Tributes paid to influential composer who lived in Hotham Park house

A A composer, musician, singer and arranger who had a hand in some of the most famous songs of the 60s and 70s had died at Hotham Park House.

Barbara Moore died on August 26, following an extended period of ill health, aged 88.

She is survived by granddaughter Clare, three great grandchildren and the legacy of her music, which helped define the soundscape of the 60s and 70s. From the backing vocals in Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Hey Joe’, to the theme tune for Terry Wogan’s Radio 2 show, Mrs Moore had a hand in a wide variety of projects.

Born to jazz musicians Arthur and Clare Birkby in Bradford, music was a part of Mrs Moore’s life from the moment she came into the world. She was sent to St Paul’s, a public school for girls in London, and studied music under Nora Day, copyist for composer Gustav Holst.

Mrs Moore met her husband while working as a cocktail pianist in Dubai, and soon returned to London with him. When the marriage ended, she settled in Bognor Regis, where she worked, wrote arrangements and assisted at the college for many years. Granddaughter Claire said: “I am heartbroken I will never hear her playing at the piano again, and gutted to have lost the world’s best accompanist. She was a pioneer of females in the music industry and will be missed by many.”