News

Please note that although we try to ensure any information placed on this site is accurate, we cannot accept any responsibility should an item of news ultimately prove not to be correct.

For the latest on our new book: John Barry - The Man With The Midas Touch, please visit this page

November 8, 2006

Composer Basil Poledouris dies

We regret to announce the death of Basil Poledouris, fine composer and friend of John Barry.

Mr. Poledouris died from cancer on Wednesday 8th November.

October 8, 2006

Psst, don't tell the RAH...

But here we have a few series of photos taken at the John Barry / Ten Tenors concert. Are yours distinctly different?

photo: Geoff Leonard

September 10, 2006

Two John Barry compilation projects for release later this year

There is exciting breaking news that a record company is working on two John Barry projects for release later this year.

One is intended to be a "Best of" compilation which will be TV-advertised. The other is a very ambitious "definitive" box-set which will contain the highlights of his entire career.

We're told that wherever possible original versions will be used but in some cases that may prove impossible due to missing tapes and licensing problems.

More details will follow as soon as track details can be confirmed.

Latest news, October 9 - the box-set has now been delayed until 2007. This is due entirely to licensing delays and difficulties. The good news is that it has only been postponed, not cancelled.

September 6, 2006

GQ Man of The Year

Just to confirm that the John Barry GQ award was as one of their Men Of The Year. "Inspiration Award".

There is a four page article on the composer in GQ magazine, including pics and album covers.

Photo on website.

September 1, 2006

New Deadfall region 1 release with Barry interview and isolated score.

Fox have informed us that their October (region 1) release of Deadfall will not only include interviews with John Barry & Bryan Forbes, but also an isolated score track!!

This is obviously terrific news for Barry fans (whether or not you bought the CD) and makes this DVD an essential purchase.

John Cork (of James Bond DVD fame) interviewed John Barry at his home. Very nice featurette.

Street date is said to be October 17th and you can already pre-order it from the usual sites, such as amazon.com and competitors. Rejoice, rejoice!!

1 September 2006

"The Living Daylights" is screening at the Empire cinema in Leicester Square, London, every day from 1 - 7 September. 10.40am (that's A.M.!).

August, 2006

Official press release, updated by your hosts:

An evening with John Barry featuring The Ten Tenors

London, Royal Albert Hall, September 28th 2006

To coincide with the upcoming release of their Warner Bros. Records debut album 'Here's To The Heroes', Australian sensations The Ten Tenors will play the Royal Albert Hall on September 28th at An Evening With John Barry.

Legendary composer John Barry, who was executive producer on the album, will introduce the show and will perform as a special guest conductor of selected material. The Ten Tenors will perform alongside The English Chamber Orchestra. Paul Bateman will be the principle conductor.

Tickets will be available from the usual agents priced at £45, £39.50, £35 and £28.50.

Recorded at Abbey Road and produced by Simon Franglen (Russell Watson, Katherine Jenkins), 'Here's To The Heroes' finds The Ten Tenors backing by a 90-piece orchestra and some of the world's leading musicians paying tribute to the compositional film score icon John Barry and his lyricist partner Don Black.

"The Tenors are a great instrument, a unique group," commented Barry. "They are also so diverse with wonderful individual voices as well as a collective sound. Writing for them was a joy because their belief was so constant. A many headed group that pulls together? Doesn't happen often. Having worked with bands and orchestras over the years I know that's a rare commodity."

Having formed in 1995, The Ten Tenors soon established themselves care of a hectic touring schedule in their homeland of Australia. They gained an international audience following a phenomenal special guest appearance at 2002's Eurovision and their crossover sound earned a dedicated following for their live performances the world over. 'Here's To The Heroes' represents their first global album release.

www.thetentenors.com

The Album: Here's to the Heroes

The full track listing is:

1 JUST TO SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN*
2 LES CHORISTES
3 HERE'S TO THE HEROES (Dances with Wolves)
4 WE HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD (OHMSS)
5 BUONGIORNO PRINCIPESSA
6 THERE'LL COME A DAY*
7 PLACES (Out of Africa)
8 YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
9 TICK ALL THE DAYS OFF ONE BY ONE*
10 WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER?
11 SOMEWHERE IN TIME
12 THE GLADIATOR SUITE (NOW WE ARE FREE & IL GLADIATORE)

* new songs by John Barry & Don Black.

- Due for release in Australia & New Zealand on August 26th, 2006
- Due for release in North America on September 12th, 2006
- Due for release in United Kingdom & Europe on September 18th, 2006

Please, click here for a sneak preview of the songs and to watch videos relating to the album.

20 August 2006

"Thunderball" is screening at the Empire cinema in Leicester Square, London, every day from 18th - 24th August. 10.40am (that's A.M.!). Called "Empire Earlies - Thunderball".

Mr. Dave Norris, Senior Projectionist at the Empire, Leicester Square, kindly informs us: Thunderball is back on at the Empire with eon's own new print, its mono but looks stunning on our new BIG screen!

We are showing SPY, DAYLIGHTS, GOLDENEYE in the coming wks also. See you there!

2 August 2006

Two simultaneous John Barry-scored matinees this Sunday (6th August) with "Out Of Africa" at the Curzon Mayfair and "Zulu" at the Curzon Soho, London, both at 1pm.

31 July, 2006

'Follow Me' at the NFT

'Follow Me' is being shown at the National Film Theatre in London on 6.20pm, 20th September and at 8.40pm, 30th September. Both showings are in NFT2. Box Office Tel:020 79283232.

26 July, 2006

Richard E. Grant's Favourite Film Composers Sundays, 2pm

Richard E. Grant's Favourite Film Composers Sundays, 2pm, This Week's Show Sunday July 30 John Barry on ClassicFM.

And yes, we have reported that the photo is of Ennio Morricone. Sigh.

22 July, 2006

We are pleased to say that John's wife has confirmed the concert goes ahead and John will be conducting. We don't know precisely *what* he will be conducting, but it looks as though it is certainly well worth attending!!

22 July, 2006

Congratulations to actor, producer, writer and director Bryan Forbes O.B.E., who celebrates his 80th birthday today.

Bryan and John collaborated on six films and developed a mutual admiration for each other's work.

Bafflingly, neither gentleman has yet received a deserved knighthood.

6 July 2006:

We are very sorry to announce the death of legendary trombonist Don Lusher. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Don was a member of several famous bands, including Ted Heath, The Squadronaires, Jack Parnell and Geraldo.

In addition to this, he played on many recording sessions, including some by John Barry. In 1975 he was a member of the John Barry Orchestra that toured Japan under the management of Sid Margo. He willingly lent us his photo tour memento of this orchestra, which will be reproduced in our updated book.

25 March 2006:

We at johnbarry.org.uk want to give you, the John Barry fans, the opportunity to share your spare CDs, vinyl, cassettes and maybe even DVDs with each other.

Don't worry, we are not advocating a great give-away! No, we are giving you the chance to buy or sell John Barry material at a reasonable price without the hassle of an eBay style auction.

So, anything and everything offered will be at a predetermined set price, and, in the event of a "one of a kind", will be sold on a first come first served basis.

Want to learn more? Go to our for sale / wanted page for all the details. You'll find a few items already up for sale. Don't hesitate to add your own, whether buying or selling!!

10 March 2006:

We would like to wish Corina Brouder (Swept From The Sea vocals) a happy birthday!

10 March 2006:

Don Black has confirmed the news that he and John have written a number of songs which will be recorded by The Ten Tenors, an Australian ensemble.

The recording will begin on the 20th March as the Tenors take a break in the midst of their US tour.

Don said there would be both new songs and old ones written by the duo.

Apparently recording will be split between Air and Abbey Road Studios - both based in London. This is a tactic John Barry has employed previously.

12 January 2006:

The Ipcress File showing at the NFT in London, starting Jan. 13 until Jan 26.

Michael Caine as Len Deighton's working-class spy Harry Palmer, in one of the classics of modern British cinema. UK 1965 Dir Sidney J Furie

12 January 2006:

Body Heat - a statement from JOHN LASHER

"I had a good laugh over the comments on Dan Wallin's master of "BH". Who posts this nonsense on the internet? They should get their facts "straight" beforehand.

The "few year's ago" was over 20-years ago, when Dan Wallin, in fact, DID prepare a master tape under Barry's supervision. But, when he wanted way too much money from me for the transfers, I said to him, "thanks, but no thanks!". I then remixed the multi-tracks myself without Barry at hand, and released the Label X LP (and, later on, the CDs) from that. Barry objected most strongly to my mix, and refused to have anything further to do with the album. He has not spoken to me from that day forward.

Some years later I received a call from Keith Zajeck at Warner Bros. He asked me if I knew where the multi-tracks were, as they wanted to re-mix them for their DVD release. I informed him that they had long since been returned to the vaults at The Burbank Studios. Unfortunately, Warners could not find them (surprised?!).

I then suggested to Keith that he contact Dan Wallin, who would most surely have the stereo LP master which he originally prepared for me. Again, Wallin could not find the 2-track stereo master tapes.

So, you have the "true story" of "Body Heat" and the missing masters. "

04 January 2006:

Lukas Kendal at FSM reports that stocks of Monte Walsh (and certain other items) are low. So if you don't already have this excellent CD, this might be your last opportunity to get it at a reasonable price.

See his announcement at Filmscoremonthly

01 January 2006:

As many of you know, John Barry’s entry into the film music world came courtesy of his relationship with the fledgling pop singer, Adam Faith. It could also be that there are some fans of Adam out there, especially amongst the older ones of us!! In which case you might be interested in a visit to the new web-site currently being created by Barry web-master Ruud Rozemeyer from input by myself and Gareth “hoarder” Bramley.

If I do say it myself I believe this has the potential to be an excellent site. It’s looking rather good already, in fact, so why not have a glance or two at

http://www.adamfaith.org.uk/

and let us know what you think.

30 December 2005:

Lukas Kendall of Filmscoremonthly has put a message in our forum. For those of you who do not read our forum, or may overlook the message, we repeat it here:

<quote>

Hi Folks,

I saw this thread about our new ALICE/PETULIA CD and wanted to explain a few things. The CD contains the LP masters (from the 1/4'' stereo master tapes) for each album, which was all that was available for license, and all that was available to us as far as masters.

While we would love to release other, never-before-available Barry scores, it's increasingly hard to get the rights to them -- and there are master-tape problems for many as well. The Barry scores we released in 2005 -- King Kong and Alice/Petulia -- we were able to get due to our relationship with Warner Music Group who control the album rights.

Personally, I love these two scores and find them very well represented by the LPs. (Years ago I had a home-made cassette that had Deadfall on one side and Petulia, and I am thrilled to have brought both to CD form.) I suppose it's a matter of taste, whether you like Barry's adventure scores or his epics or his more personal, offbeat works (like these two), but I happen to adore all of them. I'd be surprised if anyone reading this post -- a John Barry fan who frequents a forum about him -- bought this CD and was let down.

In any case, thanks for your interest and feedback.

Lukas Kendall

</quote>

15 December:

ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WINDERLAND/PETULIA (FSM)

by John Barry

[quote]

Two Classic LPs on one CD -- Premiere Release.

This premiere John Barry CD features two Warner Bros. albums from a period of great creativity for the composer: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972) and Petulia (1968).

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was a musical telling of Lewis Carroll's famous story, with a star-packed British cast including Peter Sellers, Dudley Moore, Michael Crawford and Ralph Richardson. John Barry collaborated with lyricist Don Black ("Born Free," "Diamonds Are Forever") on the delightful song-score.

Barry characterized the soundtrack as having "almost a Gilbert & Sullivan style, but with a contemporary feeling," but fans will recognize no musical identity except for Barry's own. The score, as wonderfully recorded for the soundtrack LP, includes three ballads, large symphonic pieces, and enjoyable settings of classic Caroll nonsense -- with Barry melodies through and through.

Petulia was Barry's second collaboration with director Richard Lester (following The Knack...and How to Get It), a serious, contemporary drama set in San Francisco starring Julie Christie, George C. Scott and Richard Chamberlain. It is regarded as one of the best films of the era, with a sophisticated flashback structure (and cinematography by Nicolas Roeg) anchored by Barry's melancholy and melodic score.

In addition to the haunting main theme, Petulia features a distinctive figure for saxophones anticipating Diamonds Are Forever, and several pieces of vintage Barry source music -- low-key jazz tunes that rank with the best instrumental music of the era, and echo some of the source cues of the James Bond films.

This holiday present for Barry fans comes with new liner notes by Jon Burlingame, and is remastered from the original 1/4" stereo album tapes.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Music Composed by John Barry, Lyrics by Don Black

1. Overture 4:29
2. Curiouser and Curiouser 2:16
Sung by Fiona Fullerton (Alice)
3. You've Got to Know When to Stop 2:09
Sung by Davy Kaye (Mouse)
4. The Royal Procession 1:44
5. The Last Word Is Mine 2:01
Sung by Michael Crawford (White Rabbit) and Fiona Fullerton
6. Dum and Dee Dance 3:08
Nursery Rhyme
Lyrics by Lewis Carroll
Sung by Fiona Fullerton
7. The Pun Song 3:03
Sung by Sir Robert Helpman (Mad Matter), Peter Sellers (March Hare) and Dudley Moore (Dormouse)
8. I've Never Been This Far Before 2:19
9. Curiouser and Curiouser 2:14
10. I've Never Been This Far Before 2:19
Sung by Fiona Fullerton
11. Medley: 4:15
Off With Their Heads
Sung by Dame Flora Robson (Queen of Hearts)
The Croquet Game
Off With Their Heads
The Moral Song
Sung by Peter Bull (the Duchess)
Off With Their Heads
12. The Me I Never Knew 2:39
13. The Lobster Quadrille 1:46
14. Will You Walk a Little Faster? 1:57
Lyrics by Lewis Carroll
Sung by Michael Hordern (Mock Turtle) and Spike Mulligan (Gryphon)
15. They Told Me 0:54
Lyrics by Lewis Carroll
Sung by Michael Crawford
16. The Me I Never Knew 4:10
Sung by Fiona Fullerton

Total Time: 42:06

Petulia
Music Composed and Conducted by John Barry

17. Main Title -- Petulia 1:57
18. Friends of the Evergreen 2:05
19. Highway 101 2:31
20. A Little Old-Fashioned Nostalgia 2:51
21. Motel 4:50
22. Petulia 3:01
23. Petulia 3:23
24. Comprehendo? 1:59
25. Border Gate at Tijuana 2:38
26. Once Having Been Lovers 3:06
27. Eat Topless 3:29
28. End Title -- Petulia 5:03

Total Time: 37:33
Total Disc Time: 79:48

ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND - A star-studded cast highlights this musical adaptation of the classic fantasy tales of Lewis Carroll. One day young Alice (Fiona Fullerton) takes a nasty spill down the rabbit-hole and finds herself in the bizarre kingdom of Wonderland, where she encounters a number of strange and enchanted characters, including the playful White Rabbit (Michael Crawford), the manic March Hare (Peter Sellers), the mysterious Caterpillar (Ralph Richardson), the Doormouse (Dudley Moore), the imperious Queen of Hearts (Flora Robson), and the quizzical Mad Hatter (Robert Helpmann). The cast also includes Spike Milligan, Peter Bull, Roy Kinnear, and Michael Jayston as Lewis Carroll. "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" won two prizes at the 1973 British Academy of Film and Theatre Awards - for Georfrey Unsworth's photography and Anthony Mendelson's costume design. 1972 PETULIA - Petulia is Richard Lester's ode to the Swinging Sixties: a time of psychedelic instability when neither those who were square, nor those who were hip, really had it right. George C. Scott is Archie Bollen, a divorced San Francisco doctor in the midst of "discovering himself." Julie Christie is Petulia Danner, a peculiar young beauty recently married into an established family. Archie's sterile apartment and detached, bemused manner exemplify his inability to emote. Petulia's forward nature and desperate tenderness betray her fear of her sullen, abusive, pretty-boy husband (Richard Chamberlain). The physician and the newlywed embark on a schizophrenic love affair amid Pepsi references, automated motels, roller derbies, and a cameo by Big Brother and the Holding Company - but they never achieve the daring to truly change their lives. 1968.

[/quote]

14 December:

King Kong on Channel 4

For UK viewers and anybody else who can receive Channel 4:

FILM: King Kong
Channel: Channel 4
Date: Tuesday 20th December 2005
Time: 13:05 to 15:30
Duration: 2 hours and 25 minutes.
Derided at the time, largely because it was produced by the then king of schlock Dino De Laurentiis, John Guillermin's remake of the 1933 classic actually has a lot going for it. The Oscar winning special effects sit happily with the tongue-in-cheek campiness that the three leads play along with and there's a superb John Barry score that is among the best of his long career.

Director: John Guillermin
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, Jessica Lange, John Randolph, Rene Auberjonois, Julius Harris
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1976, 15, 3 Star)

12/17 December:

New SACD of John Barry's score to Frances.

"The wistful, melancholic score for Frances was composed and conducted by five-time Oscar recipient John Barry. Director Graeme Clifford, who believed that his composer of choice was the only person suited for the job, wrote in his original introduction for the 1982 LP release, “I have admired John Barry’s music for many years and had always promised myself that when I made my first picture I would contact John first. And that is what I did. I needed music that was at once romantic and yet underscored the severe emotional stress that pervaded Frances Farmer’s life. Even without the images on the screen, and many months after completing the picture, John’s music still moves me deeply”.

Of particular note to the listener is how Barry’s score reinforces the screenplay, albeit with great subtlety. Never intrusive, but striking nonetheless, are the elegant use of long, sustained chords (a Barry trademark) in the orchestration and an occasional harmonica solo, which the composer informed this writer in 1982, “comments on Frances Farmer’s yearning for things past”. The ascending two-note motif depicting Frances’s inner turmoil, “her cry for help” (Barry, again) intoned by the brass, is of interest too. Barry argued that overuse of the score would call attention to itself.

This is one of Barry’s most noble and haunting works, one which occupies a special place in a notable canon that includes some of the finest scores in the history of the cinema.

The film also boasts an impressive cast; Jessica Lange as the troubled Frances; Kim Stanley as Frances’s mother, Lillian Farmer and playwright-actor Sam Shepherd in the fictionalised role of one Harry York. Lange was nominated for Best Actress by the Motion Picture Academy at the 1982 Academy Awards but she lost to Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice."

This album has been re-mastered for Super Audio CD (SACD). This Hybrid SACD may be played on all CD players.

Track listing:

1. Main Title (4:03)
2. Meeting Harry (2:33)
3. Upset (0:57)
4. Late To Work (1:14)
5. Uproar (1:52)
6. Frances And Doc (1:05)
7. Walk (1:35)
8. Okay, Dad; Mother, Shut up!! (2:51)
9. Sonata In A Major, K.331 (1:46) (W. A Mozart)
10. Bug House (2:29)
11. Free At Last (1:34)
12. Home Again; Things Are Going To Be Slow From Now On (7:13)
13. Epilogue (A Portrait of Frances) (6:43)

THE COMPETITION HAS NOW ENDED
Here are the answers and winners of the FRANCES competition.

1) Graeme Clifford
2) Ruby Cairo
3) Frances Elena Farmer

Most people got this all correct so we had a drawing to pick the five lucky winners. They are:

• Andy Dickenson, Manchester, England
• Machiel Jansen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Jean-Christophe Manuceau, Montgeron, France
• Gordon Reeves, Pennsylvania, USA
• Alistair Kerr, West Lothian, Scotland

We have informed Hot Records and hopefully you'll all be hearing from them shortly. Commiserations to those who did not win, but hey, it's not too expensive to purchase!!

22 November 2005:

Don Black revealed to some of his and John Barry's fans at the "Thunderball 40th anniversary" screening that he and John Barry do want to revisit Brighton Rock. Don agreed that it would be very sad if the Almeida season was the beginning and the end of the show. He said that it would need some rewriting and it was clear from what he said that this hasn't happened yet.

He said that it should tour in the provinces first before any attempt at at a further West End run

Don seemed genuinely surprised by the interest expressed in the show.

Cause for guarded optimism then, but don't expect anything in the near future. [Thanks to Pete Greenhill for the information.]

21 October 2005:

DOCUMENTARY: Matt Monro: The Man With The Golden Voice
Channel: BBC 4
Date: Saturday 22nd October 2005
Duration: 1 hour.
Neil Pearson narrates a documentary telling the story of Matt Monro, the young Londoner born Terry Parsons who became one of the world's most popular ballad singers. Contributors include Paul Gambaccini, Don Black, George Martin, John Barry and Monro's family.

It was an excellent hour-long documentary charting Monro's life and career, accompanied by archive footage, interviews with Don Black, John Barry, Sir George Martin and Monro's family.

Sir George Martin

Matt Monro

But most of it was also accompanied by Barry's music from The Beyondness of Things & The Specialist - or was it Playing By Heart? Anyway, very moody JB, just right for the tone of the programme.

John Barry, OBE

Don Black, OBE

It was on the BBC's digital only channel, BBC4, but well worth a look when it appears elsewhere around the globe.

21 October 2005:

"Zulu": With Some Guts Behind It, The Making of the Epic Movie, Sheldon Hall, now available.

"Zulu": With Some Guts Behind It, The Making of the Epic Movie by Sheldon Hall, hardcover 431 pages (October 24, 2005), Publisher: Tomahawk Press, Language: English, ISBN: 0953192660, was published on 10 October by Tomahawk Press and should be available in bookshops and from online outlets in the UK from this Monday, October 24. Foreword by John Barry, OBE.

The author hopes that "you get to see the book and feel that it has all been worthwhile. Do please get in touch to let me know. Feedback I have received so far has been uniformly positive."

More...

21 October 2005:

Nic Raine is conducting a Bond concert in Quebec in February in aid of the Tsunami and New Orleans charities. It is being organised by Hilary Salzman and Dame Shirley will be singing guess what....

21 October 2005:

We will postpone the book publication "John Barry - The Man With The Midas Touch" until 2007. This gives us two things - 50 years in the business for JB, and 007 in the year. Plus another 13 months for Gareth to find that photo of JB, Brian Matthew & Adam Faith we desperately need for our radio chapter. But we are confident that 2007 will be a great launch year!!

21 October:

12 October 2005:

Yorkshire Greats
The county's fifty finest
by Bernard Ingham

Published 12th October 2005
by Dalesman
ISBN 1 85568 220 6
£19.99 hbk

Bernard Ingham provocatively salutes his top fifty Yorkshiremen and women of all time
explorers, reformers, inventors, scientists, artists and sportspeople - and includes a chapter on the man he sums up thus: "John Barry is not a household name in Yorkshire, though he ought to be because he is the world's most successful film composer".

Order enquiries:
Tel: (+44) 01756 701033
Email: salesNO@SPAMdalesman.co.uk
(remove NO and SPAM around @)
Online: www.dalesman.co.uk

10 October 2005:

Vic Flick was interviewed by James Bond fansite "Universal Exports". You can read the interview on their website .

Official Vic Flick website.

19 September 2005:

Clare Teal on the career of John Barry

Friday 23rd September, BBC Radio 2 at 19.00 BST, Clare Teal on the career of John Barry. Available via Internet.

19 September 2005:

Andy Williams, "Andy Williams"

Curious about the two versions of "Are You In There?" by Andy Williams, based on the love theme from King Kong? Of course you are! Well, now you can get them, at a reasonable price on one CD:

"Andy Williams" - including 8 bonus tracks
Released September 24, 2002 Label: Collectables
ASIN: B00006LHZ1

1. Yellow Beach Umbrella, 2. Sailin', 3. Thank You, Baby, 4. Since I Fell For You, 5. My Lonely Room, 6. Put Your Blues To Bed, 7. If You Ever Believed, 8. Groovin', 9. Tryin' To Forget I Loved You, 10. The Poem, 11. Love Said Goodbye (Bonus Track), 12. One More Time (Bonus Track), 13. Tell It Like It Is (Bonus Track) , 14. Goin' Through The Motions (Bonus Track), 15. Are You There? (Main Theme From 'King Kong') (Bonus Track), 16. Are You There? ((Main Theme From 'King Kong') (Disco Version) (Bonus Track), 17. Jason (Bonus Track), 18. I'll Never Love Anyone Anymore (Bonus Track).

19 September 2005:

Scott Walker , Classics and Collectables

This double CD released at a bargain price contains two tracks from the Barry/Black team - The Me I Never Knew and This Way Mary. It also contains many more Walker "classics", if you're a fan.

Classics and Collectables
Scott Walker (Mercury), Our Price: £9.99
This item will be released on October 3, 2005.

Disc: 1: 1. If You Go Away, 2. I Will Wait For You, 3. In My Room, 4. The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore, 5. It's Over, 6. Joanna, 7. Angels Of Ashes, 8. Mathilde, 9. Winter Night, 10. Orpheus, 11. Jackie, 12. The Bridge, 13. It's Raining Today, 14. Once Upon A Summertime, 15. Such A Small Love, 16. Rhymes Of Goodbye, 17. Big Louise, 18. Next, 19. Til' The Band Comes In, 20. Plastic Palace People, 21. Butterfly, 22. Just Say Goodbye.
Disc: 2: 1. The Me I Never Knew, 2. We Could Be Flying, 3. I Have Dreamed, 4. The Gentle Rain (Stereo), 5. I Still See You, 6. Loss Of Love, 7. Do I Love You, 8. Country Girl, 9. Come Saturday Morning, 10. When The World Was Young, 11. That Night, 12. This Way Mary, 13. Someone To Light Up My Life, 14. The Impossible Dream, 15. Who (Will Take My Place), 16. When You Get Right Down To It, 17. Face In The Crowd, 18. Cowboy, 19. If She Walked Into My Life, 20. All My Love's Laughter, 21. Speak Softly Love, 22. Easy Come, Easy Go, 23. Lost In The Stars.

11 September 2005:

Kenny Clayton releases tribute to Petula Clark and Matt Monro.

Kenny Clayton is releasing a tribute to Petula Clark and Matt Monro that is scheduled to be released on November 21st, 2005.

The new album that Kenny has recorded is a heartfelt tribute to Petula Clark and Matt Monro. The album is entitled: "Kenny Clayton Plays Tribute to Petula Clark and Matt Monro - My Pet Sounds / A Portrait Of Matt". The catalogue number is: KENCC CD001. The album is now available to pre-order from Dress Circle .

The album was recorded at the start of August - the finished product sounds amazing with Kenny at a grand boudoir piano playing the timeless music of both Matt and Petula. Kenny was Matt's musical director between 1967 and 1969 and has been Petula's MD since 1962.

The CD comes complete with extensive liner notes featuring photos of Kenny with Petula and Matt. Kenny has also written a small tribute to Petula and Matt that is featured on the back of the CD booklet.

The tracks on the album are as follows:

My Pet Sounds: Who Am I / I Know A Place / My Love / Sailor / The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener / Romeo / A Sign Of The Times / I Couldn't Live Without Your Love / Here For You / Downtown / Give It A Try A Portrait Of Matt: My Kind Of Girl / Portrait Of My Love / Wednesday's Child / As Long As I'm Singing / Walk Away / Born Free / From Russia With Love / Yesterday / On Days Like These / Softly As I Leave You

Total Tracks: 21; Total Playing time: 77m: 18s

Tim Hutton writes: After long conversations with Kenny we decided that the time was right to release a properly produced CD of Kenny playing piano of songs made famous by Petula Clark and Matt Monro.

The first song to be recorded that day was "A Portrait Of My Love" which reduced Kenny to tears as he has such wonderful memories of working with Matt. He misses Matt very much. Kenny arrived at the studio with no sheet music and played straight from the heart - the sound engineer commented that day that a pianist of Kenny's calibre is extremely rare.

Recently Kenny was thrilled to find that the Matt DVD "One Voice" featured himself as Matt's MD. What a find!

The Petula songs featured on the album are very much part of what Kenny does today and has been doing since 1962. Currently Kenny is in America with Petula and Andy Williams at the Moon River Theatre performing in a series nightly concerts for 6 weeks.

Kenny Clayton
www.kennyclayton.co.uk

11 September 2005:

John Scott in concert

Film Composer John Scott will be conducting two concerts in November, both in Los Angeles at the International Cultural Center, Scottish Rite Auditorium, on Wilshire Boulevard.

The first, on November 3, will be a performance of the classic silent film Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde starring one of the truly great actors of the silent period, John Barrymore. It will be screened in synchronization with live orchestra on stage.

For the supporting item Mr. Scott plans to compose a new score for another classic silent movie by Geo Méliès, Trip to the Moon. This film has the unique character of utilizing a narrator instead of dialogue boards. This will be the premier performance of this film with this score.

The second concert, on November 17, will feature the full Hollywood Symphony Orchestra performing the first movement of Vaughan-Williams' Sinfonia Antarctica composed for the epic feature film Scott of the Antarctic.

There will also be a performance of symphonic suites from the films 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Rocket to the Moon, Final Countdown, Greystoke - Legend of Tarzan, 2001 - A Space Odyssey, Elvira Madigan and Death in Venice.

The finale will be a new symphonic suite adapted from the score for Peter Snell's and Charlton Heston's Antony and Cleopatra with live actors reciting Shakespeare's wonderful dialogue as delivered by Mark Antony, Cleopatra and Enobarbus.

The Hollywood Symphony Orchestra Society, in collaboration with the Film Music Society, are already planning more concerts in the following year which will include a seminar for film music composers.

31 August 2005: To all who sent messages through forms on this site: I just discover I forgot to change my email address in the mailit.php file to my new address, so all your message sent to me never arrived here. Luckily they were all still on the server so I have got them now! Apologies to all!

Ruud (webmaster).

23 August 2005:

There will be a 'special' radio programme "John Barry - From Bond To Beyond" on Monday 29th August, Bank Holiday, 12:00 - 13:00, on BBC Radio Bristol, at noon, including contributions from the man himself. Presented by Steve Massam.

Rob Snow lets us know: "This programme was recorded just after The Beyondness Of Things was released and first aired on Radio Humberside back in 1999." Thank you Rob.

Listen to the announcement. MP3.

01 July 2005:

John Lasher has informed us that "the SACD is hybrid, so it will play on anything." We are checking Hot Records for the exact release date.

24 June 2005:

Frances for re-release

In a surprise move, John Lasher’s Didgeridoo label has decided to re-release John Barry’s Frances score, this time in SACD format. Whereas it is unlikely to contain any additional music, this might prove an opportunity for those who were unable to obtain copies of the previous ‘Gold’ CD release of a few years ago.

24 June 2005:

Vic Flick back in Bond mode

Vic Flick has told of his involvement in the forthcoming From Russia With Love video game. Apparently he has lent his distinctive guitar sound to the score by Chris Lennertz, who is looking to recapture the style and sound of the original film score. Welcome back Vic, things have been awfully dull without you!!

09 June 2005:

News spread fast across the internet last week: "John Scott will compose the music for the Basic Instinct sequel."

This is totally incorrect.

Mr. Scott, who worked extensively on John Barry recordings in the past, is not doing the music. He has personally denied any involvement to me. Point is that two sources mixed him up with an editor working on the same film (sources to Mikael Carlsson's website).

However, Mr. Scott *is* still very active, working on concerts: Two Hollywood Symphony Orchestra concerts on 3rd November and 17th November. The events will be staged at International Cultural Center, Scottish Rite Temple, Wilshire Boulevard., a beautiful and well situated venue (1800 seats).

Mr. Scott will also write a few "Rosemary and Thyme" episodes.

27 May 2005:

BBC commission Matt Monro documentary.

We can exclusively reveal that the BBC are preparing a one-hour documentary on the life of the late, great Matt Monro.

The programme is tentatively scheduled for broadcast in September on BBC 2 / BBC 4 and should include contributions from George Martin, John Barry, Don Black amongst many others.

27 May 2005:

We are delighted to announce that the soundtrack specialist FSM are releasing John Barry's 'King Kong' on CD. This will be a premiere (legal) release for the album, and although there is no extra music, the sound quality is excellent.

The booklet also benefits from liner notes written by Geoff Leonard, Pete Walker & Steve Woolston.

King Kong (1976) Composed By: John Barry
Item #/Label: FSMCD Vol. 8, No. 8
Available from Screen Archives $16.95

track list:

Music Composed and Conducted by John Barry

1. The Opening 2:14
2. Maybe My Luck Has Changed 1:48
3. Arrival on the Island 2:43
4. Sacrifice -- Hail to the King 7:06
5. Arthusa 2:18
6. Full Moon Domain -- Beauty Is a Beast 4:22
7. Breakout to Captivity 4:06
8. Incomprehensible Captivity 2:52
9. Kong Hits the Big Apple 2:33
10. Blackout in New York/How About Buying Me a Drink 3:20
11. Climb to Skull Island 2:26
12. The End Is at Hand 1:41
13. The End 4:24

Total Time: 42:30

King Kong is one of Hollywood's most legendary creations, from the groundbreaking 1933 original to the highly anticipated Peter Jackson remake. In 1976 producer Dino De Laurentiis struck box-office gold with his own incarnation of the story, starring Jeff Bridges, Jessica Lange, and a colossal forty-foot model of Kong. The film was a massive production with ambitious special effects.

Scoring the remake of one of the most famous films in Hollywood history was one of the few composers with the clout and talent to forge ahead with his own style: John Barry. The original's Max Steiner had practically invented the film score genre with the project, yet Barry was known for a completely different approach -- eschewing "Mickey Mousing" in favor of melody, mood and large-scale symphonic structures.

De Laurentiis had sought out Barry for the composer's romantic touch, and Barry responded by making the centerpiece of his score a gorgeous love theme that evoked the "beauty and the beast" angle of the story rather than the widescale destruction -- although Barry's James Bond experience helped in casting the tragedy, menace and suspense with symphonic grandeur. The score produced one of Barry's loveliest themes and is one of his signature works of the '70s, completely different from the Steiner score but with an avid following all its own.

This premiere CD of the 1976 King Kong features the original Reprise Records program of the soundtrack, running 42:30. Although collectors may have acquired a CD of this title on the "Mask" label, that album was an unauthorized edition believed to be mastered from an LP -- FSM's release is the first official CD mastered from the original 1/4" stereo album tapes.

King Kong (1976) is an example of a soundtrack where the album rights are held by a different corporate family than that which distributed the film itself; therefore, we are unable to expand or remix the music beyond the original LP edition. We are offering the CD at a lower price ($16.95) as a result, and have made every effort to ensure the best-possible sound. This is, at last, the first authorized CD of one of John Barry's best-known works. Liner notes are by Barry experts Geoff Leonard, Pete Walker and Stephen Woolston.

04 May 2005:

The Platinum Disc Corp people who ruined that first Alice's Adventures release appear to have given the same treatment to Svengali. It will be cheap but extreme caution is advised. We cannot guarantee that this is a legitimate release.

03 May 2005:

National Film Theatre, London, Jane Fonda season: 'The Chase': Sat 11th June 1745 NFT1, Wed 15th June 2020 NFT3.

08 March 2005:

Visitors to the John Barry page on the IMDb website may have seen this mentioned recently:

Sprung! The Magic Roundabout (2005) (song "Wonderful World") ...
aka Pollux - Le manège enchanté (France)

Composer Mark Thomas (session player on A View To A Kill) has assured us that this is an error: "There is no music by John Barry in Sprung ! The Magic Roundabout - ... this is accurate information - some source tracks were used in the film but none by John Barry..."

6 February 2005:

The Dutch radiostation Concertzender announces for next Saturday, February Feb. 19 (21:00 Amsterdam Time =CET) in their series Unheard Scores The Horse Whisperer rejected score by John Barry. The English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Barry.

Note: This was an integral broadcasting of the The Beyondness Of Things CD; no commentary whatsoever.

15 February 2005:

The BAFTA website has an article on John Barry. You can find it here: http://www.bafta.org/Film2005/index.html Then click on link "Articles" and then link "Perfect Score". And then "Read on..."

12 February 2005:

John Barry receives the Fellowship of the British Academy. Virginia McKenna read the citation and Richard Lord Attenborough made the introduction and presented the award. More and larger pics here...

More and larger pics here...

10 February 2005:

John Barry receives "Academy Fellowship"

"Bond composer rails against successors. Modern scores meaningless, says Oscar-winner"

On Saturday, February 12, John Barry receives the "Academy Fellowship" at the Baftas for an outstanding lifetime contribution to cinema.

These awards *are* meant to be secret, I'm sure .. and your Webmaster and site-owner were informed of the forth-coming award last week but were asked not to announce it before the event. Ah well, it seems JB has decided to break the news himself via the media in an interview in The Guardian.

Whereas we admire his candour, it's probably not the best way of making friends and influencing people! In lashing out not only at his fellow composers but also directors and producers, it begs the question "who will hire him now?"

We, of course, congratulate John for this wonderful honour. We wish we could be there to witness the event first hand but will make do with our seat in front of the TV on Saturday evening!

In the Guardian interview, Barry also rails against his successors: "Modern scores (are) meaningless" and comments on whether he "could be tempted to write a score for Casino Royale, " the new James Bond movie to be made for release in 2006.

22 January 2005:

Have a look at our new "bootbusters" page reporting bootleggers (illegal sellers of John Barry's work). Please reports boots, with the source. We do *not* look for them ourselves on place such as ebay.

20 December:

Added a poster page to the website.

18 December:

‘The Session Man - the story of Bobby Graham’ - book

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!!

17 December:

In addition to the previously reviewed Platinum Corp and Aussie DVDs ofd 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.

09/20 November:

"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! "

Direct ordering link

06 November:

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.

22 October:

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.

10 October:

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."

15 September:

Interview with John Barry in The Guardian

02 September:

Sunday Night at the London Palladium (with the John Barry 7), was shown at the National Film Theatre on Tuesday, August 31 [ more... ]

19 August: Elmer Bernstein dies, 82

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.

06 August: New Radio 2 shows with possible JB connections....

Elaine Paige

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

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.

22 July: Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004)

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.

01 July: 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

27 June: Born Free - original soundtrack released on CD

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."

18 June: Born Free - original soundtrack to get CD release?

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!

14 June: Bryan Forbes, CBE

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

06 June:

THE LION IN WINTER live to film at Carnegie Hall review by Jon Burlingame.

26 May: It's now official: John Barry's music will not be featured in The Incredibles. See Barry & Prokofiev in Carnegie Hall

26 May:"Lion" Roars in New York: Barry & Prokofiev in Carnegie Hall. John Barry's celebrates his 70th birthday in style. By Michael Storck.

23 May: "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.

15 May: 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."

10 May: Hot off the press comes news of the Almeida Theatre's new season, which opens with BRIGHTON ROCK

08 May: 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 here.

07 May: 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. "

22 April: 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:

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.

21 April: Sony/Columbia is putting out DANCES and CHASE but has cancelled "The John Barry Collection", Columbia.

23 February: 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

07 February: 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

06 February: Dances With Wolves (expanded), The Chase and The John Barry Collection are now expected to be released on May 18.

26 January: 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."

23 January: 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.

15 January: Mrs. Barry, speaking recently, said they are all very excited about Brighton Rock which is expected to open late in 2004.

15 January: 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.

15 January: 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)

12 January: 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".

2003:

Upcoming DVD releases now on separate page .

23 December: Some time ago we ran a poll about whether John Barry would finish The Incredibles and or Brighton Rock. It started with "If in good health, John Barry will finish..." and then the titles.

People have picked up this "in good health" bit and misinterpreted it as meaning something. No. Nothing at all. So, let's just forget about it.

12 December: Sorry to say I just heard that Sid Margo died a Sunday November 23. The information came by way of Sheldon Hall, who is writing a book on the making of ZULU. He was given the news by Michael Firman, whose father, Alec, often led John Barry's orchestras. I have no further details.

Sid was a charming man, and for those who don't know, he 'fixed' John Barry's orchestra (and many others) for recordings for around 25 years. I met him only once when he spent a couple of hours describing in some detail how he worked with JB. He also told me how he once solved a problem for Michael J. Lewis when they were recording 'The Man Who Haunted Himself', by purchasing a number of bottles from a local Woolworth store and partly filling them with water. I'll leave it to the experts to decide what part of the score they appeared in and how they were played!!

Incidentally, Sheldon hopes to cover every aspect of the film's production, including of course the score, and has already interviewed John Barry about this.

Which is more than I have .....

11 December:

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.

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. "

07 December: Slippage, article by Terry Walstrom

02 December: Have you ever wondered how some of his films were received by the critics at the time of their release? Well, here is a rare opportunity to examine reviews from the pages of the sadly defunct Films and Filming magazine.

Some are quite long, very detailed and don't necessarily mention the music, but are fascinating none-the-less.

Those with attention span problems would probably be advised to give this a miss. Over the next few weeks we will be publishing a selection of these reviews.

Your comments will be most welcome on our new improved discussion board. Links to the reviews are added on the filmography pages, underneath the dvd/vhs sections.

02 December: New article by Terry Walstrom: "John Barry takes action (as does Goldsmith)"

28 November: Please have a look at our brand new discussion forum. We consider it a step up in quality from the previous one and hope you will enjoy your time spent here. Please keep discussion strictly confined to the subject of John Barry and his music.

30 November: Following composer Michael Giacchino's announcement that he is scoring The Incredibles, John Barry's role has become unclear. When we have any official news we will add it.

24 November: Please have a look here:

http://www.michaelgiacchino.com/EPMnews.html

It says: "November 24th, 2003 Upcoming Projects... Michael has been officially signed as the composer of PIXAR's next animated feature, The Incredibles, directed by Brad Bird (Iron Giant). The film is set to be released November 5th, 2004. "

13 November: A new article: "Action" music - the evolution - By Terry Walstrom

03 November: According to Film Score Monthly (forum), the expanded Dances With Wolves CD is expected in the first quarter of 2004.

15 August: In October, Sony will re-release Dances with Wolves with additional music. The running time will be closer to 75 minutes, compared with the original of 53 minutes. The noted writer, Jon Burlingame, has written substantial liner notes to accompany it, approved by the composer.

Sony is also planning to re-release "The Chase", though no news is yet available as to whether this might have extra music or of a likely release date.

There is also breaking news of another, rather unexpected, John Barry CD release, but as yet we can say no more about this project. Let the speculation begin, but don't expect anything to be confirmed or denied by your web-site hosts!!

24 July: John Barry is in the recording studios next week finishing off an un- named project. There is a good chance he will be conducting a suite of his music from 'The Lion In Winter' (with chorus) at a charity event in New York, later in the year.

He and Laurie are currently reading a copy of the book, 'John Barry - The Man With The Midas Touch' and will be making suggestions, answering questions and providing photographs from their personal collection.

Meanwhile, work on 'The Incredibles' and 'Brighton Rock' continues. The latter is likely to open next year at the Almeida Theatre, Islington, London, where Michael Attenborough (son of Richard) is artistic director. It is hoped that it will eventually transfer to the West End of London and then to Broadway.

06 July: In a startling development, David 'Sherlock' Stoner at Silva Screen has tracked down the current ownership of the film of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'.

It is controlled by a London-based company known as London Films. That's the good news. The less good news is that it was among a package of films they leased out to another UK DVD company a few years ago, who, to date, have shown no sign of actually releasing it.

The slightly better news is that the lease will expire in a year or two and in the meantime London Films are trying to retrieve it on the grounds that if the company concerned aren't going to issue it, they could market it elsewhere.

So, watch this space for future developments.

04 July: With more concrete news of Brighton Rock, the musical, we thought this was an appropriate time to create a page dedicated to John Barry's stage musicals. We hope this will prove both entertaining and informative.

26 June: Fascinating to read that Film Score Monthly is releasing the score, or should I say scores, to Lumet's 1969 film, The Appointment.

As a Barry fan I've always known that there were two versions of this film in circulation, one with a Barry score and another containing music and songs by Stu Phillips. However, apparently, the real story is that Michel Legrand wrote the original score which was tossed out by the studio (sound familiar?) and Barry then wrote some themes which were adapted and orchestrated by Don Walker before Harry Rabinowitz conducted the recording in London - a bit like the arrangement Barry had with Ken Thorne a year or so later. This was Lumet's approved version.

However, when the film finally got a US release, in 1972, it was a shortened version which premiered on TV. For whatever reason, they got Stu Phillips to write something more contemporary for it.

Anyway, FSM's release contains all 3 scores for a total running time of 77 minutes. It will be fascinating to hear which works out the best and particular to hear what Legrand wrote. How curious that 7 years later he once again had a score replaced by JB, with Robin and Marian.

More details about the CD can be found on the FSM website.

24 June: A 1971 interview with John Barry, around April 1972: A chat With The Composer - Arthur Knight interviewed John Barry about Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

08 June: 'Black Goes With Everything.' Geoff Leonard reviews Don Black's authorized biography "Wrestling With Elephants". The first review on the web?

08 June: Terry Walstrom has a new article: "No electronic keyboards and software for this veteran gentleman!" - By Terry Walstrom.

06 June: English Heritage Picnic Concerts Highlights this summer will a James Bond night hosted by Honor Blackman at Audley End: official website page . AUDLEY END, SAFFRON WALDEN - Music from the Movies – A James Bond Night Sunday 3rd August 7.30pm.

06 June: BBC Proms concerts have a little bit of Barry in one of their concerts, Saturday 16 August.

28 May: More about The White Buffalo:

Music Composed, Conducted, and Produced by John Barry. Performed by The Hollywood Symphony Orchestra.

J. Lee Thompson directs Charles Bronson in this strange western variation on Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Bronson plays a man named James Otis, who is disturbed by dreams of a giant white buffalo. He returns to the west under his new name --Wild Bill Hickok. Amongst his travels, he meets Chief Crazy Horse (Will Sampson), who is roaming the plains in an obsessive search for the giant white buffalo that killed his young daughter. Chief Crazy Horse wants to slay the beast in revenge for his daughter's death, and Wild Bill Hickok teams up with him to hunt down the giant white buffalo. Also stars Kim Novak, John Carradine, and Slim Pickens. 1977

1. THE WHITE BUFFALO 2:15
2. MAIN TITLE 3:59
3. MR. OTIS 0:27
4. CHARLIE ONE-EYE 1:40
5. BUFFALO RAMPAGE 0:53
6. MOURNING WORM/BUFFALO BONES 1:59
7. DEAD MINERS/FETTERMAN 1:36
8. UP FRENCH CREEK/BEIN AFRAID 2:07
9. EATIN' CROW/SNOW WALK 1:53
10. 'OL" NICODEMUS 1:02
11. KILLER FIRES 1:08
12. HANG A WOODEN SUIT/CAPITAL EXPANSION 2:02
13. NIGHT VISITOR 1:17
14. STILL BEIN AFRAID 2:05
15. THE PLACE/BUFFALO CHARGE 2:06
16. OHINYAN/END CREDITS 4:57

Bonus Tracks
17. JENNY WEEDS 0:32
18. LOST MY BET 1:19

Source Cues
Arranged, Conducted and Produced by David Shire
19. CAMPTOWN MEDLEY #1 1:53
20. CAMPTOWN MEDLEY #2 1:37

Total Time: 37:37

21 May: Here is a first, exclusive, look at the cover of "The White Buffalo", the forthcoming release from Luc van de Ven's Prometheus label. If you don't like it, don't worry, apparently there will be an opportunity to display an alternative cover by re-folding the booklet!

21 May: Added: reviews of Enigma and the Silva Screen rerecording reviews of The Lion In Winter, The Last Valley and Robin And Marian that used to be on my old deleted Play It Again website.
Also added are photos taken by me at the recording sessions of Silva's re-recording of Robin & Marian in Prague: Prague 1 and Prague 2

18 May: New musical by former JB7 pianist, Les Reed: "The Beautiful And The Damned".

John Barrowman, Helen Anker, Patti Boulaye, David Burt, Jo Gibb, Sarah Lark and Jane Lucas are to star in the premiere of The Beautiful And The Damned, a musical about the troubled life of writer F Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. It will play a prospective pre West End season at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford from 16th to 28th June. The book is by Kit Hesketh Harvey, and music and lyrics by Roger Cook and Les Reed, with additional material by Phil Willmott, who also directs. The show is produced by Laurence Myers and Charles and Mary Dobson.

28 April: New article: John Barry profile for Ritz magazine/ revised 3/03 - By Jon Burlingame.

28 April: Announced on the screenarchives website: JUNE 1ST FOR NEXT PROMETHEUS CLUB RELEASE: John Barry's THE WHITE BUFFALO, Label: Prometheus PCR 518, total time TT of this release is 37:37 mins. Prometheus Records

24 March: Shirley Bassey to star at the International Music Eisteddfod. Festival web site is at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk

10 March: We have added a feature linking us to the IMDb showing which of JB's films are on TV in the US and UK. Opens in a new browser window.

8 March: "Actor Adam Faith dies. Sixties actor and pop star Adam Faith has died from a heart attack, his agent has said." More on BBC website

Adam Faith, Tributes (BB3C)

The Adam Faith Story, 1940 - 2003, Geoff Leonard and Pete Walker.

Link to the Adam Faith website

4 March: With all the discussion about the newly expanded Bond releases, we thought it might be fun to find out who has bought what, so far. For the purposes of this poll, only the vintage soundtracks are listed - i.e. Dr. No to The Living Daylights: Which of these vintage remastered and/or expanded Bond titles did you buy?

1 March: Photos of You Only Live Twice recording session

28 February: A selection of photos (Photos 2) involving John Barry in some capacity. Many are poor quality, having been scanned from very old newspapers and magazines, but we thought they might prove interesting. If you have any you would like to add, please send them to geoffleonard @ imdb.com (please combine).

23 February: Bond soundtrack re-issues; an overview - Geoff Leonard

22 February: a review by Andy Dickenson of the new expanded CD of You Only LiveTwice

17 February: About the James Bond soundtracks: EMI will be releasing the new series in the UK and Europe on March 31st.

8 February: a review by Matt Manning of the new expanded CD of Diamonds Are Forever

7 February: a review by Matt Manning of the new expanded CD of OHMSS

Older news pre 2003

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