Reade, Paul

Paul Reade (1943-1997) was an English composer. He studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of Music. He worked as an accompanist at the English National Opera. From the late 1960s he became well known as a composer for children's television, with credits including the theme tune and many songs for Play School in 1968. He also wrote music for classic BBC TV series such as A Tale of Two Cities (1980), Great Expectations (1981) and Jane Eyre (1983). In 1991 he received the Ivor Novello Award for his music for the successful television series The Victorian Kitchen Garden.