Sad indeed to hear of the demise of the British composer John Barry. His catalogue of soundtracks is astounding, having worked on so many brilliant movies including Midnight Cowboy, 11 James Bond films,Born Free,Out of Africa,The Ipcress File and Dances with Wolves.
Back in the late nineties he released a compilation for Sony Music and I was enlisted by PR Gary Farrow to do a shot to feed out to the Music Press.
Gary being Gary, a James Bond themed photo was decided upon and I was despatched to Bapty's to hire a suitable firearm complete with silencer.
We arrived at John Barrys' Knightsbridge house one lunchtime and he ushered us into his drawing room hung with exquisite medieval tapestry. He offered us fine red wine and was eager to play Gary a recording he had just finished. It was The Beyondness of Things and I was enthralled.As we listened he explained how one particular track was an autobiographical piece that was inspired by a memory of walking hand in hand with his mother when he was a small child. I have a lump in my throat everytime I hear it now.
Time passed and we took the Promo shot we had planned. Job done we sallied off back to the real world. However I will never forget the brief time I spent in the company of such a modest and charming genius. God Bless you John. RIP.
John Barry
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