Reed was an accomplished musician by the age of fourteen, playing the piano, accordion and vibraphone. He studied at the London College of Music before joining the Willis Reed Group, with whom he toured for four years. Having been called up for National Service, he played piano and clarinet in the Royal East Kent Military Band. Following National Service he turned professional, and became resident pianist at the Lido Nightclub in the West End of London.
In 1959 Reed joined the The John Barry Seven as pianist. He appeared with them on BBC's Drumbeat (TV series), played on many of their hits including "James Bond Theme", "Hit And Miss" and "Walk, Don’t Run". He also played piano on hits for the likes of Adam Faith ("Poor Me" and "What Do You Want?"); Eden Kane's ("Forget Me Not") and Lance Fortune's ("Be Mine").
In the mid-1960s he began a successful songwriting partnership with Geoff Stephens which yielded such hits as "Tell Me When", a hit for The Applejacks; "Here It Comes Again" for The Fortunes; "Leave A Little Love" for Lulu; and "There's a Kind of Hush", a 1967 success for Herman's Hermits. During 1964 Reed penned "It's Not Unusual" with ex-Viscounts member and Tom Jones' manager Gordon Mills, which gave Jones a UK number one. Reed also arranged and played piano on the song.
Around this time Reed struck up another songwriting partnership with Barry Mason from Wigan, Lancashire. Among their successes was "Delilah", again a Top Ten hit for Tom Jones. "Delilah" was originally written for P. J. Proby and later covered by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band in 1975. Reed and Mason also wrote "The Last Waltz", which became a million selling UK number one for Engelbert Humperdinck in September 1967. Mason and Reed wrote "Who's Doctor Who", a novelty song recorded by Doctor Who star Frazer Hines in 1967, but it failed to chart. In 1968 the duo scored another UK #1 hit with Des O'Connor's recording of "I Pretend". That same year, "I've Got My Eyes on You", written by Reed and Jackie Rae, was recorded by Petula Clark, Ray Conniff, P. J. Proby and The Vogues.
In 1970 Reed's orchestra recorded "Man of Action" which was used as the theme tune for Radio North Sea International until 1974. Reed composed the score for the 2004 musical Beautiful and Damned, based on the lives of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Reed is also responsible for co-composing "Marching on Together" (aka "Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!"), the anthem of Leeds United A.F.C..
In 1971, fellow pensmith Mitch Murray conceived and founded the Society Of Distinguished Songwriters (SODS). Current members include Reed, Sir Tim Rice, Guy Chambers, Gary Barlow, David Arnold, Mike Batt, Justin Hayward, Don Black, and more than thirty others.
April 1998 Philosophical Paper [published by Hazel Speed] which featured reference to Les Reed's theme for the film 'The Lady Vanishes' [film starred Angela Lansbury]. Reed wrote Letter of Introduction within philosophical text and the Paper was subsequently lodged with the Cultural Department of the European Commission.
In 2006 Reed wrote two theme songs for short animation pilot entitled 'B-Mail'. He is project Composer in Residence.
It's Not Unusual
Les Reed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not unusual to have fun with anyone
But when I see you hanging about with anyone
It's not unusual to see me cry
Oh I wanna' die
It's not unusual to go out at any time
But when I see you out and about it's such a crime
It's not unusual
It happens every day
No matter what you say
You find it happens all the time
Love will never do what you want it to
Why can't this crazy love be mine
It's not unusual, to be mad with anyone
It's not unusual, to be sad with anyone
But if I ever find that you've changed at anytime
It's not unusual to find out that I'm in love with you
Whoa oh oh oh oh
The lyrics to Les Reed's song "It's Not Unusual" touch upon the topic of love and experiencing jealousy. The opening lines suggest that it is not strange to be loved or have fun with anyone. However, when the singer sees their love interest hanging out with other people, it brings on feelings of sadness and desperation. The line "It's not unusual to see me cry, Oh I wanna' die" emphasizes the intense emotions that come with jealousy and unrequited love.
The second verse changes the perspective to the singer going out and seeing their love interest with someone else. The use of the word "crime" shows how much the situation bothers the singer. The chorus then follows with the repeated lines stating that love is unpredictable and often unreciprocated. The final line, "It's not unusual to find out that I'm in love with you" suggests that the singer has been in love with their companion for a while but hasn't been able to express it until now.
Overall, the song captures the feelings of unrequited love and the pain that comes with jealousy. The repetition of the chorus reinforces the idea that love is unpredictable and often uncontrollable.
Line by Line Meaning
It's not unusual to be loved by anyone
It's not uncommon to receive love and affection from another person.
It's not unusual to have fun with anyone
It's not abnormal to enjoy oneself in the company of others.
But when I see you hanging about with anyone
However, when I witness you socializing with other people casually...
It's not unusual to see me cry
...it's not unusual for tears to well up in my eyes.
Oh I wanna' die
I wish I could disappear and avoid this pain altogether.
It's not unusual to go out at any time
It's not out of the ordinary to leave one's home and venture out into the world.
But when I see you out and about it's such a crime
However, when I encounter you in public settings, it feels like a violation or improper.
If you should ever want to be loved by anyone
In the event that you feel the desire to be adored by another person...
It's not unusual
...this is a perfectly normal human instinct.
It happens every day
This phenomenon of unrequited love is a daily occurrence.
No matter what you say
Regardless of any explanations or justifications provided...
You find it happens all the time
...this type of situation occurs frequently and regularly.
Love will never do what you want it to
Despite one's desires and hopes, romantic love often follows its own unpredictable course.
Why can't this crazy love be mine
Why can't the person I intensely love return my affections?
It's not unusual, to be mad with anyone
It's not uncommon for one to be annoyed or irritated by others.
It's not unusual, to be sad with anyone
It's not abnormal to feel sorrow or regret in the company of others.
But if I ever find that you've changed at anytime
However, if I perceived that you had somehow transformed in the future...
It's not unusual to find out that I'm in love with you
...it's not strange for me to realize that I am deeply in love with you.
Whoa oh oh oh oh
(A vocalization that emphasizes the emotional intensity of the preceding line.)
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: GORDON MILLS, LES (GB) REED
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind