On television his work ranges from his scores for "Jack the Ripper" and "Jekyll and Hyde" (both starring Michael Caine), to the theme for the BBC's "Crimewatch UK."
John wrote the orchestral score for every version of Les Miserables, including the original Paris version (1979), the RSC productions (directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird) in London (1985), Washington and New York (1986), which won him a New York Drama Desk Award. In May 2002 the National Broadway Theatre Award for best orchestral score was awarded to John for Les Miserables. He wrote the orchestrations for Honk! (The Ugly Duckling) at the National (Best Musical - Olivier Awards), and also Stile's/Drewe/Waterhouse Peter Pan, premiered at the Festival Hall in 2001. He is currently adapting the successful French rock musical Romeo and Juliet for the London stage. Other shows he has arranged/supervised include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Goodbye Girl, The Card, Blondel, Mutiny!, Spend! Spend! Spend! (Best Musical - Evening Standard Awards) and La Cava.
Recent composing for the theatre includes the music for Faust Parts I and II (RSC - directed by Michael Bogdanov), the National Theatre's touring production of John Caird's Hamlet with Simon Russell Beale in the title role and Twelfth Night (directed again by John Caird) at the Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, Stockholm. His own musical of Bill Naughton's Alfie is to be staged in 2003.
Besides the Grammy® Award winning New York cast album and symphonic album for Les Miserables and the 1991 version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, he has collaborated with artists as diverse as Ella Fitzgerald, Donovan, Heatwave, Hot Chocolate, David Essex and his own band CCS. His song-writing credits include "If I Ever Thought You'd Change Your Mind" (Cilla Black), "Sweet Inspiration" (Johnny Johnson and The Bandwagon) and "Tap Turns on the Water" (CCS).
He was principal arranger for the Jose Carreras albums "Passion" and "Pure Passion." and arranged, conducted and produced Carreras' new CD "Around the World". John was awarded a silver disc for "Lux Aeterna," his 8-part choral setting of Elgar's "Nimrod," featured on the best-selling classical album "Agnus Dei," and he has recently conducted the English Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of New College Oxford in a recording of his own large scale cantata "Missa Celtica."
His most recent composing assignment for film was the score for AFTER... (2006).
Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Dramatic Score) 1973: A TOUCH OF CLASS
1 nomination