He won a choral scholarship for Cambridge University, where he acquired a degree in modern languages. While teaching languages at Kingston Grammar School, he co-wrote a musical named Smike with a colleague (Roger Holman). Following the publicity Smike attracted, May was contacted by the BBC, who televised the play in 1973. The show has subsequently been staged many times by youth drama groups.
While working at ATV, he was asked to compose some music for Crossroads. Stephanie De-Sykes got to number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1974 with the subsequent Born with a Smile on my Face, which was used within a storyline on the show. Almost a year later, her second single, We’ll Find Our Day (from Smike) got to #17.
Kate Robbins performed another of May’s songs for Crossroads: More than in Love, which was co-written by Barry Leng and got to number 2 in 1981. May himself performed Summer of my Life, charting at #7 in October 1976, though his follow-up, We’ll Gather Lilacs, flopped.
He co-produced Amii Stewart’s Knock On Wood, which reached number one in the USA.