Jeff Wayne
Jeffry Wayne (born 1 July 1943) is an American-British composer, musician and lyricist.[1] In 1978, he released Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells' science-fiction novel The War of the Worlds. Wayne wrote approximately 3,000 advertising jingles in the 1970s which appeared on television in the United Kingdom, including a Gordon's Gin commercial which was covered by the Human League.[2] Wayne also composed numerous television themes, including Good Morning Britain (TV-am), ITV's The Big Match and World of Sport, and the BBC's Sixty Minutes.
For the American comedian, see Jeff Wayne (comedian).
Jeff Wayne
Jeffry Wayne
1 July 1943
New York City, U.S.
London, England
Composer, musician
Piano, keyboards, electronic instruments
1966–present
Wayne wrote feature film and documentary film scores and was musical director for various artists. Wayne published a book called The Book of Tennis and created, produced and scored eight thirty-minute episodes of The Book of Tennis Chronicles that was distributed by Fox Sports in approximately twenty countries, and was broadcast in the US on the Tennis Channel between 2005 and 2008.
Early life[edit]
Jeff Wayne was born on 1 July 1943, in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, United States.[3] His father, Jerry Wayne (né Jerome Marvin Krauth; 1916–1996), was an actor, singer, and theatre producer. Jeff Wayne spent four years of his childhood in the UK when his father played romantic gambler Sky Masterson in the original West End musical production of Guys and Dolls.
Four years later they returned to New York. Wayne graduated from Stephen Halsey Jr. High and attended Forest Hills High School for one year, and played for its tennis team, before moving to California. Wayne graduated from Grant High School, then from Los Angeles Valley College with a journalism degree. He played keyboards in local bands and coached tennis to support himself. After completing his journalism degree he switched to music, playing keyboards briefly with the Sandpipers.[4]
Tennis[edit]
A keen player and follower of tennis throughout his life, Wayne remains involved with the sport; he has won the British National Indoor Veterans singles and doubles titles, and the National Clay Court doubles. In 1992 he partnered former Great Britain No. 1 and Davis Cup captain Roger Taylor at the European Veteran Championships. In 1999, Wayne represented Great Britain in the Austria Cup in Spain, and achieved an ITF world ranking in his age group. In 2008 Wayne was elected into the International Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain. Wayne has also played in numerous fundraising pro-am tournaments, including for Muscular dystrophy and Save the Children.