tigermoth Productions, 2021 *Tubular World, ''Hergest Ridge 50th Anniversary Edition'',2021 *The Weever Sands,
Secrets of the Pecking Order
', 2022 *The Weever Sands,
Moonfish: Songs Of Love And Water
', 2024

Other music industry work

* BBC Hereford and Worcester – Radio Drama ''The Hall of Mysteries'' *

television series: ''Gwyddion'' and ''Storïau'r Henllys Fawr'' (composer) *BBC series: ''Kilvert’s Diary'' (musician and performer), 1978

References

External links

Official Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penning, Les British folk musicians Living people 1944 births Musicians from Wiltshire British recorder players