Martin Slavin (19 February 1922 – 25 May 1988) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

and music director.

Biography

Slavin was born 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 served in the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

as a Band Sergeant, and after demobilization formed his own seven piece band, working with musicians such as Eddie Calvert and Kenny Baker. In 1958, he had a UK #18 in Record Mirror's Top 20, as Martinas & His Music, with the song "Cha Cha Momma Brown", a take on the old party favourite "Knees Up Mother Brown". In the 1960s, Slavin composed the musical ''Nancy Wake'' and was a prolific session musician and music arranger and composer for television and cinema. He scored such diverse films as ''

Information Received ''Information Received'' is a 1961 British B movie, second feature ('B') crime film directed by Robert Lynn (director), Robert Lynn and starring Sabine Sesselmann, William Sylvester and Hermione Baddeley. The screenplay was by Paul Ryder from a ...

'' (1961), '' Pit of Darkness'' (1961), '' Danger by My Side'' (1962), ''

Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace ''Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace'' () is a 1962 mystery film directed by Terence Fisher and written by Curt Siodmak, based on the characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson created by Arthur Conan Doyle. It stars Christopher Lee as Holm ...

'' (1962),'' Danger by My Side'', '' The Cool Mikado'' (1963), '' The Wild Affair'' (1965), '' The Boy Cried Murder'' (1966) and the X-rated animated film '' Once Upon a Girl'' (1976). In 1961 he worked with

Helen Shapiro Helen Kate Shapiro (born 28 September 1946) is a British Pop music, pop and jazz singer and actress. While still a teenager in the early 1960s, she was one of Britain's most successful female singers. With a voice described by AllMusic as poss ...

on "You Don't Know" for Columbia records. One of his music pieces, "Space Adventure" was used in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' serial, '' The Tenth Planet'' as the Cybermen's theme. It was later used in '' The Moonbase'', '' The Tomb of the Cybermen'' and '' The Web of Fear''. Slavin emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and then

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, continuing to work on film productions such as the adult cartoon '' Once Upon a Girl'' (1976). He became a musical director on a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

before returning to London in the 1980s. He was killed in a road accident in May 1988.

References

* Who's Who of British Jazz by John Chilton.

External links

* 1922 births 1988 deaths Composers from London British jazz musicians 20th-century English classical musicians 20th-century English composers British Army soldiers Military personnel from London 20th-century British Army personnel {{UK-jazz-musician-stub