Ed Welch

Edward William Welch (born 22 October 1947) is an English songwriter, composer, conductor and arranger.

Ed Welch had a classical music upbringing. He attended Christ Church Cathedral School from 1957 to 1961, where he was Head Chorister at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and then a first music scholar at Ardingly College in Sussex. He gained a scholarship to Trinity College of Music London, studying composition with Arnold Cooke. Upon graduating in 1965, he joined United Artists Music where he learned the various branches of the music business. He wrote arrangements, composed B-sides, and plugged the UA catalogue at the BBC.

In 1971, Welch recorded an album, Clowns, including songs he had co-written with Tom Paxton and session musicians such as Mike de Albuquerque and Cozy Powell. In 1972, he acted as producer on a version of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" by Sylvie McNeill on a UK 45 on United Artists UA UP35415 released in time for the first UK Stage Musical of Jesus Christ Superstar. In 1973, he wrote the title song to Spike Milligan's film Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall, which marked the start of a 25-year collaboration with Milligan.

Welch made his television debut in 1972, on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In 1978 and 1979, he appeared in the Spike Milligan BBC series Q8 and Q9, performing his own songs (including "The Carpet is Always Greener Under Someone Else's Bed" and "Love to Make Music by") and songs co-written with Milligan, including "I've Got This Photograph of You!" and "Silly Old Baboon". This unlikely duo released an album in 1979 on the United Artists label, Spike Milligan and Ed Welch Sing Songs from Q8. In 1976, he composed the score for Milligan's adaptation of Paul Gallico's The Snow Goose. Narrated by Milligan and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with Welch conducting, the RCA recording was such a success that it entered the pop LP charts and has been performed at many concerts since.

His film work included the scores to British sex comedies such as the Confessions series (Confessions of a Pop Performer (1975), Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1976), Confessions from a Holiday Camp (1977)), Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers (1977), and Rosie Dixon – Night Nurse (1978). Also in 1978, he composed the score for the remake of The Thirty Nine Steps, including an extended piano piece entitled The Thirty-Nine Steps Concerto (a nod to Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto), later recording it with Christopher Headington as soloist. In the same year, he moved to the West Country, where he was appointed musical director for Television South West (TSW). He composed the station identification music for TSW as well as scores for TSW films such as the musical Doubting Thomas (1983; written by John Bartlett, starring Paul Nicholas and Stephanie Lawrence), and numerous local programmes, including Gus Honeybun in 1987. Welch also composed and conducted music for Television South (TVS), from 1987 until the channel disappeared on 31 December 1992. His credits at TVS included conducting a live two-and-a-half-hour New Year's Eve show, with 56 musical items, some of which he had also arranged.

With Roger Messer, Welch ran South Western Studios in Torquay, a company which produced professional demonstration tapes for aspiring songwriters. In 2004, he composed a piece of music for Liberal Democrat candidate, Mike Treleaven.