Quick Facts
Biography
Bill McGuffie (11 December 1927 – 22 March 1987) was a pianist who went on to become a film composer and conductor. He also made several television appearances, most notably in Softly, Softly as a pub pianist.
When he was about 16 years old McGuffie came down from Scotland to London to join the Teddy Foster Band which was playing in London. It was his first professional job.
As well as conducting many film scores he also wrote several of his own and is most remembered for his music for the movie Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966), based on the television series Doctor Who and starring Peter Cushing. He also provided the music for The Challenge (1960), The Leather Boys (1964), The Comedy Man (1964), Corruption (1968), the cult horror film The Asphyx (1973), and The Cherry Picker (1974).
McGuffie performed on many occasions with Benny Goodman outfits when Goodman toured in Europe. He can be heard playing with the Benny Goodman Sextet recorded live in Copenhagen in 1972.
Bill McGuffie was voted Britain's top pianist in 1953, 1954 and 1955. He won an Ivor Novello Award in 1960 for his composition "Sweet September" and a Song Writers' Guild Badge of Merit in 1980. Bill McGuffie started a charity in aid of autistic children called The Niner Club, relating to his lost finger.