Adrian Johnston (born 1961) is an English musician and composer for film and television, who resides in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and Samois-sur-Seine.

Biography

Born in the county of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, Johnston attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

, studying English. He has been a drummer in bands including Moles for Breakfast,

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

, the Wanglers, Combo Zombo, and

The Mike Flowers Pops The Mike Flowers Pops (also known as MFP, The Pops or The Mike Flowers Pops Orchestra) are a British easy listening band fronted by Mike Flowers (real name Michael Roberts). Mike Roberts was born in Liverpool in 1960, now married with 2 childr ...

. During his twenties, he travelled the world providing music accompaniment to silent films at film festivals. He later scored productions for the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

and the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. Johnston's first film score was for the 1996 Thomas Hardy adaptation '' Jude''. He has also composed original scores for ''

Becoming Jane ''Becoming Jane'' is a 2007 biographical romantic drama film directed by Julian Jarrold. It depicts the early life of the British author Jane Austen and her lasting love for Thomas Langlois Lefroy. American actress Anne Hathaway stars as the ...

'', a 2007 film about

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

, and the 2008 adaptation of

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

's ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

''. In 2008, he was awarded a BAFTA for the score of the BBC film ''

Capturing Mary ''Capturing Mary'' is a BBC television drama (co-produced by HBO), written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, starring Maggie Smith, David Walliams, Ruth Wilson and Danny Lee Wynter. It was aired on BBC Two on 12 November 2007. It is linked, by ...

''. Johnston's score for

Charles Sturridge Charles B. G. Sturridge (born 24 June 1951) is an English director and screenwriter. He is the recipient of a BAFTA Children's Award and four BAFTA TV Awards. He has also been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards. Early life and education ...

's mini-series '' Shackleton'' won a 2002

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...

. In 2009, he scored the British science-fiction procedural TV series ''

Paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

''. He composed the theme music for the BBC detective series ''

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

'', which won him a 2011 RTS Awards; the World War II drama ''

The Sinking of the Laconia ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''; Stephen Poliakoff's acclaimed 2013 TV series ''Dancing on the Edge''; and the drama ''

The 7.39 ''The 7.39'' is a British drama television film that was broadcast in two parts on BBC One on 6 January and 7 January 2014. This romantic drama from Carnival Films was written by David Nicholls. Plot Carl Matthews (David Morrissey) commutes by ...

''. Johnston won another RTS award in 2014 for scoring '' The Tunnel''.

References

External links

* 1961 births Living people English rock drummers British male drummers English composers English film score composers English male film score composers English television composers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh BAFTA winners (people) Emmy Award winners {{UK-drummer-stub