Readers might like to know of a book just out with some links to John Barry. ‘The Session Man - the story of Bobby Graham’, is a fascinating and extremely frank account of the life and times of drummer Bobby Graham, who was one of Barry’s first signings to Ember Records and who led the John Barry Seven after Vic Flick departed for session work.
Graham soon followed Flick into session work and the pair worked on countless pop hits of the sixties, often doing the work on sessions that the group members themselves were not good enough to perform. Indeed, Bobby was Dave Clark on all the Dave Clark 5 hits - a fact which Clark sought to conceal for many years!
Thoroughly recommended and very reasonably priced, too, at £8.99 pounds including postage (to the UK).
You can order the book direct from the publishers via a link from Bob’s web-site - do it now and it might even arrive in time for Christmas!!
In addition to the previously reviewed Platinum Corp and Aussie DVDs of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, there are now four more versions available. These new offerings were found on Amazon.com. Check out our Alice page.
"Billy" to be released on CD on December 6. Through Dress Circle London. Source: Michael Crawford International Fan Association. Though HMV website also announces the release, for November 29.
Update!! "Dress Circle have got together with Sony to bring you this much sought after Musical Gem for a strictly limited period. This recording will not be available in any other store! "
Ain't It Cool News interview with Brad Bird director of The Incredibles. Bird explains later on in the interview why JB wasn't involved in the end. Interesting read.
Barry made-for-TV films Corn is Green and Love Among The Ruins (both starring Kate Hepburn) are being screened at the National Film Theatre in December as part of a George Cukor season. Rarely shown on TV in the UK, they might both be worth catching if you can.
A spokesman for Geoff Leonard has said in a statement that the "John Barry - The Man With The Midas Touch" book won't be out this year now.
It's been one delay after another. Spring 2005 is the best guess at this stage."
So now Elmer has died. What a sad year this is turning out to be for the legendary composers and their families and fans. He was such a friendly, warm person, too.
I suppose being in his 80s one shouldn't be totally surprised at the news but it doesn't lessen the blow and sense of loss. I didn't know him personally but felt I did, if you understand what I mean.
Popular amongst film music fans for many years, he recently received an upsurge in popularity amongst young English football fans when his theme for 'The Great Escape' was adopted as the theme for the National football side. Indeed, when he was honoured on 'This Is Your Life' a couple of years ago, a small band of supporters appeared, "playing" it. He was highly amused!
I saw him a few times in concert and never failed to be impressed by his energy, commitment, charm and humour. His films were many and varied and included the groundbreaking jazz score for 'The Man with the Golden Arm', 'The Ten Commandments', 'The Magnificent Seven', 'To Kill a Mockingbird, 'Far from Heaven' (which should have won an Oscar) and, of course, 'The Great Escape'. He will be sorely missed.
We must hope the rest of 2004 brings better news.
Elaine Paige, the undisputed first lady of British musical theatre, will present a new show starting on Sunday 5 September, 1.00-2.30pm, featuring the finest music from stage and screen. Elaine introduces some favourite show stoppers in this celebration of the best of Broadway, Hollywood and London's West End. The programme also features a weekly competition, listener requests and Elaine in conversation with some of the people who have created and starred in the greatest musicals of all time.
Lulu signs to Radio 2 for a new Sunday show starting on 5 September, 3.30-5.00pm, celebrating the art of songwriting. The iconic British singer's weekly show will feature the world's best loved songs, from the Fifties through to today.
We regret to announce the death of Jerry Goldsmith, one of the finest film music composers of the modern era. In a career which in some ways mirrored that of John Barry, he began composing for TV and small films before rising rapidly to fame in the early to mid-sixties, with scores like 'Freud', 'A Patch of Blue' & 'The Sand Pebbles'. In fact, he received Oscar nominations for all three and another in the sixties for 'Planet of the Apes' From then onwards his career and reputation was secure and he scored an astonishing variety of films during the next 30 years or so, from 'Patton' to 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' and from 'Chinatown' to 'The Boys From Brazil'.
He received 17 Oscar nominations but won only once, for 'The Omen' in 1977. He enjoyed giving concerts of his music and performed all over the world, notably in London, where he built up a strong relationship with The London Symphony Orchestra.
RIP Jerry. Your music lives on.
In August the National film theatre in London is having a season of TV variety shows. Included is a complete 1960 'Sunday Night at the London Palladium' featuring Adam Faith and the John Barry Seven.
Dates:
1st August 1820 NFT2
31st August 2040 NFT2
Also, in July the NFT is showing the 1947 film of Brighton Rock directed by Roy Boulting
Dates
10th July 1830 NFT1
12th July 2040 NFT2
29th July 1810 NFT3
It has been revealed in the July 2004 issue of the Collector's Choice Music Catalog that the original soundtrack of "Born Free" has been released on CD.
"John Barry's score for BORN FREE is one of the most famous ever written, and Matt Monro's rendition of the title song was a huge hit, yet---unbelievably---this is the first time the original soundtrack album to this landmark wildlife film has been released on CD! Film Score Monthly's loving reissue adds newly remastered sound and new liner notes to a flat-out classic."
Following clues offered by Lukas Kendall on www.filmscoremonthly.com "60's bestseller goes free", speculation is mounting on FSM's message-board that Born Free is their July 'Silver' release!
Hmm, we will gratefully accept Born Free, if so, but Alice's Adventures would have been nice!
We would like to congratulate Bryan Forbes who has been awarded a CBE (Commander of the order of the British Empire) for services to the arts.
Formerly a decent actor in a host of British films, Forbes turned to screenwriting at an early age and won critical acclaim for his screenplay for Basil Dearden's The League of Gentlemen. The following year, he wrote one of his most controversial screenplays for Guy Green's The Angry Silence, starring Richard Attenborough, following firstly the formation of Beaver Films (with Attenborough) and then Allied Film Makers (with Basil Dearden, Michael Relf, Carl Foreman, Richard Attenborough and Guy Green).
His directing career began in 1961 with Whistle Down the Wind, starring child star Haley Mills and his films which featured a John Barry score included Séance on a Wet Afternoon, King Rat, The Whisperers and Deadfall. He also directed his wife, Nanette Newman and Malcolm McDowell as paraplegics who fall in love, in the excellent The Raging Moon.
More recently, Forbes had a hand in the writing of the screenplay for Chaplin, another film scored by Barry.
He has been married to Nanette for nearly 50 years and they have two children: Emma and Sarah. Emma is a television presenter and Sarah is married to the actor, John Standing. Bryan Forbes IMDb page
SONY LEGACY CELEBRATES JOHN BARRY WITH TWO RELEASES
Expanded Reissues of DANCES WITH WOLVES and THE CHASE Showcase the Talents of Legendary Film Composer John Barry
(April 8, 2004) - New York, NY - In celebration of his recent 70th birthday, Sony Legacy will release two titles by legendary film composer John Barry: THE CHASE (Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music Soundtrax) and DANCES WITH WOLVES (Epic/Legacy/Sony Music Soundtrax). Barry has been nominated for seven Academy AwardsT, and has won five times.
At age 33, Barry, who had been writing film music less than 5 years at the time, celebrated 1966 with his first two Oscars for Best Original Score and Song with BORN FREE. That year also saw the theatrical release of THE CHASE. Starring Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford and Angie Dickinson, directed by Arthur Penn (THE MIRACLE WORKER, BONNIE AND CLYDE), based on a book by Horton Foote (who won an Oscar for his screenplay adaptation of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD), and produced by Sam Spiegel (ON THE WATERFRONT, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA), the film wasn't well received by the critics or the public in spite of its outstanding pedigree. Barry's score, however, was extraordinary.
The British-born Barry would have seemed an unlikely choice to score the uniquely American film which follows the prison escape of Texan Bubber Reeves and the subsequent chase that ensues as he tries to go home to see his wife. His contribution was a wonderfully nuanced score, aptly described in the liner notes by journalist Richard Torres as "an aural landscape which is uniquely Southern and utterly ominous."
The 1990 release DANCES WITH WOLVES was a landmark film and a landmark score for Barry, who had been out of commission for the previous two years due to health problems. The film earned twelve Academy AwardT nominations, winning eight Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director (Kevin Costner), and Best Original Score - Barry's fifth career win. With this reissue Barry's score for DANCES WITH WOLVES is presented for the first time in its entirety. This package includes the previously unreleased film versions of "The Buffalo Hunt" and "The John Dunbar Theme", with liner notes by Jon Burlingame (Variety).
The two titles, DANCES WITH WOLVES and THE CHASE will be in stores on May 18, 2004.
It's now official: John Barry's music will not be featured in The Incredibles.
"Royal grandeur from the movies John Barry's soundtrack for a king and Prokofiev's score for a czar make for a lush night at Carnegie Hall" Interview with John Barry at www.newsday.com, by Marion Lignana Rosenberg. Very interesting read. (Link is gone.)
James Southall reviews the new expanded Dances With Wolves CD "Dances with Wolves is a quite wonderful piece of film music, truly beautiful throughout and blessed with some of Barry's finest themes. This new album certainly shows off the score at its finest, and it comes highly recommended."
Hot off the press comes news of the Almeida Theatre's new season, which opens with BRIGHTON ROCK
Now adding a lyrics page to the site. We have only just started adding titles, so no lyrics there yet. But, if you like, you can submit.
As we already announced below, but now with the poster of the occasion:
Tuesday, May 25, 2004, 8:00 PM
Crown Imperial: Music and the Movies
Sergei Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible / John Barry: The Lion in Winter in celebration of the composer's 70th birthday. Live music with film. 7:00 PM Pre-concert conversation: An Interview with John Barry
The screening of two classic films will be accompanied by a live performance of the music for each: Prokofiev's elaborately scored music to Ivan Grozny (Ivan the Terrible), Sergei Eisenstein's spectacular final film of 1945; and, to celebrate his 70th birthday, John Barry's Oscar-winning score from James Goldman's 1968 film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Anthony Hopkins, and Timothy Dalton. Both films feature stunningly beautiful and vivid music for chorus. Timothy Dalton will be host for the evening.
More information here: http://www.collegiatechorale.org/Schedule.htm
Mind you: "All Carnegie Hall concerts will be conducted by Music Director Robert Bass and feature The Orchestra of St. Luke's. "
Many people have wondered whether or not John Barry is the composer of the Mercedes Benz TV commercial "Faithful". For those not familiar with the commercial, here's your chance to hear the music to hear how much John Barry it is.
We have an email reply from the producer of the ad and he writes to us: "The musical score on the commercial is an original composition by Mike Hewer, with Amber music in London. Mike is quite an accomplished composer and works on both feature films and commercials."
So, Poll closed! Results:
Mercedes Faithful TV commercial
Is the music in the Mercedes "Faithful" ad a John Barry composition?
Definitely, there is no doubt about it (6) 25%
Could be, though I am not sure (11) 45%
Absolutely not; good imitation though (7) 29%
Number of votes: 24.
Sony/Columbia is putting out DANCES and CHASE but has cancelled "The John Barry Collection", Columbia.
The Tamarind Seed is showing at the NFT in London on
21st April 2020 NFT3
30 April 1730 NFT2
It's being shown as part of a Sylvia Syms season. Box office 020 79283232
National Film Theatre London showing "Robin and Marion", Part of Audrey Hepburn at the NFT.
Showing at:
NFT1, 4.10 Saturday 20 March
NFT3, 8.45 Wednesday 24 March
Dances With Wolves (expanded), The Chase and The John Barry Collection are now expected to be released on May 18.
We have just learned that: Dances With Wolves "has now been pushed back several months to allow SONY to better promote these titles and their reissue of the soundtrack to the Judy Garland version of A STAR IS BORN which is also going to be reissued at the same time as the Barry titles."
A US online store is expecting the expanded "Dances With Wolves" on February 17. Delayed until further notice.
Content:
1. Looks Like A Suicide (Main Title) - (expanded)
2. Ride To Fort Hays
3. Journey To Fort Sedgewick / Shooting Star / John Dunbar Theme / Arrival At Fort Sedgewick
4. John Dunbar Theme, The
5. Death Of Timmons, The
6. Two Socks (The Wolf Theme)
7. Stands With A Fist Remembers
8. Buffalo Robe, The
9. Journey To The Buffalo Killing Ground
10. Spotting The Herd - (previously unreleased)
11. Buffalo Hunt, The - (previously unreleased, film version)
12. Fire Dance
13. Two Socks At Play
14. Falling In Love - (previously unreleased)
15. Love Theme
16. John Dunbar Theme, The
17. Pawnees / Pawnee Attack / Stone Calf Dies / Toughest Dies
18. Victory - (previously unreleased)
19. Death Of Cisco, The
20. Rescue Of Dances With Wolves
21. Loss Of The Journal, The / Return To Winter Camp, The
22. Farewell And End Title
23. Buffalo Hunt, The - (album version)
24. John Dunbar Theme, The - (previously unreleased, film version)
Liner notes by Jon Burlingame.
Our track-listing comes from a retailer's web-site so one assumes they got the info from Sony.
Also expected on February 17:
"The John Barry Collection", Columbia.
1. James Bond Theme (from Dr. No)
2. Goldfinger
3. Ipcress File, The
4. Midnight Cowboy
5. Main Title (from The Lion In Winter)
6. Salt Lake City Episode
7. From Russia With Love
8. We Have All The Time In The World
9. Born Free
10. Out Of Africa (Theme)
11. Wednesday's Child
12. King Rat
13. Persuaders, The
14. Thunderball
15. Space March (from "You Only Live Twice")
16. John Dunbar Theme
Also expected on February 17:
"The Chase" (Sony), including an alternate take on the Main Title and an additional version of the theme. So we have been told. Delayed until further notice.
Mrs. Barry, speaking recently, said they are all very excited about Brighton Rock which is expected to open late in 2004.
Despite recent stories to the contrary, John's music still appears to be attached to The Incredibles, at least in the form of his themes.
You may be pleased to know that although he missed out on the knighthood again, John Barry is mentioned in "Who's Who" this year for the first time.
(Source - The Times)
Goldfinger, Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die and Moonraker are being shown on the big screen again. Please visit www.cineworld.co.uk for a screen in your area. "Monday Classics", "£2.50 plus tea & biscuits".
If you wish to send an email, for example with content for the website, please:
Send us a message through Facebook
Location
Bristol, UK
Geoff (owner) and Ruud (webmaster) have been running the John Barry website since June 18, 2001. This website is not endorsed by the composer's family. Use of copyrighted materials and logos are for promotional purposes only. All files on this website are for personal use only and cannot be bought or sold.
Please do not ask for permission to use John Barry music or photographs for your project -- it is not within our gift to grant this.
Geoff Leonard writes CD booklet notes, articles, and occasionally books, in partnership with Pete Walker. You can read more about this here: