Nicholas Ingman (born 29 April 1948) is an English arranger, composer and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

in the commercial music field. His collaborators include

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

, Mick Jagger,

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

, and the British X-factor. Born and educated in London, Ingman moved to the US at the age of seventeen to study at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

and the New England Conservatory, both in Boston. After returning to London, he took a postgraduate course at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jaz ...

. His first job was as assistant arranger with record producer Norrie Paramor. While there, here worked with

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richar ...

, Sacha Distel and many more. During this time he composed many library music tracks and the theme tune to BBC TV series '' Keeping Up Appearances''. In 1974, Ingman produced and arranged the six shortlisted songs for the UK's Eurovision Song Contest entry, performed by

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

. He conducted the orchestra for the song chosen by viewers " Long Live Love" at the contest staged in Brighton, UK, where it placed 4th. Going freelance in the mid-1970s, Ingman worked consistently with such artists as Diana Ross, Enrique Iglesias, the Pet Shop Boys, Queen and

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

. He was also employed by a large number of American radio stations to provide easy listening tracks for their networks, scoring over 300 tracks every year. In the 1980s and 1990s, Ingman continued his work with major acts such as Radiohead,

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, Eric Clapton and Atticus Ross with whom he toured around the USA. During this time, Ingman worked regularly with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1987, Ingman was invited by the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

to create the Commercial Music Course, the first one in the country, which he ran for over ten years. Ingman was awarded Hon RAM in 2001 and Hon LCM from the London College of Music where he was a Visiting Professor. His film work as an orchestrator and conductor includes the films as '' Shakespeare in Love'', '' Billy Elliot'', '' Nowhere Boy'' and '' The Passion of the Christ''. He conducted the original recording of

Jan A.P. Kaczmarek Jan Andrzej Paweł Kaczmarek (; born 29 April 1953) is a Polish composer. He has written scores for more than 70 feature films and documentaries, including '' Finding Neverland'' (2004), for which score he won an Oscar and a National Board of ...

's Oscar-Winning score for '' Finding Neverland''. Ingman's work as an arranger has accounted for 14 No. 1 singles and five double platinum albums in the UK. He has been nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

three times for his work with Eric Clapton, Sade Adu and a recording of '' West Side Story'' with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. There is evidence on discog which indicates that Nick Ingman was also involved in the 1973 album ''Moody'' a set of instrumental covers of then popular songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "You Are The Sunshine of My Life" released under the name The Gentle Rain (aka Gentle Rain). This album has been heavily sampled as well by artists such as Dr Octagon (in his 1996 release ''Dr Octagonecologyst'').

References

External links

AllMusic.com – Nick Ingman
*
Nick Ingman Website
* Discogs https://www.discogs.com/artist/5031938-The-Gentle-Rain-2?noanv=1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingman, Nick 1948 births Living people Easy listening musicians Berklee College of Music alumni New England Conservatory alumni Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Eurovision Song Contest conductors 21st-century conductors (music)