Barrington Pheloung
Barrington Somers James Pheloung (10 May 1954 – 1 August 2019) was an Australian composer based in the United Kingdom. He composed several television theme tunes and music, most notably for the television series Inspector Morse and its sequel, Lewis, and prequel, Endeavour.
Also recorded as Barrington Somers Pheloung
Barrington Pheloung
- Name
- Barrington Pheloung
- Birth Name
- Barrington Somers James Pheloung
- Born
- 10 May 1954
- Birthplace
- Manly, New South Wales, Australia
- Died
- 1 August 2019
- Place of death
- Australia
- Spouse
- Anita Griffin (1979 –?) (divorced) Heather Lovejoy (? – 1 August 2019) (his death)
- Occupation
- Composer, conductor
- Education
- St Aloysius' College
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Barrington Somers James Pheloung (10 May 1954 – 1 August 2019) was an Australian composer based in the United Kingdom. He composed several television theme tunes and music, most notably for the television series Inspector Morse and its sequel, Lewis, and prequel, Endeavour.
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Note VALÉORINE
Barrington Pheloung (1954–2019) was an Australian bandleader, composer and conductor, among other activities. Born in Manly, the bandleader died in Australia. Barrington Pheloung studied at St Aloysius' College. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Barrington Pheloung • Birth Name — Barrington Somers James Pheloung • Born — 10 May 1954 • Birthplace — Manly, New South Wales, Australia • Died — 1 August 2019 • Place of death — Australia • Spouse — Anita Griffin (1979 –?) (divorced) Heather Lovejoy (? – 1 August 2019) (his death) • Occupation — Composer, conductor • Years Active — 1973–2019 • Website — pheloung.co.uk
Early life and studies
Early life and studies
Pheloung was born 10 May 1954 in Manly, New South Wales, and grew up in Sydney's northern beaches suburbs. He was born to father John Pheloung who was of Irish and English descent, and mother Adel (nee Reber) Pheloung who was of German and Spanish descent. He began playing R&B guitar in clubs, but his discovery of Bach in his late teens drew him to the classical repertoire. In 1972, aged 18, Pheloung moved to London where he studied guitar, double bass, and composition at the Chiswick Music Centre, then part of Chiswick Polytechnic (now Brunel University), before proceeding to the Royal College of Music to study composition with John Lambert and guitar under John Williams and Julian Bream. There he also took instruction in conducting. In his second year, he received his first commission for a ballet score.
Composer
Composer
Pheloung is best known for the theme and incidental music to the Inspector Morse television series, for which he was nominated for Best Original Television Music at the British Academy Television Awards in 1991. His music was also used in the sequel Lewis and the prequel Endeavour. He composed for dance companies such as the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, and for events including the opening night of the Millennium Dome. Pheloung also wrote the theme music for the BBC television series Dalziel and Pascoe. His film work included Hilary and Jackie (1998), based on the life of the cellist Jacqueline du Pré, for which he was nominated for the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music at the 52nd British Academy Film Awards. Other works include Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), Twin Dragons (1992), Shopping (1994), Nostradamus (1994), The Mangler (1995), Touching Wild Horses (2002), Shopgirl (2005), Little Fugitive (2006) and A Previous Engagement (2008). He also composed the scores to Revolution Software's adventure games In Cold Blood, and three Broken Sword video games. Pheloung's other work included music for the Sydney Opera House's Twentieth Birthday Celebrations and he contributed to the music for the film Truly, Madly, Deeply, in which he also appeared. He composed the incidental music for the first series of Boon. In 2009 he composed the music for 1983, the concluding episode of the Channel 4 drama series Red Riding.
Personal life and death
Personal life and death
Pheloung married Anita Griffin in 1979. The couple had two children together before the marriage ended in divorce. He later married Heather Lovejoy, with whom he had two more children. He died in August of 2019 at the age of 65, survived by his second wife and his four children. The cause of death was respiratory failure.
Credits
Credits
• Endeavour, 2012–19 • Red Riding, 2009 • Incendiary, 2008 • And When Did You Last See Your Father? 2007 • Lewis, 2006–2015 • Shopgirl, 2005 • Touching Wild Horses, 2002 • Hilary and Jackie, 1998 • Dalziel and Pascoe, 1996-98 • Twin Dragons, 1996 • Saint-Ex, 1995 • The Mangler, 1994 • Nostradamus, 1994 • The Legends of Treasure Island, 1993 • Truly, Madly, Deeply, 1991 • Portrait of a Marriage, 1990 • Friendship’s Death, 1987 • Inspector Morse, 1987–2000 • What If It's Raining, 1986
Video games
Video games
• Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, 1996 • Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – The Director's Cut (2009) • Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror, 1997 • In Cold Blood, 2000 • Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse, 2013–2014
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
2019
Barrington Pheloung died at Australia.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Manly.
Birth place
Australia.
Death place
Discography
• Red Riding, 2009 • Lewis, Music from Series 1 & 2, 2008 • And When Did You Last See Your Father? 2007 • Shopgirl, 2006 • The Magic of Inspector Morse, 2000 • Inspirations, 2001 • Hilary and Jackie, 1998 • The Passion of Morse, 1997 • The Essential Inspector Morse Collection, 1995 • Shopping, 1994 • Nostradamus, 1994 • Days of Majesty, 1993 • Inspector Morse Vol. 3, 1992 • Inspector Morse Vol. 2, 1992 • Inspector Morse Vol. 1, 1991
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Loewenthal, Paul. Barrington Pheloung obituary. The Guardian. 11 August 2019.
- 2.Barrington Somers Pheloung. Memories.
- 3.Shand, John. Morse Coda. The Sydney Morning Herald. 10. 7 April 2001.
- 4.Loewenthal, Paul. Barrington Pheloung obituary: Composer who found fame with the theme and incidental music he created for the TV series Inspector Morse. Guardian US. Guardian News & Media Limited. 11 August 2019.
- 5.Lambert, Catherine. Composer sings the blues. Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia). 24. 4 February 2001.
- 6.Strachan, Laurie. Composer in exile. The Australian. 6 February 1999.
- 7.British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Television Nominations 1991.
- 8.Savage, Mark. Inspector Morse composer Barrington Pheloung dies. 1 August 2019.
- 9.British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Film Nominations 1998.
- 10.Interview in conversation with Charles Cecil. alternativemagazineonline.com. 3 August 2020.
- 11.Truly Madly Deeply. 1 January 1991.
- 12.Channel 4. Red Riding.
- 13.Inspector Morse composer Barrington Pheloung dies. BBC News. August 2019.
- 14.Barrington Pheloung obituary. The Guardian. 2019-08-11.
- 15.Barrington Pheloung, composer best known for his haunting theme music to 'Inspector Morse' – obituary. The Daily Telegraph. 5 August 2019.
- 16.Morse universe Obituary
- 17.The Times obituary
References
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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