David Arnold
David Arnold | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 January 1962 Luton, Bedfordshire, England, UK |
| Genres | Film score |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Instrument(s) | Clarinet, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1993–present |
David Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998) and the television series Little Britain and Sherlock. For Independence Day he received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television and for Sherlock he, and co-composer Michael Price, won an Emmy[1] for the 'original dramatic score' to "His Last Vow", the final episode in the third series. Arnold is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
Career
While attending a Sixth Form College in Luton, Arnold became friends with director Danny Cannon.[2] Cannon initially created short films for which Arnold was asked to write the music. The two made their respective major film debuts with The Young Americans. "Play Dead", a song from the film with singer Björk, charted #12 in the UK. The following year he scored Stargate and Last of the Dogmen, with excerpts from the former ranking third in the most commonly used soundtrack cues for film trailers.[3]
Arnold then composed music for Stargate director Roland Emmerich's next two movies, Independence Day and Godzilla, as well as four movies for director John Singleton. In addition, he has scored various comedies, dramas, and nineteenth-century period pieces, as well as providing music for several British television shows including the 2000 remake of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Little Britain. During film production, his compositions are conducted by Nicholas Dodd. In 2010, he composed the music for Come Fly With Me, a British television series from the producers of Little Britain.
He is a member of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA).[4] On Thursday 29 November 2012, Arnold received an honorary degree from University of West London. Now a university honorary, he will work closely with the University in particular London College of Music, a faculty within the institute. In 2014, he appeared as himself in The Life of Rock with Brian Pern.
Arnold performed his debut orchestral concert, showcasing his film and television music, on Sunday 6 July 2014 at London's Royal Festival Hall.[5] The line-up featured Nicholas Dodd conducting, David McAlmont as surprise guest vocalist ("My secret weapon!" said Arnold) and the Urban Voices Collective choir, plus Mark Gatiss and Amanda Abbington introducing the suite of Sherlock music, for which Arnold's collaborator on the project, Michael Price, replaced Dodd. [6]
James Bond
Arnold was a Bond fan from an early age and also a fan of Bond composer John Barry. In 1997, Arnold produced Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project, an album featuring new versions of the themes from various James Bond films. The album featured a variety of contemporary artists including Jarvis Cocker, Chrissie Hynde, Propellerheads and Iggy Pop; a version of You Only Live Twice by Björk was recorded but not included on the album. John Barry, the composer of many of the themes on the album, was complimentary about Arnold's interpretation of his work; "He was very faithful to the melodic and harmonic content, but he's added a whole other rhythmic freshness and some interesting casting in terms of the artists chosen to do the songs. I think it's a terrific album. I'm very flattered."[7] Barry contacted Barbara Broccoli, producer of the then-upcoming Tomorrow Never Dies, to recommend Arnold as the film's composer.[8]
Arnold was hired to score the installment, and scored the four subsequent films: The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.[9] Arnold did not score the 23rd James Bond film, Skyfall, with Thomas Newman taking his place.[10] Arnold commented that Newman had been selected by the film's director, Sam Mendes, because of their work together, rather than because of Arnold's commitment to working with director Danny Boyle as composer for the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, a part of his composition on Casino Royale has been reused in Skyfall.
Arnold also co-wrote the main theme songs for The World Is Not Enough ("The World Is Not Enough" by Garbage) and Casino Royale ("You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell) as well as "Surrender" by k.d. lang which appears during the end credits of Tomorrow Never Dies. Arnold also contributed the main themes to Kevin Kiner's score for Activision's GoldenEye 007, the remake of the 1997 game of the same name.
Other work
He has collaborated with such musical acts as Cast, Kaiser Chiefs, Massive Attack, and Pulp, and solo artists Natasha Bedingfield, Melanie C, Björk, Chris Cornell, Shirley Manson, Mark Morriss, Nina Persson and in 2009 produced Shirley Bassey's album The Performance.
In 2001, he provided a new arrangement of Ron Grainer's Doctor Who theme music for the Eighth Doctor audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. His version was used as the Eighth Doctor theme starting with 2001's Storm Warning until 2008, when it was replaced with a new version arranged by Nicholas Briggs starting with Dead London. Arnold's theme returned to the Eighth Doctor releases with the 2012 box set, Dark Eyes.
Arnold is the second cousin of Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice, and is an ambassador for aid agency CARE International in the UK. He has made minor appearances in two different episodes of Little Britain as separate characters.
In February 2011, it was announced that he was appointed Musical Director for the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.[11]
In May 2011, he was part of the United Kingdom's jury for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.[12]
Arnold took part in a tribute to John Barry on 20 June 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, singing a song that was composed by Barry and playing the guitar part of the James Bond theme.[13]
In 2014, Arnold teamed up with Richard Thomas, to write the music and lyrics for the new West End musical Made in Dagenham.[14]
He is not related to another British musician, David Arnold (conductor).
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Young Americans | Wedding Band | Also composed the score |
| 2000 | The League of Gentlemen | Victorian Gentleman with Fox | TV series (1 episode: "The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special") |
| 2003 | Little Britain | Minicab Controller / Politician | TV series (2 episodes) |
Discography
Films
Television
| Year | Title | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Visitor | Centropolis Television 20th Century Fox Television |
Main theme on pilot episode only Rest of score composed by Kevin Kiner |
| 2000-1 | Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) | Working Title Films | Main theme only (composed with Tim Simenon). Single release by David Arnold and Nina Persson reached #48 (UK). |
| 2001–2002 | UC: Undercover | 20th Century Fox Television | Main theme only Composed with Kevin Kiner |
| 2003 | Bloodlines: The Dracula Family Tree | — | Documentary |
| 2003–2006 | Little Britain | BBC | |
| 2008 | Little Britain USA | 19 Entertainment Reveille Productions HBO Original Programming |
3 episodes |
| 2008 | Crooked House | Tiger Aspect Productions | TV miniseries |
| 2009 | Free Agents | Big Talk Productions Bwark Productions |
— |
| 2010–2014 | Sherlock | Hartswood Films BBC Wales WGBH |
Composed with Michael Price British Academy Television Award for Best Original Television Music Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score) (2010, 2011) |
| 2010–2011 | Come Fly with Me | BBC Little Britain Productions |
|
| 2012 | The Matt Lucas Awards | John Stanley Productions | — |
Video games
| Year | Title | Developer | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | GoldenEye 007 | Eurocom (Wii) n-Space (DS) |
Activision Nintendo (Wii) |
Composed with Kevin Kiner |
Web series
| Year | Title | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2011 | Stiller & Meara | Red Hour Digital | — |
Awards
- Won: Grammy Award – Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television – Independence Day
- Won: Ivor Novello Awards - Best International Film Score for The World Is Not Enough[15]
- Won: Ivor Novello Awards - BASCA Fellowship (2005)[16]
- Nominated: BAFTA Award – Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music – Casino Royale
- Nominated: Grammy Award – Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media – You Know My Name from Casino Royale (songwriter)
- Won: BBC Radio Awards - Best music production - The Sound of Cinema with David Arnold[17]
- Won: (with Michael Price) Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding music composition for a miniseries - Sherlock (His Last Vow)[18]
References
- ^ "66th Emmy Award - press release" (PDF). Emmys. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- ^ "David Arnold". soundtrack.net. Archived from the original on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
- ^ "Top 100 Frequently Used Cues". soundtrack.net. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
- ^ Founder of UBR (18 May 2009). "British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors". The Unsigned band review. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ "David Arnold: Live in Concert - Southbank Centre". Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ http://www.beigeuk.com/2014/07/review-david-arnold-at-the-royal-festival-hall/#comments
- ^ Burlingame, Jon (18 December 1997). "Bonding with the Score: David Arnold blends the traditional with the modern in music for 'Tomorrow Never Dies.'". Los Angeles Times. Times Mirror Company.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Macnee, Patrick (Narrator). The Bond Sound: The Music of 007 (DVD (Documentary)).
- ^ "David Arnold Back For 'Bond 22'". commanderbond.net. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
- ^ MI6-HQ Copyright 2011 (20 October 1955). "James Bond News :: MI6 :: Exclusive: Thomas Newman to compose 'Skyfall' score". Mi6-hq.com. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "James Bond composer David Arnold will be 2012 musical director". The Telegraph. London. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) [dead link] - ^ "UK Reveals Names Of Its Jury". Retrieved 16 August 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Composer John Barry remembered at memorial concert". BBC. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "Gemma Arterton strikes out for Made in Dagenham musical in the West End". theguardian.com. The Guardian. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ "Ivor Novello awards: The winners". BBC News. 25 May 2000. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ Gillespie, Ruth (25 January 2005). "Bond scorer Arnold's Ivor Novello honour". The Stage. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ Barrett, Claire (13 March 2013). "Rawlings the hero at Radio Awards". BBC Ariel. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ "Alan Silvestri, David Arnold & Michael Price Win Emmy Awards". Film Music Reporter. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
External links
- Official website
- David Arnold at IMDb
- David Arnold Twitter feed
- David Arnold Interview at www.reviewgraveyard.com
- BAFTA Video Masterclass with David Arnold
- John Barry Memorial Concert – The James Bond Theme on YouTube
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