[1] Active from the 1960s onwards, Callander wrote or co-wrote songs that have been performed by recording artists such as Cilla Black, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, Shirley Bassey, and The Tremeloes, amongst many others.
[3] Callander was also a founder member of the Society of Distinguished Songwriters (SODS), a director of PRS for Music, and formed a publishing company, Callander Family Music Ltd. Born in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, he was educated at the City of London School on a scholarship, before following in his father's footsteps and training as a chef.
Their joint compositions included "Even the Bad Times Are Good" (The Tremeloes),[5] "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" (Georgie Fame),[6] "Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha" (Cliff Richard),[7] "Ragamuffin Man" (Manfred Mann),[8] "Hitchin' a Ride" (Vanity Fare),[9] "Turn on the Sun" (Nana Mouskouri)[10] plus "Avenues and Alleyways", "Las Vegas", and "I Did What I Did for Maria" for Tony Christie.
In 2005, Tony Christie spent seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart with the Murray and Callander produced tune, "Is This the Way to Amarillo".
[14] In an interview in The Times in which he described another Murray-Callander penned tune, "Las Vegas", Christie noted that the two "were the star songwriters of the day".