Uploaded January 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
JOHN FOX
John Fox was a British composer and conductor of light music.
He took piano lessons and by his teens had formed his own group. This then led to him playing in an RAF band towards the end of the war, and upon being demobbed, he began his musical career, initially teaching during the day and playing ‘gigs’ at night. He then went on to study at the Royal College of Music, studying composition, piano and violin.
After leaving the Royal College, Fox began to play in big bands, as well as arranging and accompanying singers. He then went on to form the resident band at the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne. He would spend the day arranging and composing and then drive to Eastbourne each night. It was at this time that he met the singer Joy Devon, who was to join the band – and eventually become his wife. She went on to play an important role co-producing recording projects and running their music publishing company, Coniston Music.
While initially maintaining the residency at Eastbourne, his next step was to become a staff arranger for the BBC, writing for the BBC Variety and BBC Revue Orchestras. In the 1960s, these two orchestras were amalgamated to form the BBC Radio Orchestra. Fox became one of the regular conductors of the Radio Orchestra, writing thousands (!) of arrangements for them, as well as producing original compositions. His close association with the orchestra carried on until its eventual disbandment in 1991. The John Fox Singers, made up of the cream of London session singers at the time, were often added to the BBC Radio Orchestra sessions, as well as broadcasting in their own right in BBC programmes including 'Friday Night Is Music Night'.
John Fox was a regular contributor to the main BBC Radio Orchestra Show and also to ‘String Sound’, showcasing the strings of the Radio Orchestra, for which he wrote the signature tune, ‘String Magic’. He also recorded numerous productions for the BBC with the John Fox Orchestra, as well as with the other BBC Orchestras, particularly the BBC Midland Radio Orchestra, with him providing a large number of arrangements for their library. Notable BBC broadcasts included ‘John Fox Presents’, ‘The Musical World of John Fox’, ‘The John Fox Hour , ‘The John Fox Concerts’, and ‘Romantic Strings’. The John Fox Orchestra could also be heard in many other programmes on Radio 2.
As well as his work for the BBC, he also achieved success in the USA through his recordings for the American Beautiful Music Radio Stations that were popular during the 1970s and 1980s. For these productions, particularly for the Bonneville Corporation, Fox would record selections with his orchestra at CTS or Lansdowne Studios. Commercial Records include 'George Gershwin' BBC Records and 'Here There and Everywhere' BBC Records.
As a composer, John Fox was a prolific writer of library music, particularly for Sonoton Production Music, for who he would record his original compositions with orchestras in Leipzig, Budapest and London. These recordings made his compositions available to a worldwide market, for use in television, radio, film and advertising productions. In 1994 Fox won a STEMRA Music Award for the best film music in the Netherlands.
JOHN FOX
John Fox was a British composer and conductor of light music.
He took piano lessons and by his teens had formed his own group. This then led to him playing in an RAF band towards the end of the war, and upon being demobbed, he began his musical career, initially teaching during the day and playing ‘gigs’ at night. He then went on to study at the Royal College of Music, studying composition, piano and violin.
After leaving the Royal College, Fox began to play in big bands, as well as arranging and accompanying singers. He then went on to form the resident band at the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne. He would spend the day arranging and composing and then drive to Eastbourne each night. It was at this time that he met the singer Joy Devon, who was to join the band – and eventually become his wife. She went on to play an important role co-producing recording projects and running their music publishing company, Coniston Music.
While initially maintaining the residency at Eastbourne, his next step was to become a staff arranger for the BBC, writing for the BBC Variety and BBC Revue Orchestras. In the 1960s, these two orchestras were amalgamated to form the BBC Radio Orchestra. Fox became one of the regular conductors of the Radio Orchestra, writing thousands (!) of arrangements for them, as well as producing original compositions. His close association with the orchestra carried on until its eventual disbandment in 1991. The John Fox Singers, made up of the cream of London session singers at the time, were often added to the BBC Radio Orchestra sessions, as well as broadcasting in their own right in BBC programmes including 'Friday Night Is Music Night'.
John Fox was a regular contributor to the main BBC Radio Orchestra Show and also to ‘String Sound’, showcasing the strings of the Radio Orchestra, for which he wrote the signature tune, ‘String Magic’. He also recorded numerous productions for the BBC with the John Fox Orchestra, as well as with the other BBC Orchestras, particularly the BBC Midland Radio Orchestra, with him providing a large number of arrangements for their library. Notable BBC broadcasts included ‘John Fox Presents’, ‘The Musical World of John Fox’, ‘The John Fox Hour , ‘The John Fox Concerts’, and ‘Romantic Strings’. The John Fox Orchestra could also be heard in many other programmes on Radio 2.
As well as his work for the BBC, he also achieved success in the USA through his recordings for the American Beautiful Music Radio Stations that were popular during the 1970s and 1980s. For these productions, particularly for the Bonneville Corporation, Fox would record selections with his orchestra at CTS or Lansdowne Studios. Commercial Records include 'George Gershwin' BBC Records and 'Here There and Everywhere' BBC Records.
As a composer, John Fox was a prolific writer of library music, particularly for Sonoton Production Music, for who he would record his original compositions with orchestras in Leipzig, Budapest and London. These recordings made his compositions available to a worldwide market, for use in television, radio, film and advertising productions. In 1994 Fox won a STEMRA Music Award for the best film music in the Netherlands.
