John Barry news archives.
“Tonight, Andrew Collins shines the spotlight on two composers, starting with the Academy Award-winning Rachel Portman. Her Oscar-winning music for Emma features alongside nominated scores for The Cider House Rules and Chocolat. We’ll also hear some of Portman’s most recent projects, including Belle and Their Finest.
The second film composer to feature is John Barry, with the iconic scores for Born Free, The Lion in Winter, Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves among his rich legacy. Plus some of Barry’s contributions to the James Bond films, such as You Only Live Twice and Thunderball.”
Update 2017-11-13:
We are informed by writer Randall D. Larson that this Starcrash release is a reissue of the BSX edition via BSX's distributor. It shares the BSX content and graphics, and, presumably, his booklet notes.
According to the amazon.co.uk website, Starcrash is to be released again on CD on December 8th.
It is with sadness that we have to report the passing of the TV, stage and record producer, Jack Good, aged 86.
Jack had an enormous influence on British popular music in the late 50s and early 60s, particularly on TV, and it was in the latter category that he first encountered John Barry.
Jack had launched Six-Five Special on an unsuspecting but grateful nation in February 1957. Within a few weeks it became a hugely successful show and as such it was no surprise that it came to the notice of John Barry.
Barry, who had made a demo recording in London as singer/leader of his group, The John Barry Seven, sent a copy to Jack and asked for an audition. Having first decided against it because of the presence of Don Lang & his Frantic Five on the show, Jack changed his mind a few weeks later and hired the band for several appearances.
Adam Faith was another protégé of Jack's, and when he launched an ultimately short-lived stage show of Six-Five Special, he hired both Faith and The John Barry Seven -- a meeting that would have greater significance the following year.
After leaving the TV show in early 1958 following a disagreement with the BBC over its policy, Jack hired the band again for Oh Boy!, his new show for commercial television.
They appeared on ten occasions and apparently would have appeared more often, were it not for the limitations of the stage at The Hackney Empire from where the show was broadcast. Jack's idea was for the JB7 to appear on stage permanently, along with house band Lord Rockingham's XI, so he could switch seamlessly from band to band, depending on the singer, without interruption to the music, but the stage wasn't big enough.
The JB7 and Faith moved on to BBC's Drumbeat series in April 1959, just before Oh Boy! finished its first series. A planned second series did not materialise but Jack produced further shows for commercial TV in Boy Meets Girls & Wham!. He attempted to hire The JB7 once again, for Wham!, but could not come to terms with their agent, Eve Taylor.
Just a few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend a screening of a "found" episode of Oh Boy! Jack Good wasn't there -- to nobody's surprise -- since he has seldom appeared in public since ending his TV career several years ago. However, despite his old age and occasional bouts of ill-health it still came as a shock to learn of his death following a fall.
The DJ and presenter, Pete Murray, did attend the Oh Boy! screening, and he described Jack as the best ever producer of TV pop music shows. Pete didn't work with Jack on Oh Boy! but he certainly did on many episodes of Six-Five Special, and it's hard to argue with his opinion.
I have only seen three episodes of Oh Boy! but that's enough to appreciate Jack's genius of capturing pop music as it was in that era. Many other TV pop shows have followed but none have matched the sheer excitement of singers and groups playing "live" on Oh Boy!, with the innovative camera work and lighting helping to create 25 minutes of non-stop action.
Jack had a brief stint for US TV, producing Shindig!, and also played minor roles in a few films, before returning to the UK and producing stage musicals, such as Oh Boy!, Elvis the Musical and Catch My Soul (loosely based on Othello), with varying degrees of success.
In later years he appeared to lose interest in TV and after becoming a Roman Catholic, lived something of a reclusive life in New Mexico where he also painted.
More recently he returned to the UK and lived on his son's farm in Oxfordshire. He died at home on Sunday night, 24th September 2017. RIP Jack, and thanks for the memories.
Walkabout is being shown at BFI Southbank, London
Well worth seeing on the big screen.
17th October 1820 NFT1
25th October 1815 NFT2
21st November 2050 Studio
27th November 1840 Studio
Body Heat is being shown at BFI South Bank, London
19th October NFT3 2040
22nd October NFT3 1720
Well worth seeing on the big screen.
The L-Shaped Room (1962) is to be released on Blu-Ray by Twilight Time on December 19th.
We don't have any more details at this stage.
Bryan Forbes' 1962 film, 'The L Shaped Room' is being shown at this year's London Film Festival in the 'British Treasures' section.Features two original pieces composed for the jazz club sequences.
14th October 12.30 NFT3
15th October 18.10 NFT3
Sunday 16 July 2017
7.30pm
Venue: Derngate
19-21 Guildhall Rd,
Northampton
NN1 1DP
https://www.royalandderngate.co.uk/whats-on/rpo-film-music-gala/
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is offering you the chance to hear some of the best; from the classic sweeping strings of Out Of Africa, [...] Joining the Orchestra for a special tribute to the composer John Barry will be the sensational singer Alison Jiear, who dazzled audiences on Britain’s Got Talent and starred in Cinderella at Royal & Derngate in 2015. She and the Orchestra will perform some of Barry’s best-known works, including the iconic themes from the Bond films Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever.
• 4K restoration from the original negative
(4K means that the transfer is a 4K scan - on a blu-ray it is of course reflected as 1080p)
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historians Lem Dobbs, Julie Kirgo, and Nick Redman
• Arthur Penn on ‘The Chase’ (1996, tbc mins): previously unseen footage from Paul Joyce’s documentary Marlon Brando: The Wild One
• Matthew Penn on ‘The Chase’ (2017, tbc mins): a new interview with director Arthur Penn’s son
• James Fox on ‘The Chase’ (2017, tbc mins): the renowned actor interviewed by Richard Ayoade
• Super 8 version: original cut-down home cinema presentation
• Isolated Score: experience John Barry’s original soundtrack music
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Christina Newland, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and historic articles on the film
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited Dual Format Edition of 3,000 copies
• More TBC
BBFC cert: 15
REGION FREE
Is the new 2017 Warner Archive release of The Betsy really widescreen? Find out on our Snippets page!
On the 20th June The York Civic Trust honoured John with the award of a Blue Plaque, affixed to the wall of The Pavilion Hotel, Fulford. The hotel was formerly Fulford House, where John lived with his family from 1944 to 1958, at which point he departed for London and fame and fortune.
The plaque was unveiled by John's son, Jonpatrick, who had travelled from America with his mother, Laurie, for the ceremony. They were joined by several members of the Prendergast family, including John's niece and great-nieces, who still live locally.
David Fraser, chief executive of the trust, said: "John Barry lived in what became the Pavilion Hotel from his teens into his twenties.
John learned music from his mother Doris, who was a concert pianist, and from Francis Jackson, the organist at York Minster.
He went on to compose film music that made him world famous, and was globally important – and that all originated here in York."
Dr Fraser added that the Pavilion Hotel was delighted to have the plaque installed, which is easily visible to passers-by.
New Plaque - John Barry
On 20 June a new Trust plaque will be unveiled, celebrating John Barry (Prendergast), the famous film music writer, 1933-2011.The plaque is on the Pavilion Hotel, Fulford, once the Prendergasts' home.
(as found on http://yorkcivictrust.co.uk/)
Over the past few years stories have circulated suggesting that John Barry did not arrange and conduct Matt Monro's 1972 single comprising of "This Way Mary" & "Wish Now Was Then", both based on themes from Mary, Queen of Scots.
The instigator of these stories may have been Richard Moore, the Audio Restoration specialist, in his book about the recordings of Matt Monro, which was part of a special edition of a biography of Matt written by his daughter, Michele.
Wiener Konzerthaus
Lothringerstraße 20, 1030 WIEN
(that's Vienna!)
Samstag 2 Dezember 2017
19:30 Uhr
Großer Saal
Dieses Galakonzert lässt 53 Jahre Bond-Movies live und auf großer Kinoleinwand Revue passieren. Von John Barrys «Goldfinger», «Thunderball» und «Diamonds Are Forever» über «Licence To Kill», «A View To A Kill» und «Goldeneye» bis hin zu «Skyfall» und dem Song des bislang letzten Bond-Streifens, «Writings On The Wall». Spezielle Arrangements für großes Symphonieorchester garantieren neben den Star-Interpreten einen unvergesslichen Abend.
Am 2. und 3. Dezember 2017 werden die legendären Songs und Scores aus den Bond-Movies von den Star-Interpreten Maya Hakvoort, Nazide Aylin und Sandra Pires im Wiener Konzerthaus präsentiert. Dabei werden sie von einem großen Symphonieorchester, ergänzt durch Top-Instrumentalsolisten für den speziellen Bond-Sound, begleitet, während die berühmten Filmszenen auf eine Leinwand projiziert werden. Die Arrangements stammen vom musikalischen Leiter der Galakonzerte, Alex Johansson. Als besonderes Highlight wird Stargast Conchita ihre Lieblings-Bondsongs interpretieren.
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