{{short description|British musician and composer}} {{Infobox musical artist | background = person | honorific_prefix = | name = Graham Preskett | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_upright = | image_size = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption =
| birth_name = Graham Donald Harry Preskett | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|12|26|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date first) --> | death_place = | genre = [[Film score]], [[rock music|rock]], [[pop music|pop]] | occupation = [[Composer]], [[musician]] | instrument = Piano, violin, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, harmonica, guitar | discography = | years_active = 1970s–present | label = | current_member_of = | past_member_of = [[Development (band)|Development]] | spouse = <!-- Use article title or common name --> | partner = <!-- (unmarried long-term partner) --> | website = http://www.preskett.com/ }}
'''Graham Donald Harry Preskett'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Graham Preskett |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/324687-Graham-Preskett |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=Discogs.com |language=en}}</ref> (born 26 December 1948)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/graham-donald-harry-preskett/1122743366|title=Graham Donald Harry Preskett|via=[[Apple Music]]|access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref> is a British composer and musician who has been active since the early 1970s. He appeared on the [[Mott the Hoople]] albums ''[[Mott (album)|Mott]]'' (1973) and ''[[The Hoople]]'' (1974), playing violin on both, and arranging and conducting on the latter.
==Background== In his autobiography ''Snakes and Ladders'' (2016), [[Whitesnake]] guitarist [[Micky Moody]] wrote of their 1978 album ''[[Snakebite (album)|Snakebite]]'':
{{Blockquote|text=Also in the line-up was a multi-instrumentalist, who played almost everything, could write, read and arrange music like most of us write, read and arrange our names, and was a charming and funny man to boot.|author=Micky Moody|title=''Snakes and Ladders – My Autobiography: A Rock 'n' Roll Odyssey as Whitesnake's Guitarist''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moody |first=Micky |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XSa3DwAAQBAJ&dq=graham+preskett&pg=PT170 |title=Snakes and Ladders - My Autobiography: A Rock 'n' Roll Odyssey as Whitesnake's Guitarist |date=2016-11-03 |publisher=Bonnier Zaffre |isbn=978-1-78606-348-9 |language=en}}</ref>}}
==Career== Graham Preskett was a member of the group [[Development (band)|Development]] that [[Colin Young]] had formed after he left [[The Foundations]] in late 1970. The group would alternate between the names of The Foundations and Development.<ref>''Crónica'', 3 de Enero de 1971 - [https://archive.org/details/DiarioCronicaBuenosAires19710103_5/page/n1/mode/2up Página 2 ''LLEGO “THE FOUNDATIONS” EMBAJADA DE MUSICA “BEAT”'']</ref><ref>''Record Mirror'', 21 March 1970 - [https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/70/Record-Mirror-1970-03-21-S-OCR.pdf Page 14 The frustrations]</ref><ref>''Disc and Music Echo'', March 4, 1972 - [https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Disc/1972/Disc-1972-03-04-S-OCR.pdf Page 10 A SOLID FOUNDATION]</ref>
The 17 January issue ''Crónica'' ran the group's picture on page 13 when they arrived in Argentina. It also gave the line up as Graham Donald Preskett on violin, Christopher Smith on drums, Roger Cawkwell on saxophone and flute, [[Colin Young]] on lead vocals, [[Jean Roussel|Jean Alain Roussel]] on organ and piano and [[Steve Bingham (bassist)|Estephen Bingham]] (bass). Also with them was Rodney Harrod the manager, and Philip Peverley. Juan D'Arjenzo appeared to be their technician. It was also made known that the group was changing their name to Development.<ref>''Crónica'', Domingo 17 de Enero de 1971 - [https://archive.org/details/DiarioCronicaBuenosAires19710117_M2S/page/12/mode/2up PAGINA 13, HIPPIES EN FA MAYOR...<br><small> Los componentes de “The Foundations” se autodefinen como hippies, tienen ideas claras y concretas<br> sobre el amor, los hombres y la sociedad actual. Pero también hacen música, desde beat hasta jazz, con<br> personalidad estilística muy a la europea. Quiénes son y qué piensan</small>]</ref>
== Selected works == Preskett is credited on the following releases:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Graham Preskett {{!}} Credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/graham-preskett-mn0000858188/credits |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> * ''[[Mott (album)|Mott]]'' – Mott the Hoople (1973), violin * ''[[The Hoople]]'' – Mott the Hoople (1974), arranger, conductor, violin, tubular bells, orchestration * ''[[Streets...]]'' – [[Ralph McTell]] (1975), arranger, string arrangements * ''Afternoon Sunshine'' – [[Edwin Starr]] (1977), fiddle * ''[[City to City]]'' – [[Gerry Rafferty]] (1978), vocals, mandolin, violin, fiddle, keyboards, string arrangements, brass arrangements, string machine * "[[Baker Street (song)|Baker Street]]" – Gerry Rafferty (1978), string arrangements * ''[[Snakebite (album)|Snakebite]]'' – [[Whitesnake]] (1978), violin * "[[Try Anything Once]]" – [[Alan Parsons]] (1993), fiddle, violin, mandolin * ''[[Something to Talk About (film)|Something to Talk About]]'' score (1995; with [[Hans Zimmer]]), primary artist, composer<ref>{{Citation |title=Graham Preskett, Hans Zimmer - Something To Talk About [Original Motion Picture Score] Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/something-to-talk-about-original-motion-picture-score--mw0000175712 |access-date=2023-03-07 |language=en}}</ref> * ''[[Musical Tour of Scotland]]'' (1995), arranger, piano, violin, producer * ''[[The Da Vinci Code (soundtrack)|The Da Vinci Code]]'' soundtrack (2006; with Hans Zimmer), arranger, composer
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * Discogs - [https://www.discogs.com/artist/324687-Graham-Preskett Graham Preskett]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Preskett, Graham}} [[Category:1948 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century British composers]] [[Category:20th-century British musicians]] [[Category:21st-century British composers]] [[Category:21st-century British musicians]] [[Category:Music arrangers]] [[Category:British male violinists]] [[Category:20th-century British fiddlers]] [[Category:British male fiddlers]] [[Category:British male pianists]] [[Category:Development (band) members]]