Paul K. Joyce

Paul Kevin Joyce (born July 1957)[1] is a British composer, producer, orchestrator, arranger and conductor. He is known for his music for theatre and television, including the 2005 BBC TV film The Snow Queen and the 2008 British TV film Clay. He wrote "Can We Fix It?", the theme song to the children's television programme Bob the Builder that became the bestselling single of 2000 in the UK and Australia.

Early life

He attended Hall Park Technical Grammar School in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, where he was head boy in 1975. From Trent Polytechnic, he gained a BSc in Applied Biology.

Career

Earlier in his career, Joyce was a member of synthpop trio Sense, produced by Soft Cell's Dave Ball. Following tours with Depeche Mode and Kim Wilde, they had a hit in France with their single, "Jamie". The band released their only album, Hold On, in 1983.

His first television work was the animation Coconuts (ITV 1990).[2] He has since written music for numerous TV series and films: BBC series Noddy's Toyland Adventures (BBC TV 1992-99), The Worst Witch (ITV 1998-2000), The Snow Queen (BBC 2005), Philbert Frog (BBC 1993), Clay (BBC 2008), Diggit (ITV 1998-2001), Knight School (CITV 1997-1998), Budgie the Little Helicopter (CITV 1994), Parallel 9 (BBC 1992-4), Slim Pig (CITV 1996) and Fimbles (BBC 2002-2005). His theme song for Bob the Builder ("Can We Fix It?") became a hit single and sold more than a million copies in the UK, for which Joyce received an Ivor Novello Award on 24 May 2001.[3]

Joyce also composes for theatre, notably for a staging of Quatermass and the Pit in a UK quarry in 1997. Joyce has staged his oratorio version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen at London's Barbican Hall (2003), Cadogan Hall (2004), and the Hall for Cornwall (2011). A dramatized television production of The Snow Queen featuring Joyce's music was commissioned by the BBC; it premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day in 2005 and proved to be the most popular children's show of the year.[4]

He collaborated with Steve Howe on Howe's solo album Time, released November 2011 on Warner Classics.[5]

Joyce co-executive produced a feature film script based on Non-Stop, the science fiction novel by Brian Aldiss. He is currently co-developing an adaptation of the life story of war correspondent, Clare Hollingworth, known for scooping the beginning of the Second World War in 1939. Joyce has also written a new contemporary musical work entitled, Celestial.[6] Based on the poems of the late Johnnie Douglas-Pennant,[7] this work is narrated by actor Michael Sheen and features Steve Howe on guitar and soundscapes by Chris Watson.

References
  1. "Paul Kevin JOYCE - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved Jul 13, 2020.
  2. "Did he write it? Yes Paul did! The Herald, 15 Aug 2009". Thisisplymouth.co.uk. Retrieved Jul 13, 2020.
  3. Paul K Joyce - Bob the Builder Archived 2013-12-20 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Home page | Warner Classics". Warnerclassics.com. Retrieved Jul 13, 2020.
  6. "CELESTIAL - music with poems read by Michael Sheen". Kickstarter.com. Retrieved Jul 13, 2020.
  7. Jardine, Cassandra (Dec 4, 2006). "'Johnnie was our shaft of joy'". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved Jul 13, 2020.
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