Southam was never prolific, but he composed songs on an occasional basis from the 1920s onwards, in the various locations worldwide where he was posted. In the 1960s, he set about getting them published and recorded. In 1962, he produced an LP record of English songs with
Wilfred Brown and the pianist Margaret NcNamee. Among the tracks, he included two of his own songs: "Nemea" by Lawrence Durrell (in 7/8 meter, one of the commonest of Greek folk rhythms) and "A Holy Sonnet" by
John Donne. The sheet music for both songs was published by
Augener. On the strength of this,
Colin Wilson mentioned Southam in his book on music,
Brandy of the Damned in 1964, ranking him alongside other English song composers such as
Ivor Gurney,
Gerald Finzi and
Herbert Howells. Southam began working closely with the poet, bookshop owner and publisher Bernard Stone (1924–2005). Stone ran the Turret Book Shop at 5,
Kensington Church Walk in
Kensington, London (where Durrell was a regular visitor), and Southam became associated with
Jupiter Records, set up by the writer
V.C. Clinton-Baddeley in 1958 to release poetry readings read by poets. Jupiter was also based in the Kensington Church Walk premises.
Poets Set in Jazz (1965) and its follow-up,
Contemporary Poets Set in Jazz (1966), were two seven-inch EPs issued on the Jupiter label, performed by the singer
Belle Gonzalez and sextet. They included Southam's settings of poetry by
Auden, Michael Baldwin,
Byron, Lawrence Durrell,
Edward Lucie-Smith and
Christina Rossetti. Gonzalez herself claims that these settings were the first examples of what has since been termed "Jazz Lieder".
Leonard Salzedo arranged the music on the first disc and
Kenny Napper on the second. In 1967,
Play Songs for Infants, with words by
V. C. Clinton-Baddeley and a score including percussion parts by the music educationalist
Avril Dankworth (sister of
John Dankworth), were published by
Feldman. An EP record was issued by Jupiter the same year. A year later, on 15 February 1968, a concert was held – "Jupiter and Turret at the
Wigmore Hall: New Jazz and Modern Poetry" – featuring two settings of Durrell poems,
Lesbos and
In Arcadia, along with other songs by
John Tavener and
Patrick Gowers. Turret Records was also the issuer – in May 1969 – of Southam's most substantial publication –
Songs of a Sunday Composer, collecting previous recordings and adding new ones. It was issued in a limited edition of 300 copies. In the 1980s, Southam and Stone produced
A Day to Remember, a children's picture book by Stone that included a carol by Southam ("The Christmas Message") at the end. It was published by the Four Winds Press in 1981. And in 1986, Turret published
Poems for Clocks, a collaboration between Southam and Edward Lucie-Smith (Southam had already set Lucie-Smith's poem
Silence in 1967), again in a limited edition, this time 300 copies. ==Death==