Michael Perry

Michael Arnold Perry (8 March 1942 – 9 December 1996) was a Church of England clergyman and one of the leading British hymnodists of the 20th century. He was closely associated with Jubilate Hymns.

Early life Michael Perry was born in Beckenham, Kent on 8 March 1942. He was educated at Dulwich College and went on to study at University College London; Oak Hill Theological College, London; Ridley Hall, Cambridge; and University of Southampton.

It was during his student days at Oak Hill in 1964 that Perry wrote his best-known hymn, the Calypso Carol, the first line of which is "See him lying on a bed of straw". He wrote this for a college concert, and it only became famous by accident when Cliff Richard substituted it for a missing recording in a radio show.

Selected works Perry wrote over 300 hymns. The following works are a selection.

Hymns "See him lying on a bed of straw" (Calypso Carol) "O God Beyond All Praising" (to Holst's melody Thaxted) "Bring to the Lord a Glad New Song" (to Hubert Parry's tune Jerusalem) "When the angel came to Mary" (to the Sans Day Carol) Fling wide the gates, unbar the ancient doors (chorus line) (based on Psalm 24)

Books The Dramatised Bible Preparing for Worship, Zondervan 1995, Singing to God, Hope Publications, 1995. . His own collected hymns