John Barry Interview
Moore Not Less
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From MI6.
Composer John Barry talks 007 - 'Lazenby was the worst Bond ever'
http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=4884
The Observer Music Monthly supplement conducted a brief interview with legendary James Bond composer John Barry this month.
OMM: How did you first get involved with the Bond movies?
John Barry: I was called up and told they were making the Bond movies. I hadn't read the books. All I knew was the Daily Mail's James Bond cartoon strip. I did Dr No without ever seeing the movie. I was a big bebop fan and wrote a bit for the film and it all came together. It was a huge hit and that was the start of it. We did Dr No, then From Russia With Love. But it was with Goldfinger that I got to do the whole thing. I wrote the song for Shirley (Bassey) and the whole score. I was called to the offices afterwards and Harry Saltzman (co-producer of Bond) said: 'That's the worst f*****g song I've ever heard. We open in three weeks and if I had time I'd throw it on the crap heap.' The song runs throughout the whole movie. It's what I do; use the theme in variations as a hook throughout the film. It gives the audience some sort of lead from one scene to the next. It really works.
OMM: Which is your favourite Bond soundtrack?
JB: Well, Goldfinger because it was the first big hit all over the world. George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service was probably the worst Bond ever, but it's one of the best scores. He was so bad I felt I had to make up for it with the music. I think I was fortunate enough to be at the beginning of Bond with the classic style. I did about 11 of them and then checked out. I wanted to move on and do something else.
OMM: What do you make of modern scores?
JB: Spielberg and John Williams do some fantastic stuff together, but the golden era of songwriting is over. The most important thing is, will this get radio play, not whether it'll fit the movie. It's not the movie scoring as I understand it.
Composer John Barry talks 007 - 'Lazenby was the worst Bond ever'
http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=4884
The Observer Music Monthly supplement conducted a brief interview with legendary James Bond composer John Barry this month.
OMM: How did you first get involved with the Bond movies?
John Barry: I was called up and told they were making the Bond movies. I hadn't read the books. All I knew was the Daily Mail's James Bond cartoon strip. I did Dr No without ever seeing the movie. I was a big bebop fan and wrote a bit for the film and it all came together. It was a huge hit and that was the start of it. We did Dr No, then From Russia With Love. But it was with Goldfinger that I got to do the whole thing. I wrote the song for Shirley (Bassey) and the whole score. I was called to the offices afterwards and Harry Saltzman (co-producer of Bond) said: 'That's the worst f*****g song I've ever heard. We open in three weeks and if I had time I'd throw it on the crap heap.' The song runs throughout the whole movie. It's what I do; use the theme in variations as a hook throughout the film. It gives the audience some sort of lead from one scene to the next. It really works.
OMM: Which is your favourite Bond soundtrack?
JB: Well, Goldfinger because it was the first big hit all over the world. George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service was probably the worst Bond ever, but it's one of the best scores. He was so bad I felt I had to make up for it with the music. I think I was fortunate enough to be at the beginning of Bond with the classic style. I did about 11 of them and then checked out. I wanted to move on and do something else.
OMM: What do you make of modern scores?
JB: Spielberg and John Williams do some fantastic stuff together, but the golden era of songwriting is over. The most important thing is, will this get radio play, not whether it'll fit the movie. It's not the movie scoring as I understand it.
Comments
"It fits!" said Lazenby, while Barry thought "What do you think I do for a living? Christ, we've got a real brain going here".
Lazenby's suggestion that Blood Sweat And Tears perform "We Have All The Time In The World"- instead of Louis Armstrong- also did not endear him to the composer.
Barry's disagreements with Saltzman were numerous and legendary- at one point JB practically threw Saltzman out of his flat for complaining that the title song for DAF ("Touch it, stroke it and undress it") was pornographic!
His bad feeling re Saltzman was one reason why he didn't score LALD.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
"Moviola" was originally intended for the Streisand film, and parts of his album "The Beyondness Of Things" started life as the score for The Horse Whisperer.
During the famous court case over the writing of the "James Bond Theme" JB was called to give witness, causing us to frantically whisper "Just don't swear, John, please don't swear". Fortunately he didn't
Why do I feel that you have got some great stories to tell ?
Perhaps oneday ?
Sir Miles, please check your PMs
Interesting...does this mean you've met him?
Yes, although I doubt if he'd remember me- it was five years ago now, and he's slightly
I do feel a bit sorry for Lazenby, it's like he unwittingly rubbed everyone up the wrong way. That can happen when you're in a new area and everyone's a bit territorial and you're a bit enthusiastic. Imagine a new Bond on DAD! "Well, that invisible car is rubbish, awful CGI..." and everyone who say, who are you, pal?!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Stop picking on me!!!
Oh, nevermind.