Junior Campbell

Junior Campbell
Campbell in July 2016
Background information
Birth name	William Campbell Jnr
Born	(1947-05-31) 31 May 1947
Origin	Parkhead, Glasgow, Scotland
Genres	Pop, rock, blue-eyed soul, film music
Occupation(s)	Musician, band member, singer-songwriter, musical arranger, record producer, film composer
Instruments	Guitar, piano, vocals
Years active	1961–present
Labels	CBS, Decca, Deram, Rocket, Private Stock, Sanctuary
Associated acts	The Marmalade, Barbara Dickson, Thomas and Friends

with Marmalade (2nd from right) in 1968

1970's Deram Records promo pic during solo recording career

Pictured with co-composer Mike O'Donnell and Britt Allcroft, producer, at first launch of "Thomas & Friends" in 1984

Junior Campbell (born William Campbell Jnr, 31 May 1947) is a Scottish composer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member, lead guitarist, piano player, and singer with the Scottish band Marmalade and co-wrote and produced some of their biggest successes, including "Reflections of My Life", I See The Rain and "Rainbow".

He also wrote and produced his own solo hits, Hallelujah Freedom and Sweet Illusion. Campbell is also known for composing music for film and television drama, and as an arranger and producer for many musicians including Barbara Dickson. He is also known for co-composing the music and lyrics for the children's TV series Thomas & Friends^[1] and Tugs.

Early life

Campbell was born in Glasgow, Scotland.^[1] He grew up in Springboig, in the east end of Glasgow, and was educated at Thorntree Primary in Greenfield and Eastbank Academy in Shettleston. His paternal grandfather Alfredo Cancellari was an Italian immigrant born near Lucca, Italy, who changed his surname to Campbell in the early 1900s when he settled in Scotland.

As a youngster, Campbell had a distinct unique style of guitar playing, whereby he played left-handed, with the strings upside down, right hand strung – tuned to "open E". He joined Pat Fairley to form The Gaylords, on his fourteenth birthday in May 1961 (later to become Dean Ford & the Gaylords, then Marmalade in 1966), acting as lead guitarist, piano player, and singer.

Career

With Marmalade, he co-wrote and produced the multi-million-selling "Reflections of My Life", "Rainbow" and "I See The Rain", amongst others, in a line of hits from 1967 to 1971.^[2] Campbell's reverse tape guitar solo on "Reflections of My Life" and "I See the Rain" are particularly noteworthy – the latter was Jimi Hendrix's favourite cut of 1967. "Reflections of My Life" has produced sales of over two million units. In 1998 Campbell and co-writer Dean Ford (Thomas McAleese) were awarded a Special Citation of Achievement by the BMI for attaining radio broadcast performances in excess of one million in the US alone.^[3]

During his years with Marmalade, the band used Keith Mansfield as an orchestral arranger on their first record successes, including "Loving Things", "Wait For Me Mary Ann", "Obladi Oblada", "Baby Make It Soon" and Reflections of My Life, and Campbell studied Mansfield's scores at close range, was so impressed with the craft of arranging for orchestra, and the sound and expertise of orchestral musicians in the recording studio, that this led to a major turning point in his career, so much so, he then commenced arranging orchestral accompaniment on the band's sessions himself. Tired of touring, Campbell left Marmalade in March 1971.

During the 1970s he had two self-penned solo records released, both of which, "Hallelujah Freedom" (#9) (1972), (with Doris Troy on backing vocals), and "Sweet Illusion" (#15) (1973) made Top 20 chart appearances in the UK Singles Chart.^[4] 9

He then went on to study orchestration and composition with Eric Gilder and Max Saunders at the Royal College of Music and became an arranger and record producer for many artists as diverse as Miller Anderson, ("Bright City" Album 1971), Matthews Southern Comfort, Paul Ryan, The Tremeloes, Freddie Starr and Barbara Dickson, arranging and producing her first hit single and album, "Answer Me". He also arranged and conducted Dickson's performances in her first-season run on the BBC Television series The Two Ronnies in 1976.

Campbell has composed music for television drama and film, including the 1989 war film That Summer of White Roses (starring Tom Conti and Rod Steiger, Susan George and Alun Armstrong); and the 1994 BAFTA winner Taking Over the Asylum, which starred Ken Stott, David Tennant and Elizabeth Spriggs.

He also composed the music for the 1998 BBC Television adaptation of the Minette Walters murder mystery The Scold's Bridle, starring Miranda Richardson, Bob Peck, Siân Phillips, Douglas Hodge, Trudie Styler, and Beth Winslet.^[1]

Campbell also co-wrote the music and lyrics for the internationally successful children's TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and TUGS with Mike O'Donnell, composing all music and songs during the classic period of Thomas films from 1983–2003, but when ownership of the production changed hands in 2003, Campbell (and his co-writer) departed the series after a protracted dispute with HIT Entertainment, the new owners.^[5][6]

Campbell lives near Horsham in Sussex. In November 2013, Junior Campbell – The Very Best Of .... Back Then was released through Union Square Music. It was a 32 track compilation album available for digital download.

Discography

Singles

• All songs written by Junior Campbell – except "Baby Hold On" (co-written with Len (Chip) Hawkes)

Albums

• Second Time Around – 1974 – Deram Records SML 1106^[7]
• Second Time Around – 2001 – Sanctuary Records CMDDD 398 compilation containing original Deram album and all Deram/Private Stock singles, plus selection of previously unreleased tracks.

Dean Ford and the Gaylords singles

Marmalade singles

References

Other sources

• Discography ref Record Collector issue No. 186 (February 1995)
• Liner notes Second Time Around – 2001 – Sanctuary Records CMDDD 398

External links

• Junior Campbell at AllMusic