A Tribute To JOHN BARRY.

Today the world woke up to some sad news, and that is that legendary movie soundtrack composer John Barry died of a heart attack last night (30th January, 2011). He was 77. 
 

 
He is most notably known for providing the unmistakable sound which gave James Bond that extra edge, and has influenced the likes of David Arnold and Michael Giacchino – two of the most sought after composers around today. 

Deeply affected by the news of Barry‘s passing, Arnold took to Twitter to write: 

“It was with a heavy heart that I tell you John Barry passed away this morning. 

“I am profoundly saddened by the news but profoundly thankful for everything he did for music and for me personally.”  
 

 
Starting his career working on music for BBC programmes, Barry moved on to arrange orchestral accompaniments for EMI and was approached to help compose the score for James Bond‘s first big screen outing in 1962’s ‘Dr. No‘. His iconic style of music spanned 10 more Bond movies, composing theme tunes which included Goldfinger, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker. 

But his talents weren’t restricted to the Bond movies, as he composed music for ‘Born Free‘, ‘Out of Africa‘ and ‘Dances with Wolves‘ – all of which won him Academy Awards! Barry received a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) fellowship in 2005.
 
He married four times, including a short-lived union to British actress/singer Jane Birkin, and has four children. 
 

 
I never had the honour of seeing him in a live performance, but I’ve grown up with his music ever since I can remember. So you could say that he’s provided the soundtrack to my life.

Music from movies such as ‘Chaplin‘, ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland‘, ‘The Specialist‘, ‘Indecent Proposal‘ and ‘Somewhere In Time‘ have no doubt shaped the type of music that I listen to today. When I think of the most popular composers around in recent years, very few of them manage to invoke such emotion in their work – without using any lyrics. 

As a huge Bond fan, obviously I cannot forget the scores he did for ‘Octopussy‘, ‘The Living Daylights‘, and ‘A View To A Kill‘ – all of which feature prominently in my extensive John Barry collection. 

For now, I leave you with some of my favourite Barry moments.

Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland

Indecent Proposal

The Specialist

Playing By Heart

My Love Has Two Faces (Theme from ‘Deadfall’) – Shirley Bassey