John Barry Biography
b. Jonathan Barry Prendergast, 3 November 1933, York, England.
Renowned as one of the leading composers of film soundtrack music, Barry began his
career leading the John Barry Seven. This rousing instrumental unit enjoyed several
notable UK hits between 1960 and 1962, the best known of which were "Hit And
Miss' and a version of the Ventures' Walk Don't Run" (both 1960). The former, which
reached number 11 in the UK charts, was the theme to Juke Box Jury, BBC
Television's long-running record release show. Barry made regular appearances on
several early pop programmes, including Oh, Boy! and Drumbeat and also enjoyed
concurrent fame as a writer and arranger, scoring the distinctive pizzicato strings on
numerous Adam Faith hits including the number 1 "What Do You Want" (1959) and
"Poor Me" (on which you can hear strong shades of the "James Bond Theme" in the
arrangement). Barry also composed the soundtrack to Beat Girl, the singer's film
debut, and later took up a senior A&R post with the independent Ember label. In 1962
Barry had a UK Top 20 hit with the "James Bond Theme", which was part of Monty
Norman's score for the film Dr. No, the first in a highly successful series. He
produced music for several subsequent Bond films, including From Russia With
Love, Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice, the title songs from which provided hit
singles for Matt Monro (1963), Shirley Bassey (1964) and Nancy Sinatra (1967).
Such success led to a series of stylish soundtracks that encompassed contrasting
moods and music, including The Ipcress File, The Knack ... And How To Get It (both
1965), Born Free (which won two Oscars in 1966), Midnight Cowboy (1969), and
Mary, Queen Of Scots (1971). Although his theme songs have enjoyed a high
commercial profile, it is Barry's imaginative incidental music that has assured his
peerless reputation. By contrast, he pursued another lucrative direction, composing
television commercials for disparate household items.
Barry's consistency remained intact throughout the 70s and 80s, although several
attendant movies, including the 1976 remake of King Kong and Howard The Duck (a
second rate DC comic character), were highly criticized. "Down Deep Inside", the
theme from The Deep (1977), was a UK Top 5 hit for Donna Summer, and this disco-
influenced composition emphasized the writer's versatility. A View To A Kill (1985),
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), The Living Daylights and Hearts Of Fire (both 1987)
demonstrated his accustomed flair, while his music for Out Of Africa (1985) and
Dances With Wolves (1990) earned him further Oscars and Grammy Awards. In the
early 90s his scores included Richard Attenborough's Chaplin (Oscar nomination),
Indecent Proposal, Ruby Cairo aka Deception and My Life (all 1993), The Specialist
(1994), and Cry, The Beloved Country (1995). His orchestrations combine elements
of classical, jazz and popular themes and command the respect of enthusiastic
aficionados.
In April 1998 Barry conducted the 87-piece English Chamber Orchestra in a concert
celebration of his own movie music at London's Royal Albert Hall, during which he
previewed The Beyondness Of Things, a collection of "string-driven musical poems".
Regarded as more subtle than his film scores, it was Barry's first non-soundtrack work
for two decades. In the following year he returned to the Royal Albert Hall, and also
released the soundtrack album Playing By Heart, which was inspired by the work of
legendary trumpeter Chet Baker. In 2001 Barry composed the score for Enigma, in
addition to recording a new album of non-soundtrack material, Eternal Echoes.
John Barry Discography
* Beat Girl - 1959 (Columbia)
* Stringbeat - 1961 (Columbia)
* Dr. No - 1962 (United Artists)
* It's All Happening - 1963 (Columbia)
* A Handful Of Songs - 1963 (Ember)
* Elizabeth Taylor In London - 1963 (Colpix)
* From Russia With Love - 1963 (United Artists)
* Zulu - 1964 (United Artists)
* Man In The Middle - 1964 (20th Century Fox)
* Goldfinger - 1964 (United Artists)
* Sophia Loren In Rome - 1964 (Columbia)
* The Ipcress File - 1965 (Decca)
* King Rat - 1965 (Mainstream)
* The Knack ... And How To Get It - 1965 (United Artists)
* Four In The Morning - 1965 (Roulette)
* Thunderball - 1965 (United Artists)
* Passion Flower Hotel - 1965 (CBS)
* The Wrong Box - 1966 (Mainstream)
* The Chase - 1966 (Columbia)
* Born Free - 1966 (MGM)
* The Quiller Memorandum - 1966 (Columbia)
* You Only Live Twice - 1967 (United Artists)
* The Whisperers - 1967 (United Artists)
* Deadfall - 1968 (20th Century Fox)
* Petulia - 1968 (Warners)
* Boom! - 1968 (MCA)
* The Lion In Winter - 1968 (Columbia)
* On Her Majesty's Secret Service - 1969 (United Artists)
* Midnight Cowboy - 1969 (United Artists)
* Monte Walsh - 1970 (FSM)
* The Last Valley - 1970 (Dunhill)
* Diamonds Are Forever - 1971 (United Artists)
* Lolita My Love - 1971 (Blue Pearl)
* The Persuaders - 1971 (Columbia)
* Mary Queen Of Scots - 1971 (MGM)
* Alice's Adventures In Wonderland - 1972 (Warners)
* Follow Me - 1972 (Victor)
* The Dove - 1974 (ABC)
* The Man With The Golden Gun - 1974 (United Artists)
* Americans - 1976 (Polydor)
* The Day Of The Locust - 1975 (London)
* Robin & Marian - 1976 (Probe)
* King Kong - 1976 (Reprise)
* The Deep - 1978 (Casablanca)
* Game Of Death - 1979 (Tam)
* The Black Hole - 1979 (Buena Vista)
* Moonraker - 1979 (United Artists)
* Starcrash - 1979 (Durium)
* Somewhere In Time - 1980 (MCA)
* Body Heat - 1981 (Label X)
* The Legend Of The Lone Ranger - 1981 (MCA)
* Frances - 1982 (Southern Cross)
* Hammett - 1982 (Prometheus)
* Octopussy - 1983 (A&M)
* Until September - 1984 (Varese Sarabande)
* Jagged Edge - 1985 (Varèse Sarabande)
* Out Of Africa - 1985 (MCA)
* Peggy Sue Got Married - 1986 (Varese Sarabande)
* Howard The Duck - 1986 (MCA)
* The Living Daylights - 1987 (Warners)
* Dances With Wolves - 1990 (Epic)
* High Road To China - 1990 (A&R)
* Chaplin - 1992 (Epic)
* Moviola - 1992 (Epic)
* Deception - 1993 (Sony)
* My Life - 1993 (Epic)
* The Specialist - 1994 (Epic)
* Cry, The Beloved Country - 1995 (Epic)
* The Scarlet Letter - 1995 (Epic)
* Across The Sea Of Time - 1995 (Epic)
* Moviola II - Action And Adventure - 1995 (Epic)
* Swept From The Sea - 1997 (London)
* Mercury Rising - 1998 (Varese Sarabande)
* The Beyondness Of Things - 1998 (Decca)
* Playing By Heart - 1999 (Decca)
* Eternal Echoes - 2001 (Decca)
(nme.com)
John Barry - Great TV And Film Hits
Subtitle: Original Recordings
01. Theme From The Persuaders
02. Theme From 'Born Free'
03. The James Bond Theme from Dr. No
04. The Ipcress File
05. Goldfinger
06. Midnight Cowboy
07. Thunderball
08. The Lion In Winter (Main Title)
09. From Russia With Love
10. Vendetta
11. You Only Live Twice (Theme)
12. The Knack
13. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
14. The Danny Scipio Theme
15. The Girl With The Sun In Her Hair
16. The More Things Change
Label: Columbia / Sony
Released: 1991
Codec: Flac
Compression Level: 3
Quality: High
My cd-rip (EAC and Flac)
Covers Included
Enjoy, Seed and Share