He is a keyboardist, songwriter and composer born in the East End of London, England. He learnt the piano while still a child and was earning money at it from local birthdays and weddings by the time he became a teenager.
After leaving education he became a session musician and performed with many jazz ensembles and numerous dance bands until 1976, when he was invited to join the Ian Gillan Band. He began writing for Gillan and soon the Ian Gillan Band would split up and only the two of them were left to form the successful act Gillan. Co-writing many songs for the band they became highly thought of in heavy metal circles, and with them he would record 10 albums, but at the same time he would compose music for broadcasting on television and in films.
After Gillan had disbanded he took on soundtrack composing on a full-time basis and in 1983 he was commissioned to write the music for Slayground. This was enough to leapfrog him into the world of composing for the screen and he has since gone on to write literally hundreds of scores for movies, TV shows and commericals. His music, now well known, is heard in the TV shows Pie in the Sky, Cadfael, and Dalziel and Pascoe among others as well is movies that include The Puppet Masters, Maybe Baby, Essex Boys, Vampire’s Kiss, Captives, Complicity, Guest House Paradiso and Space Truckers.
Still performing himself, he has been heard with the group M, on his solo albums that focus on jazz, with the NDR Big Band, and with his Colin Towns Mask Orchestra and Colin Towns Mask Symphonic. Other recordings he has featured on are Miriam by Miriam Stockley, Classical Hollywood, What Love Is by Guy Barker, Ubizo and The Call by Alan Skidmore, Live at the Budokan and Scarabus by the Ian Gillan Band and Mr. Universe, Future Shock and Magic by Gillan.
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