For those unaware, bandleader, composer, arranger and producer John Barry was a key figure in the burgeoning rock ’n’ roll scene in the UK during the mid-to-late 1950s and into the ’60s, before going on to become a hugely successful and respected composer of film music, in particular being associated with the themes for the James Bond movies over the years.

His band was very much involved in the early TV pop shows in the UK, and he was at the forefront of the creation of a strand of British guitar-based instrumental rock ’n’ roll to rival the output of the USA. He was closely associated with EMI throughout this era, and this 69-track 2-CD collection (records were very short in that era) comprises most of his A&B sides on Parlophone and Columbia from this era, plus selected titles from the albums Six-Five Special, Drumbeat, Stringbeat and the movie soundtrack The Beat Girl.

It features all his UK hits from these years, including Hit And Miss (the theme of the TV show Juke Box Jury, which he composed), Blueberry Hill, Walk Don’t Run, Black Stockings, The Magnificent Seven and The James Bond Theme. He became a highly significant personality in the world of movie music, and this collection traces his early days as he operated successfully at the heart of the UK pop scene.

Barry’s growth toward James Bond lore is a fascinating one, for sure. During his national service with the British Army in Cyprus, he began performing as a musician after learning to play the trumpet. Upon completing his national service, he formed his own band in 1957, The John Barry Seven. He later developed an interest in composing and arranging music, making his début for television in 1958.<> It was actually around that time that Barry came to the notice of the makers of the first James Bond film Dr. No, who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond given to them by Monty Norman. This started a successful association between Barry and Eon Productions which lasted for 25 years.

Indeed, he composed the soundtracks for 11 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1987, and also arranged and performed the James Bond Theme to the first film in the series, 1962’s Dr. No. He wrote the scores to the award-winning films Midnight Cowboy, Dances with Wolves and Out of Africa, in a career spanning over 50 years. In 1999 he was appointed OBE at Buckingham Palace for services to music. He moved to the United States in 1975 and lived there for the remainder of his life until his death in 2011.

Back in the mid-1960s, Barry had become a celebrity in his own right. Frequently featured in newspapers and fan magazines, he moved in fashionable London circles and enjoyed a high-profile lifestyle. His marriage to actress Jane Birkin in 1965 — though short-lived — attracted considerable attention, linking him to the Swinging London scene. Despite the glamour, Barry often expressed discomfort with the demands of fame, preferring the solitude of the studio to the flashbulbs of the press.

In 2001, Barry became a Fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, and, in 2005, he was made a Fellow of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Tracklisting:
Let’s Have A Wonderful Time; Rock-a-Billy Boogie; Zip Zip; Three Little Fishes; Every Which Way; You’ve Gotta Way; Big Guitar; Rodeo; Pancho; Hideaway; Farrago; Bee’s Knees; Long John; Snap And Whistle; Little John; For Pete’s Sake; Twelfth Street Rag; Christella; Rebel Rouser; Mab Mab; Good Rockin’ Tonight; Hit And Miss; Rockin’ Already; Beat For Beatniks; Big Fella; Blueberry Hill; Never Let Go; Walk Don’t Run; I’m Movin On; Black Stockings; Get Lost Jack Frost; Saturday’s Child; The Magnificent Seven; Skid Row; Rodeo; The Menace; Starfire; A Matter Of Who; Watch Your Step; Twist It; Cutty Sark; Lost Patrol; James Bond Theme; The Blacksmith Blues; The Lolly Theme; March Of The Mandarins; Main Title - Beat Girl; The Off Beat; Lindon Home Rock; Time Out; The Sharks; The City 2000 A.D.; The Stripper; Chicken; Blues For Beatnicks; Blondie’s Strip; It Doesn’t Matter Anymore; Sweet Talk; Moody River; There’s Life In The Old Boy Yet; A Handful Of Songs; Like Waltz; Donna’s Theme; Baubles, Bangles And Beads; Zapata; Rum-Dee-Dum-Dee-Dah; Spanish Harlem; Man From Madrid; The Challenge

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