Alan Haven (1 April 1935 – 7 January 2016), born in

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, United Kingdom, was an English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

. His original name was Alan Halpern and he was Jewish. He lived off Kings Road and attended Kings Road School, Prestwich. He was known for his collaborations with John Barry in the

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'' From Russia with Love'' (1963) and '' Goldfinger'' (1964), the comedy film ''

A Jolly Bad Fellow ''A Jolly Bad Fellow'' (U.S. title: ''They All Died Laughing''; also known as ''Don Among the Dead Men'') is a 1964 British black comedy film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Leo McKern and Janet Munro.

'' (1964), and in the

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film ''

The Knack …and How to Get It ''The Knack …and How to Get It'' is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring Rita Tushingham, Ray Brooks, Michael Crawford, and Donal Donnelly. The screenplay by Charles Wood is based on the 1962 play ''The Knack ...

'' (1965). He released a single from the Lester film, but is perhaps best known for the single ''Image'' in 1965 (originally recorded by The Hank Levine Orchestra), which was frequently used as a theme tune on the offshore radio station

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and also featured in the 1965 horror film '' The Night Caller''. His early work was performed on a

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. When Barry decided to adapt his own

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-winning theme from the 1968 medieval drama ''

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'' as a single, he wrote an extended solo for organ with Haven in mind. As released, the jazz adaptation marks a notable departure from the soundtrack score which featured a choir singing in Latin. Haven also released several albums in the 1960s and 1970s, initially on

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, then

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including a recording of a live set at

Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...

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. A 1966 album, ''Live at Annie's Room'' (recorded at

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's eponymous club) featured one of several collaborations with drummer

Tony Crombie Anthony John Kronenberg (27 August 1925 – 18 October 1999), known professionally as Tony Crombie, was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader, and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest English jazz drummers and bandleaders, an oc ...

. Haven's friend

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contributed the album notes for the 1971 release ''St. Elmo's Fire''. Haven was married to 1965

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...

winner

Lesley Langley Lesley Doreen Langley (born 26 March 1944 in Weymouth, Dorset, with the name Lesley Hill, which she changed to Leslie Langley to make it more artistic) is a British actress, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World 1965 she previously ...

in the 1960s and they had one daughter. Mal Jefferson, record producer, writes:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haven, Alan 1935 births People from Prestwich English organists English jazz organists English male organists 2016 deaths English male jazz musicians