Having enjoyed a varied career as a composer, songwriter and musician, Ross Campbell has emerged over the last few years as one of Scotland’s most sought-after film and television composers. Ross studied composition at the Royal College of Music in London and then, with James MacMillan, at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Whilst maintaining his interest in writing for the concert hall, Ross went on to pursue a career in commercial music, touring and recording with a variety of jazz and rock acts. A number of his songs have become hit singles, including “Push The Feeling On” for Nightcrawlers, which became Island Records’ biggest-selling 12” single of all time, with sales of 750,000 copies in the USA alone. In collaboration with partner Stevie Sole Middleton Ross continues to be a successful writer of dance music, the pair’s most recent album being Guiro Bridges.
Ross has been writing for TV and film as well as for theatre companies since the mid-1990s. He provided the music for Wark Clements’ major series, Victorian Scots, made for Channel 4. Drama credits include Scottish Television’s King’s of the Wild Frontier and the BBC’s Rice Paper Stars (dramas commissioned under the “New Found Land” and “Tartan Short” schemes respectively). He has become a favourite of the producers and directors of Scottish Television’s long-running and highly-successful crime drama Taggart - and and has scored all episodes of the 2003 series. His music for episode 52, entitled Death Trap, transmitted in the Summer of 2002, prompting unexpected praise on national radio from BBC Radio 1’s Steve Wright!
In the world of theatre Ross has a particular association with the Borderline Theatre Company, and has provided music for several touring productions. He has composed the music for a large number of short films, including Poor Angels - for which his score was nominated for a BAFTA Award.