William Merrick Farran (14 January 1906 - 26 November 1991) was a London-born composer, conductor and violinist.
Farran was educated at Stonyhurst Castle. He won a scholarship to the Manchester Royal College of Music to study composition (with E. J Moeran) and violin. As an orchestral player he toured America with Sir Thomas Beecham and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[1]
He established himself as a conductor[2] of both classical and popular music, and a composer of library music for KPM and Bruton.[3] [4] His House of Horror music was used in TV productions such as Prisoner Cell Block H and SpongeBob SquarePants.[5] There was also some concert music, including Symphonic Variations On A Rock 'N Roll Theme (the theme being from 'Rock Around the Clock'), which was issued on a Melodisc LP in 1958,[6] and the three movement Stranger in London suite.[7] Farran was the arranger of 'The Ghost of Your Past' and 'Quite Suddenly' for Matt Monro in 1961.[8]
He died at the Acland Hospital in Oxford.[9]