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| John Barry at the Royal Albert Hall (2006). (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Royal Albert Hall)
The film Zulu is mostly famous today for its theme music by John Barry and as the film which launched the career of Michael Caine, though it's a very good action film in its own right. John Barry composed this music in 1964. This version was performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the
John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2011.
Nicholas Dodd was the conductor.
2. John Barry: 'Goldfinger' Main Theme
(John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall)
The main theme from Goldfinger (1964),
the most famous of all Bond films,
and starring the original James Bond played by Sean Connery.
The vocal version of this is also very famous, especially the
version sung by Shirley Bassey in the opening credits of the film.
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| Cover of John Barry |
This version was performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2011. Nicholas Dodd was the conductor.
3. John Barry: 'The Ipcress File' Main Theme (John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall)
The main theme from The Ipcress File, one of the better '60s spy films made in the wake of the Bond films. It was released in 1965, and starred Michael Caine a Cockney spy named Harry Palmer. Palmer was a scrappier and more realistic spy than his more glossy cousin James Bond. John Barry wrote the atmospheric and jazzy score for the film. This version was performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2011. Nicholas Dodd was the conductor.
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| Nicholas Dodd |
John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall"
John Barry composed the romantic Rachmaninov-inspired music for this mushy 1980 love story/fantasy cult film. It starred Christopher (Superman) Reeve and the gorgeous Jane Seymour as a pair of starred-crossed (and time-crossed) lovers.
This version was performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2011. Nicholas Dodd was the conductor.
5. John Barry: 'Midnight Cowboy' Main Theme (John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall)
Midnight Cowboy was the Oscar winner for best film in 1969, and it starred Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffmann. The story concerns two male hustlers in New York city. One is a street smart New Yorker aptly named Ratzo Rizzo. The other is a naive Texan recently arrived in the city named Joe Buck. The pair strike up an unlikely and powerful friendship. Since the story dealt with bisexuality and prostitution, it was given an "X" rating at the time (though it has since been re-rated as an "R"), and remains the only "X" rated film ever to win an Oscar for Best Picture. John Barry wrote the famous theme song. This version was performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2011. Nicholas Dodd was the conductor.
6. John Barry: 'The Knack' Main Theme (John Barry Memorial Concert)
At the time of its release in 1965, this British sex comedy made quite a stir, but it seems tame today despite its "X" rating at the time. Director Richard Lester, who had directed the two Beatles movies 'Hard Days Night' and 'Help' was a good choice to make a film about "Swinging London". The film was a big winner at the Cannes Film Festival in 1965. Composer John Barry was also a good fit as the composer, as he was a handsome bachelor who was no stranger to beautiful women and swinging.
7. John Barry: 'Born Free' Main Theme (John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall)
The main theme from Born Free won John Barry an Oscar for Best Song in 1966. The song has been done in countless arrangements, both for singer and as an instrumental. The story concerns lion cubs in Africa. his version was performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2011. Nicholas Dodd was the conductor.
8. John Barry: You Only Live Twice / Sakamoto: Sukiyaki (Kyoto)
The musical soundtrack is by Kyu Sakamoto (Sukiyaki) and John Barry (You Only Live Twice).
9. John Barry: We Have All the Time in the World (sung by Rumer) (Memorial Concert Royal Albert Hall)
The love song from the 1969 Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was originally sung by Louis Armstrong, and it was the only Bond film to star George Lazenby. It is considered one of the Bond films despite this fact. The film also starred Diana Rigg from The Avengers series. This is also the only film Bond film in which Bond got married, though it proved to be short-lived. This version was performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2011. Nicholas Dodd was the conductor and the young British female vocalist Rumer was the singer.
10. John Barry: Tick the Days Off One By One (sung by David Arnold) John Barry Memorial Concert
David Arnold sang this John Barry song, one of the last things he ever wrote, for the John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall on June, 20th, 2011.
11. John Barry: Dances with Wolves - John Dunbar's Theme (John Barry Memorial Concert Royal Albert Hall)
John Barry won a well-deserved Oscar for his sumptuous score to the 1990 Oscar winner for Best Picture 'Dances with Wolves', which was directed by and starred Kevin Costner. This Western followed the story of John Dunbar, an ex-Civil War soldier who went out West to find himself, and in the process befriend a tribe of peaceful Native American Indians.
This version was performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the John Barry M
emorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2011. Nicholas Dodd was the conductor.
12. John Barry: 'Mary, Queen of Scots' Theme (with recitation by Timothy Dalton) Oyster Bay, Morning
John Barry wrote the famous theme song for the 1971 film 'Mary, Queen of Scots' starring Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Dalton. This version was performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the John Barry Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2011. Nicholas Dodd was the conductor. Timothy Dalton narrated this motivation prose poem at that Memorial Concert. John Barry liked to keep these words on his desk at his home at Oyster Bay on Long Island, and referred to it for inspiration while he composed music at the piano.
