Roy Frederick Budd (14 March 1947 – 7 August 1993) was a British
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 ...
pianist and composer known for his
film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
s, including ''
Get Carter
''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British gangster film, gangster thriller film, written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley. Based on Ted Lewis (write ...
'' and ''
The Wild Geese
''The Wild Geese'' is a 1978 war film starring an ensemble cast led by Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger. The film, which was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, was the result of a long-held ambition of producer Eua ...
''.
Early life
Born in
South Norwood
South Norwood is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Woodside and ...
, South London, Budd became interested in music at an early age and began to play the piano when he was two, initially by ear and then by copying various melodies he heard by listening to the radio. When he was six, two Austrian music experts visited him at home and after various tests, found that he had
perfect pitch
Perfect commonly refers to:
* Perfection; completeness, and excellence
* Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages
Perfect may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama
* ''Perfect'' (20 ...
. In 1953, he made his public concert debut at the
London Coliseum
The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...
. By the age of eight, he could play the
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
organ and four years later he was appearing on television at the
London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...
.
In 1950 and 1951 he featured on the
Carroll Levis
Carroll Richard Levis (March 15, 1910 – October 17, 1968) was a Canadian talent scout, impresario and radio and television broadcaster, mainly working in Britain.
Biography
Born in Toronto and brought up in Vancouver, the son of a murdered po ...
show on radio. Roy also won a talent competition on a television talent show hosted by Bert Weedon in 1952. He sang some
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...
songs when he was eleven years old with his brother Peter and a friend at the Sutton Granada under the name The Blue Devils.
He formed the Roy Budd Trio with bassist Peter McGurk and his cousin, drummer
Trevor Tomkins
Trevor Ramsey Tomkins (12 May 1941 – 9 September 2022) was a British jazz drummer best known for his work in a number of British bands in the 1970s, including Gilgamesh.
Biography
Tomkins was born in London and studied music at the Guildhall ...
before leaving school and embarking on a career as a jazz pianist. Roy later reformed the trio with
Tony Archer or
Jeff Clyne on bass and
Chris Karan
Chris Karan (born Chrisostomos Karanikis, 14 October 1939) is a Britain-based Australian jazz drummer and percussionist of Greek descent.
Life and career
Karan was born in 1939 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Karan played in the Three Out ...
on drums. Clyne was later replaced by Pete Morgan, creating a line-up that was maintained until his death.
Budd met composer Jack Fishman while working at the Bull's Head club in London. Fishman got him signed to
Pye, which released his first recording, the single "Birth of the Budd" in 1965 and his album ''Pick Yourself Up!! This Is Roy Budd'' in 1967.
The album featured Chris Karan was on drums, Peter McGurk on bass for the orchestral tracks and
Dave Holland Dave Holland or David Holland may refer to:
*Dave Holland (bassist)
David Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has ...
on bass on the four trio tracks.
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer.
Early life and early career
Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mu ...
and
Johnny Harris arranged the orchestral tracks. In his sleeve notes, Hatch refers to seeing Budd on the
David Frost
Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...
show on television in February 1967 playing the Frank Loesser composition "I've Never Been in Love Before", which is on the album.
Around that same time, he also recorded an album named simply ''Roy Budd'' featuring
Ian Carr
Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus (band), Nucleus, and was an associate professor a ...
on trumpet,
Dick Morrissey
Richard Edwin Morrissey (9 May 1940 – 8 November 2000) was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and flute.
Biography Background
He was born in Horley, Surrey, England. Dick Morrissey emerged ...
on tenor sax,
Trevor Tomkins
Trevor Ramsey Tomkins (12 May 1941 – 9 September 2022) was a British jazz drummer best known for his work in a number of British bands in the 1970s, including Gilgamesh.
Biography
Tomkins was born in London and studied music at the Guildhall ...
on drums, playing arrangements by fellow pianist
Harry South
Harry Percy South (7 September 1929 – 12 March 1990) was an English jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, who moved into work for film and television.
Career
South was born in Fulham, London. He came to prominence in the 1950s, playing wi ...
.
Film career
In 1970, Budd made his film score début for director
Ralph Nelson
Ralph Nelson (August 12, 1916 – December 21, 1987) was an American film and television director, producer, writer, and actor. He was best known for directing '' Lilies of the Field'' (1963), '' Father Goose'' (1964), and '' Charly'' (1968 ...
, who was looking for an English composer for his
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
''
Soldier Blue
''Soldier Blue'' is a 1970 American revisionist Western film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, and Donald Pleasence. Adapted by John Gay from the novel ''Arrow in the Sun'' by T.V. Olsen, it is inspired by ...
''.
Budd recorded a tape of his own interpretation of music by composers
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...
,
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
,
Max Steiner
Maximilian Raoul Steiner (10 May 1888 – 28 December 1971) was an Austrian composer and conductor who emigrated to America and became one of cinema of the United States, Hollywood's greatest musical composers.
Steiner was a child prodi ...
,
Dimitri Tiomkin
Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian and American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in Saint Petersburg before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after t ...
and
Lalo Schifrin
Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Music of Latin America, Lati ...
. Apart from the main theme, which he based on Buffy Sainte-Marie's hit song of the same title, he composed all the music required for the film and conducted the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...
, which Nelson commissioned at the start of the film's production.
In 1971, still in his early twenties, he composed one of his best known scores, the music for the film ''
Get Carter
''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British gangster film, gangster thriller film, written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley. Based on Ted Lewis (write ...
''.
The film's budget reputedly allowed only £450 for the score, but he overcame this restriction by using only three musicians, including himself playing electric piano and harpsichord simultaneously. In 1981
The Human League
The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...
covered the film's theme on their album ''
Dare
Dare may refer to:
Places
* Dare, Vera Cruz, a ''suco'' in Vera Cruz administrative post, Dili Municipality, Timor-Leste
* Darè, Italy, a comune
* Dare County, North Carolina, United States
* Dare, Virginia, United States, an unincorporate ...
''. Also in 1971, Budd was asked by Nelson to compose the music to ''
Flight of the Doves'', and worked with
Dana who sang the film's theme; and composed the scores for the adventure ''
Kidnapped'' and the western ''
Catlow''.
In 1972 he recorded the score to ''
Fear Is the Key'', which was based on the
Alistair MacLean
Alistair Stuart MacLean (; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably '' The Guns of Navarone'' (1957) and '' Ice Sta ...
novel. Whilst recording the score, Budd was influenced by
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott Order of the British Empire, OBE (born Ronald Schatt; 28 January 1927 – 23 December 1996) was a British jazz Tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner. He co-founded Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London's Soho district ...
,
Tubby Hayes
Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was a British jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his virtuosic musicianship on tenor saxophone and for performing in jazz groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and trump ...
and
Kenny Baker, thus giving the music a jazz-sounding theme. Scott played the saxophone for the car chase sequence. Budd, alongside Fishman, composed for the two ''
Steptoe and Son
''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black a ...
'' films in 1972 and 1973.
Budd later worked for the producer
Euan Lloyd
Euan Lloyd (6 December 1923 – 2 July 2016) was a British film producer.
Biography
He began his career directing short travelogue documentaries, starting with '' April in Portugal'' in 1954 (not released until 1956). He worked in publicity ...
on films, including ''
Paper Tiger
"Paper tiger" is a calque of the Chinese phrase ''zhǐlǎohǔ'' ( zh, s=纸老虎, t=紙老虎). The term refers to something or someone that claims or appears to be powerful or threatening but is actually ineffectual and unable to withstand ch ...
'' (1975), ''
The Wild Geese
''The Wild Geese'' is a 1978 war film starring an ensemble cast led by Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger. The film, which was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, was the result of a long-held ambition of producer Eua ...
'' (1978), ''
The Sea Wolves
''The Sea Wolves'' is a 1980 war film starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven. The film, which is based on the 1978 book ''Boarding Party'' by James Leasor, is the true story of Operation Creek during the Second World War. In the ...
'' (1980), ''
Who Dares Wins
''Who Dares Wins'' (, ''O tolmón niká''; Latin: ''Qui audet adipiscitur'' ; ; ; Portuguese: ''Quem ousa vence''; German: ''Wer wagt, gewinnt''; Dutch: ''Wie niet waagt, die niet wint''; Hebrew: המעז מנצח) is a motto made popular in t ...
'' (1982) and ''
Wild Geese II
''Wild Geese II'' is a 1985 British action-thriller film directed by Peter Hunt, based on the 1982 novel '' The Square Circle'' by Daniel Carney, in which a group of mercenaries are hired to spring Rudolf Hess from Spandau Prison in Berlin. ...
'' (1985).
Later career
Budd's film work in the eighties included the scores for ''
Mama Dracula'' (1980), ''
Field of Honor'' (1986), and
Picha
Jean-Paul "Picha" Walravens (Brussels, Belgium, 2 July 1942) is a Belgian cartoonist, comics artist, animator and film director. He is most famous for his adult animated films, such as '' Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle''. 's adult cartoons ''
The Missing Link'' (1980) and ''
The Big Bang'' (1987). Returning to his first love, he played jazz shows at Duke's Bar in
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...
, London, partnering with harmonica player,
Larry Adler
Lawrence Cecil Adler (February 10, 1914 – August 6, 2001) was an American harmonica player and film composer. Known for playing major works, he played compositions by George Gershwin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Darius Milhaud ...
. He also arranged for and accompanied
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
,
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
, and
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour ( ; ; ; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a Armenians in France, French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringi ...
.
Budd recorded two albums of film music with the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
. The first contained "Star Wars Trilogy", "Superman", "E.T.", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Star Trek: The Full Suite", "Alien", "Dr. Who", "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger". This was recorded at the end of May and beginning of June 1984 at the CTS Studio in Wembley. In 1985, the London Symphony Orchestra made a recording of the music from ''The Wild Geese'', again at CTS Studio. Budd's other solo albums include ''Live at Newport'', ''Everything is Coming Up Roses'', and ''Have a Jazzy Christmas''.
Budd continued to compose into the late 1980s and early 1990s. His ''Tricolour Overture'' was written in 1988. The score was lost but has been reconstructed by Adam Langston and recorded. His last work was a symphonic score for the 1925 silent film ''
The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to:
Novel
* The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux
Characters
* Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...
'', recorded by the RTL Symphony Orchestra in Luxembourg in 1993.
Personal life
In 1972, as his career was peaking, Budd married the actress and singer
Caterina Valente
Caterina Germaine Maria Valente (14 January 1931 – 9 September 2024) was an Italian-French multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer. She spoke six languages and sang in 13. While she was best known as a performer in Europe, Valente spent pa ...
, but they divorced seven years later. He remarried in the 1980s to Sylvia and they remained together until his death.
Roy Budd died of a
brain haemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...
at the age of 46 on 7 August 1993.
Filmography
* ''
Soldier Blue
''Soldier Blue'' is a 1970 American revisionist Western film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, and Donald Pleasence. Adapted by John Gay from the novel ''Arrow in the Sun'' by T.V. Olsen, it is inspired by ...
'' (1970)
* ''
Get Carter
''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British gangster film, gangster thriller film, written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley. Based on Ted Lewis (write ...
'' (1971)
* ''
Flight of the Doves'' (1971)
* ''
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...
'' (1971)
* ''
The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins
''The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins'' is a 1971 British sketch comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of ''The Magnificent Seven'' and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each ...
'' (1971)
* ''
Catlow'' (1971)
* ''
Kidnapped'' (1971)
* ''
Something to Hide'' (1972)
* ''
Steptoe and Son
''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black a ...
'' (1972)
* ''
The Carey Treatment'' (1972)
* ''
Fear Is the Key'' (1972)
* ''
Man at the Top'' (1973)
* ''
Steptoe and Son Ride Again
''Steptoe and Son Ride Again'' (also known as ''Steptoe & Son Ride Again'') is a 1973 British comedy drama film directed by Peter Sykes and starring Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett. It was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
The fi ...
'' (1973)
* ''
The Stone Killer'' (1973)
* ''
The Black Windmill'' (1974)
* ''
The Internecine Project'' (1974)
* ''
The Marseille Contract'' (1974)
* ''
Diamonds
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...
'' (1975)
* ''
Paper Tiger
"Paper tiger" is a calque of the Chinese phrase ''zhǐlǎohǔ'' ( zh, s=纸老虎, t=紙老虎). The term refers to something or someone that claims or appears to be powerful or threatening but is actually ineffectual and unable to withstand ch ...
'' (1975)
* ''
Welcome to Blood City
''Welcome to Blood City'' is a 1977 science fiction Western film directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Jack Palance, Keir Dullea and Samantha Eggar.
Plot
Five strangers awake finding themselves with no memory in a world resembling the wild w ...
'' (1977)
* ''
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
''Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger'' is a 1977 fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Wanamaker and featuring stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film stars Patrick Wayne, Taryn Power, Jane Seymour and Patrick Troughton. The third and f ...
'' (1977)
* ''
Tomorrow Never Comes'' (1978)
* ''
The Wild Geese
''The Wild Geese'' is a 1978 war film starring an ensemble cast led by Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger. The film, which was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, was the result of a long-held ambition of producer Eua ...
'' (1978)
* ''
The Sandbaggers
''The Sandbaggers'' is a British spy thriller television series created by Ian Mackintosh, about men and women on the front lines of the Cold War. Set contemporaneously with its original broadcast on ITV from 1978 to 1980, ''The Sandbaggers'' e ...
'' (1978)
* ''
The Missing Link'' (1980)
* ''
The Sea Wolves
''The Sea Wolves'' is a 1980 war film starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven. The film, which is based on the 1978 book ''Boarding Party'' by James Leasor, is the true story of Operation Creek during the Second World War. In the ...
'' (1980)
* ''
Mama Dracula'' (1980)
* ''
Who Dares Wins
''Who Dares Wins'' (, ''O tolmón niká''; Latin: ''Qui audet adipiscitur'' ; ; ; Portuguese: ''Quem ousa vence''; German: ''Wer wagt, gewinnt''; Dutch: ''Wie niet waagt, die niet wint''; Hebrew: המעז מנצח) is a motto made popular in t ...
'' (1982)
* ''
Wild Geese II
''Wild Geese II'' is a 1985 British action-thriller film directed by Peter Hunt, based on the 1982 novel '' The Square Circle'' by Daniel Carney, in which a group of mercenaries are hired to spring Rudolf Hess from Spandau Prison in Berlin. ...
'' (1985)
* ''
Field of Honor'' (1986)
* ''
The Big Bang'' (1987)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Budd, Roy
1947 births
1993 deaths
British jazz pianists
English film score composers
English male film score composers
20th-century British pianists
20th-century British classical musicians
20th-century English composers
20th-century British male musicians
British male jazz pianists