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We were extremely sad to hear that Les Reed O.B.E., passed away on Monday 15th April, aged 83. Les was a valued and influential member of The John Barry Seven between 1959 and 1962, and went on to a highly successful career as a composer/arranger, which included writing hit songs for such as Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, The Applejacks, The Fortunes, Lulu, Herman's Hermits and Des O'Connor.
In particular, songs such as Delilah, It's Not Unusual (Tom Jones), The Last Waltz (Engelbert Humperdinck), and There's a Kind of Hush (Herman's Hermits and The Carpenters) were huge sellers and known worldwide.
On a personal note, Les was so patient and helpful in answering our many questions during the writing of the book about the JB7, and we were looking forward to reciprocating regarding his own book on which he had been working for some time.
A wonderfully talented, kind and generous man, he will be badly missed by his family and all who knew him. Our sincere condolences to his sister Celia, daughter Donna, and grandsons Alex and Dom.
