Shep Solomon: rising US writer eyes UK pop. (Producer Profile).

While UK composers are continuing to make inroads into the US, one American is quietly making ripples this side of the pond.

UK writers Wayne Hector and Steve Mac are the latest British pop songwriters to make steps in North America, with their song Flying Without Wings--first a hit for Westlife--being chosen as the launch single for the winner of American Idol 2. The achievement follows the success of the likes Cathy Dennis, Rob Davis and The Matrix in the past year.

But, as UK writers eye up the lucrative US market, one US pep writer has for some time had his sights firmly on UK mainstream pop. In fact, Shep Solomon was yesterday (Sunday) on course to score his 10th Top 10 UK hit thanks to S Club's final single Love Ain't Gonna Wait For You, which he co-wrote with UK writer Simon Ellis, along with previous S Club hits Don't Stop Movin' and Alive.

Despite writing tracks for a host of acts from Celine Dion to Britain's former Eurovision hopefuls Precious, success has not come overnight. In fact, it was back in 1994 that Solomon scored his first UK hit, for R&B pop troupe Eternal with the song Just A Step From Heaven. It was the start of eight years of flying between the two countries.

"I don't have a permanent home at the moment because I'm always travelling," he says. But with feet on both sides of the pond, Solomon has a valuable ...