Composer. He was a notable English creator of light music. His "Dam Busters March" (1954), from the film of the same name, is probably his best-known work. He also wrote such pieces as "The Merrymakers" (1922), the "London Suite" (1933), and "By the Sleepy Lagoon" (1930). The latter became the theme music for the long-running BBC program "Desert Island Discs." Coates was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He was principal violist of the Queen's Hall Orchestra from 1912 to 1918. After World War I, when he had to give up performing for medical reasons, he devoted himself to composing. Coates wrote an autobiography, "Suite in Four Movements" (1953). He died of a stroke.
Composer. He was a notable English creator of light music. His "Dam Busters March" (1954), from the film of the same name, is probably his best-known work. He also wrote such pieces as "The Merrymakers" (1922), the "London Suite" (1933), and "By the Sleepy Lagoon" (1930). The latter became the theme music for the long-running BBC program "Desert Island Discs." Coates was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He was principal violist of the Queen's Hall Orchestra from 1912 to 1918. After World War I, when he had to give up performing for medical reasons, he devoted himself to composing. Coates wrote an autobiography, "Suite in Four Movements" (1953). He died of a stroke.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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