Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsPrimetime EmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalFall TV GuideMost Anticipated This MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayTrending peopleCelebrity news
    IMDb LabsHelp centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Matthew Strachan(1970-2021)

  • Composer
  • Music Department
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Matthew Strachan was a 12-time ASCAP Award-winning composer and songwriter. He began his career writing songs for a BBC drama series and continued composing media music throughout the 1990s gaining such diverse credits as The Detectives, The Ward, Question Time, and the iconic soundtrack for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire which followed the show to over 100 countries. His theme for WWI drama Home Front played from 2014-2018 on Radio 4.

In the early 2000s Matthew moved to Nashville where he wrote songs for recording artists, collaborating with writers such as Tom Kimmel, Don Henry and J. Fred Knobloch. Returning to England, he wrote music and lyrics for the stage musicals Next Door's Baby and About Bill both of which were produced in London. He also composed numerous incidental scores for acclaimed productions in London, the West End and regional theatres.

Matthew's music was used in a number of movies including Slumdog Millionaire, Extract, About a Boy, and A Kind of Hush. He released several albums of his own characterful songwriting and performs from time to time at London venues such as the St James Theatre and The Pheasantry. Matthew was the creator of the comic 1970s composer Klaus Harmony and his first novel, under the pseudonym MB Vincent, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2018.

Matthew created music for Michael Dennis's Dark Sublime, which played at the Trafalgar Studios, starring Marina Sirtis.
BornDecember 11, 1970
DiedSeptember 8, 2021(50)
BornDecember 11, 1970
DiedSeptember 8, 2021(50)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels
  • Awards
    • 10 wins total

Known for

Dev Patel and Freida Pinto in Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Slumdog Millionaire
8.0
  • Soundtrack
  • 2008
Regis Philbin in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1999)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
6.3
TV Series
  • Music Department
Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult in About a Boy (2002)
About a Boy
7.1
  • Soundtrack
  • 2002
Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, David Koechner, J.K. Simmons, Kristen Wiig, and Dustin Milligan in Extract (2009)
Extract
6.1
  • Soundtrack
  • 2009

Credits

IMDbPro

Composer



  • Devil Witch Way
    • Composer
    • Post-production



  • Amitabh Bachchan in Kaun Banega Crorepati? (2000)
    Kaun Banega Crorepati?
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 2000–2022
  • Anita Rani in Fastest Finger First (2022)
    Fastest Finger First
    4.1
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 2022
  • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
    5.4
    Video Game
    • Composer
    • 2020
  • Le grand concours (2003)
    Le grand concours
    5.1
    TV Series
    • original score
    • Composer
    • 2012–2019
  • Psychomanteum (2018)
    Psychomanteum
    4.1
    • Composer
    • 2018
  • Mostly Dead (2016)
    Mostly Dead
    8.5
    Short
    • composer
    • 2016
  • Ed Stoppard and Gemma Chan in Love Is a Four Letter Word: Worth Seven Points (2016)
    Love Is a Four Letter Word: Worth Seven Points
    6.9
    Short
    • Composer
    • 2016
  • George Kurdahi in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2015)
    Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
    6.7
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 2015–2016
  • Kannadada Kotyadhipathi (2012)
    Kannadada Kotyadhipathi
    8.7
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 2012
  • Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi (2012)
    Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi
    6.7
    TV Series
    • original music by
    • 2012
  • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2002)
    Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
    6.1
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 2002–2009
  • Eddie McGuire in Millionaire Hot Seat (2009)
    Millionaire Hot Seat
    5.3
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 2009–2026
  • Die Millionenshow (2000)
    Die Millionenshow
    6.1
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 2008
  • Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire (2004)
    Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire
    7.0
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 2004
  • Britain's Brainiest
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 2002

Music Department



  • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2020)
    Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
    6.4
    TV Series
    • music
    • 2025–2026
  • Günther Jauch in Das Phänomen WWM - Zwischen Pech und Glück (2022)
    Das Phänomen WWM - Zwischen Pech und Glück
    TV Movie
    • composer
    • 2022
  • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2002)
    Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
    6.1
    TV Series
    • theme music
    • composer: theme music
    • 2008–2021
  • Jeremy Clarkson and Chris Tarrant in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: The Million Pound Question (2020)
    Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: The Million Pound Question
    7.1
    TV Series
    • music
    • 2020–2021
  • Matthew Macfadyen and Michael Sheen in Quiz (2020)
    Quiz
    7.3
    TV Mini Series
    • composer: additional music (uncredited)
    • 2020
  • Jeremy Clarkson and Chris Tarrant in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1998)
    Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
    6.1
    TV Series
    • music
    • 2018–2019
  • Michelle Holmes, Dervla Kirwan, and Nicholas Lyndhurst in Goodnight Sweetheart (1993)
    Goodnight Sweetheart
    7.4
    TV Series
    • music producer
    • 2016
  • Ole Boisen, Adam Brix, Laura Christensen, Peter Frödin, Mia Lyhne, Carla Rasmussen, Ulrik Windfeldt-Schmidt, Albert Fastholm, and Rose de Mylius in Backstage (2015)
    Backstage
    7.7
    TV Series
    • music (segment "Hvem vil være millionær?")
    • 2015
  • EastEnders (1985)
    EastEnders
    4.8
    TV Series
    • musical arrangement
    • 2013
  • Lærkevej (2009)
    Lærkevej
    6.6
    TV Series
    • composer: hvem vil være millionær?
    • 2010
  • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?: Party Edition (2006)
    Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?: Party Edition
    4.0
    Video Game
    • music composed and performed by: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
    • 2006
  • Legyen ön is milliomos! (2000)
    Legyen ön is milliomos!
    7.4
    TV Series
    • composer: theme music
    • 2000–2005
  • Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story (2001)
    Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story
    7.5
    TV Mini Series
    • composer: title music
    • 2001
  • Regis Philbin in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1999)
    Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
    6.3
    TV Series
    • composer: theme music
    • 2001
  • Lotto Weekend Miljonairs
    6.1
    TV Series
    • composer: title music
    • 1999–2008

Personal details

  • Official site
    • Official Site
  • Alternative name
    • M. Strachan
  • Born
    • December 11, 1970
    • London, England, UK
  • Died
    • September 8, 2021
    • Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK
  • Spouse
    • Bernadette Strachan (née Gaughan)May 5, 2001 - September 8, 2021 (his death, 1 child)
  • Parents
    • Keith Strachan
  • Other works
    Album: "25 Year Songbook", composer/performer, Nono Records, UPC 859708203165

Did you know

  • Trivia
    He and his wife Bernadette (a novelist who also writes as Juliet Ashton) co-wrote the 'Jess Castle Mysteries' series of novels under the joint pseudonym M B Vincent.
  • Quotes
    Someone once said I was somewhere on a spectrum somewhere between Dr. John and Richard Stilgoe. I don't want to think about which end.

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

You have no recently viewed pages
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2026 by IMDb.com, Inc.