Alan Hawkshaw
| Alan Hawkshaw | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Alan Hawkshaw |
| Born |
27 March 1937 Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | Rock and roll/Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter |
| Instruments | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Labels | EMI, KPM |
| Associated acts | The Shadows, Emile Ford |
Doctor William Alan Hawkshaw (born 27 March 1937 in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire) is a British composer and performer, particularly of themes for movies and television programmes. Hawkshaw worked extensively for the KPM production music company in the 1960s and 1970s, composing and recording many stock tracks that have been used extensively in film and TV. In 2016, he was awarded a doctorate, officially giving him the title of Doctor for his contributions to the music industry.
As such, he is the composer of a number of familiar theme tunes including Channel 4 News, Grange Hill and Countdown. In addition, he is an arranger and pianist, and in the United States with the studio group Love De-Luxe scored a number 1 single on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with "Here Comes That Sound Again" in 1979.
He is the father of dance artist Kirsty Hawkshaw, who was a member of the dance group Opus III from 1991 to 1995.
He worked as a printer for several years before becoming a professional musician, first joining the pop group The Crescendos. In the 1960s, he was a member of rock and roll group Emile Ford and the Checkmates. He also formed the Mohawks band and Rumplestiltskin with some session musicians. At that time, Hawkshaw was an exponent of the Hammond organ, heard in the Mohawks' music, and also on the UK recording of the musical Hair. In 1965 Hawkshaw played piano on The Hollies group composed album track; "Put Yourself in My Place" included on the EMI/Parlophone album; Hollies (1965) being featured on a piano solo during the song.
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