Cy Payne composer / arranger

60-YEAR CAREER WORKING PRINCIPALLY AS MUSICAL DIRECTOR, COMPOSER AND ARRANGER IN MANY ASPECTS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY INCLUDING TELEVISION, RADIO, FILMS, RECORDS AND LIVE THEATRE.

Assistant Musical Director in 1958 for Jack Good’s "Oh Boy" - ATV’s answer to BBC’s "6.5 Special". Worked with Cliff Richard and arranged Cliff’s first record “At the Hop”.

Arrangements for many TV variety shows and spectaculars including Wayne Sleep’s "The Hot Shoe Show", Thames Television’s "Hit Dancing" and for over 25 years "Come Dancing".

Musical director and dance-music composer in 1985 for BBC Television’s "Bluebell", a series of eight one-hour episodes relating the story of Margaret Kelly who formed the famous “Bluebell” dancers.
Composed, arranged and produced the music for the film "You Must Remember This" shown on BBC Television as part of the VE Day commemoration.

Has broadcast on BBC Radio 2 with his own orchestras including String of Bones and The Camillo Francini Orchestra as well as providing arrangements for many other radio programmes.

Film compositions include "The Clock Struck Three", "No Gun No Gilt", "Lifetime of Comedy", "The Chinese Flower Garden", "At the Drop of the Hammer", "Climb Up the Wall", "Some Like it Cool" and others.

Arranged for and recorded with many artists including Cliff Richard, Elton John, The Casuals, Marty Wilde, The Brotherhood of Man, Julio Iglesias, Charles Aznavour, Paul and Barry Ryan, Billy Ocean, Shirley Bassey, Michael Crawford, Rosa Michelle, Ethna Campbell, Billy Connoly, The Avons and others resulting in eighteen chart entries to date.

Helped set up the London Symphonic Wind Orchestra and was commissioned by Toshiba to re- score the complete “Planets Suite” and Respighi’s “Pines of Rome” for recording by this orchestra.

Nationwide tour as Musical Director for Billy Connoly 1974/5.

1994 re-scored from archive material the original music used in the Glenn Miller AAF Concert at Wycombe Abbey in Buckinghamshire for the 50th Anniversary Concert by the Herb Miller Band (Herb was Glenn’s brother), conducted by John Miller (Glenn’s nephew).

Formerly Musical Director for a series of stage shows with The Sky at Night’s Sir Patrick Moore and two other stage shows - "Yes Ma’am" which is a tribute to Her Majesty the Queen Mother and "Rio Tropicale" a bright and brash Latin-American show from Brazil.

Considerable involvement with military bands since 1965, arranging for Trooping the Colour, The Royal Tournament, Royal Weddings, and military band recordings for The Concert Band of Her Majesty’s Life Guards, The Bands of the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, Royal Signals Regiment, Royal Marines, Royal Regiment of Wales, Coldstream Guards, Grenadiers, Scots Guards, Irish Guards and The Royal Air Force Band, Cranwell. Most of the major military bands have Cy Payne arrangements in their libraries. Also commissioned to compose new Regimental marches.

Musical Director from 1974-1987 for MMA (Mitchell-Monkhouse Associates) one of the major conference and trade show companies in this country. Wrote, produced and conducted all the music for these shows including advertising-type jingles, also, long production-type dance routines, involving liaising with choreographers. One show at the Barbican involved working with the London Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Artillery Band, The Metropolitan Police Choir plus thirty dancers all on stage at the same time.

Arranged "Let’s Face the Music and Dance" and "History of Love" for Torvill and Dean’s return to the Olympic Ice Dancing Competition plus arrangements including "Bolero" for their Face the Music World Tour.

Scored music for the musical "Hard Times".

Composed, arranged and wrote a new choral work "Remember Yesterday Tomorrow" for a choir whose members are from multicultural backgrounds, for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in November 1999.

More recent work includes arranging scores for four shows at the London Palladium for ATA Productions and scoring and conducting concert for a cast of 800 at the Royal Albert Hall, also for ATA Productions.

Early in 2004 composed, arranged and recorded 6 “Rhumbas” and 6 “Midnight Blues” dance routines for The International Ice-skating Union. These are some of the compulsory routines for all ice-dance competitors hoping to be selected for the next Winter Olympics.

Now living in East Anglia and fronting the Cy Payne Big Band (It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing!) A section of the Big Band has played for the Christmas Party for the Sandringham Estate for the several years, including their Millennium Eve party.