EastEnders composer SIMON MAY reveals how he clawed his way back from a tour that nearly broke him

Simon May not only penned the theme tune to EastEnders, but also composed the music for Howards’ Way, Eldorado and Crossroads, as well as a string of hit singles, writes Dan Moore.

The composer, 80, started his career, after graduating from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, as a modern languages and music teacher, before catching the eye of BBC producers with his co-written musical Smike. This led to EastEnders where he also penned the chart-topping Nick Berry single Every Loser Wins.

A father of four, Simon lives with Rosie, his wife of 50 years, in Guildford, Surrey. He is currently considering new venues for his popular musical, Rick!, which is based on Washington Irving’s classic story, Rip Van Winkle.

What did your parents teach you about money?

My father, Don, ran a furniture business. He was an altruist and philanthropist who was more concerned about his customers than making a profit.

With this in mind, I’d say the best advice I got from my father and mother, Eileen, was that money is not the most important thing in the world.

In a way, I wish they had felt more able to give me the experience of their lives, even when I was doing well. Advising me to save in the good years for the lean times would have been welcome, but they just didn’t think like that. I’ve tried to make up for that with our children.

Was money tight when you were growing up?

My brother, Michael, and I had a reasonably comfortable upbringing. We weren’t wealthy but we were not short of a roof over our heads, food or an education.

As a child, my parents made sacrifices to send us both to public school in Wiltshire – Dauntsey’s School. They prioritised our education and we benefited so much.

What has been your biggest money mistake?

It was a massive financial mistake on my part. I personally financed a concert tour for the Simon May Orchestra through my company. We booked Drury Lane Theatre and Fairfield Halls in Croydon, among others. The result was that we lost an eye-watering six-figure sum.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

Yes, due to that tour, and to say Rosie and I were struggling would be an understatement.

It was a very stressful 12 months. We had to sell our home, a beautiful thatched cottage, when our youngest was three and the oldest 13. It was a great life lesson and I became far more budget conscious.

What was the best year of your financial life?

Undoubtedly 1986 – EastEnders had been released and Howard’s Way was massively popular. I also had a string of chart hits including Every Loser Wins, Marti Webb’s version of the Howards’ Way theme and Anita Dobson’s EastEnders single Anyone Can Fall In Love.

We had a few nice holidays off the back of our success, and we bought our home for a song – as in the songs paid for it!

What was your best financial decision?

To invest in our children’s education. They went to state and independent schools, which gave them a balanced education.

What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?

An original Wurlitzer jukebox, which has pride of place in our kitchen-lounge.

I bought it in 1970 for the equivalent of £10,000 in today’s money, just before I met Rosie.

When she moved in, 90 per cent of the records on it were my hits and recordings. Just like my wardrobe was packed with my clothes. Over time, I found that all the records on the jukebox were

Rosie’s and all the wardrobe space was taken up with her clothes.

Do you save or invest in the stock market?

I am a reformed spender. Rosie has Premium Bonds, while I have recently opened a cash ISA into which I deposit money each month by direct debit.

I taught for many years and had a teacher’s pension, but I had to cash it in one year when all four of our children were in private education. Now my pension is my copyrights for EastEnders, Eldorado and so on.

Do you own property?

We have just moved into a lovely two-bed apartment which overlooks the centre of Guildford, with a tiny mortgage.

When we moved from the nearby village of Bramley, I went through the ceremony of cutting up all my credit cards – apart from my American Express, which is handy when we go on holiday.

What is the one little luxury you treat yourself to?

Instead of three weeks in an average hotel, we prefer to spend one in a luxury hotel.

If you were Chancellor, what’s the first thing you would do?

I would back off the National Insurance contributions hike and put a heavy tax on crypto dealers and investors’ profits instead. Employers should not have to face a crippling NIC levy.

I would also stop penalising our farmers, so we are less reliant on imported produce. The Government’s policy on farming is the most ridiculous and spiteful policy, apart from putting VAT on private schools. This tax penalises parents who want the best for their children, who, in turn, will greatly benefit the economy in years to come.

Starmer has done a sterling job on foreign affairs, but he needs to rethink these domestic matters.

What is your number one financial priority?

Now that we’ve moved and our lives are getting more settled, I’d like to get back to speaking publicly with NMP Live. I really enjoy entertaining, and it brings in welcome funds.  

• Simon May is available for speaking engagements via nmplive.co.uk.

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