Colin William Towns, born 13 May 1948 in West Ham (London), is an English composer/keyboardist. He is best known for his involvement in the ex-Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan’s bands. Later, he worked extensively on soundtracks for television, film and commercials. He began playing piano at the age of three and was already earning money by the time he was 13. He was a member of many jazz and dance groups, as well as a session musician. He was hired as a keyboardist in 1976 to replace Mickey Lee Soule of the Ian Gillan band. Gillan began to take an interest in composition over the years. He credits Towns’ ‘Fighting Man,’ which he wrote as an inspiration for the direction Gillan should go. Gillan disbanded the band with its jazz-rock leanings and kept Towns. This made Gillan rockier. Towns wrote many of the songs for Gillan’s new band, and was encouraged by Gillan. While Towns was with the band, he took the time to look for other opportunities to create music, such as releasing Making Faces in 1982, and a solo album. A demo soundtrack was submitted by Towns for Full Circle, starring Mia Farrow in 1977. The music received praises from critics. Towns was a member of the Spanish rock band Baron Rojo in 1982 when they recorded Volumen Brutal. Towns quit the band in 1983 to concentrate on soundtrack composition. He was awarded the Slayground score scoring commission in 1983. He was in constant demand from British television. His work includes The Buccaneers and Pascoe and Ghostboat. The music he composed for the animated series Angelina Ballerina was also used in several films and animations for children, including The Story Store, Truckers and The Willows in Winter and The Wind in the Willows. Get off our Train, Toot and Puppy, Fungus, The Bogeyman and The Sandman. Other credits include Rawhead Rex (1986), Bellman and True (87), Vampire’s Kiss (89), starring Nicolas Cage), The Wolves of Willoughby Chase(89), The Puppet Masters (1994), featuring Donald Sutherland), Captives (294), featuring Tim Roth), Space Truckers (296), featuring Dennis Hopper), Guest House Paradiso (2000), Essex Boys (2000) and Crimson Rivers II, Angels of the Apocalypse (2005). Towns is a jazz fanatic and has recorded several albums and founded the Mask Orchestra. He has been a part of the TV-series Tatort several times, working for Claudia Garde, a German director. From Wikipedia
