Sydney Edmund Tolchard Evans, known as Tolchard Evans, was a prominent British songwriter, composer, pianist, and bandleader born on 20 September 1901 in Kilburn, London, England. He began playing the piano at the age of six and initially pursued a career in classical music, studying orchestration and conducting. However, in 1919, he joined the Lawrence Wright popular music publishing company, marking the start of his career in popular music.

Evans gained recognition as a pianist for silent films and dance bands before forming his own band in the 1920s. He achieved international success with his song "Barcelona" in 1926. In collaboration with lyricists Stanley Damerell and Robert Hargreaves, he co-founded the Cecil Lennox song publishing company, producing hits like "Lady of Spain" in 1931. His compositions were widely used by major London dance bands and featured on BBC radio, notably in the Tuneful Twenties series.

His career saw a resurgence in the 1950s with Perry Como's million-selling version of "If" and Eddie Fisher's hit recording of "Lady of Spain." Evans won an Ivor Novello Award in 1955 for "Ev'rywhere," and in 1973, he received another Ivor Novello Award for outstanding services to British music.

Evans married Phyllis Elizabeth Mayhead in 1931, with whom he had two sons. He passed away on 12 March 1978 in Willesden, London, at the age of 76. His legacy includes numerous popular songs that were staples of both British and international music scenes from the 1920s through the 1960s.