R.I.P. John Barry

The film composer whose elegant James Bond soundtracks helped define the 1960s has died of a heart attack in New York. He was 77. Barry won 5 Academy Awards for his work on Born Free, The Lion In Winter, Out of Africa and Dances With Wolves. He was made a BAFTA fellow in 2005 and was given an OBE in 1999 for his services to music. Barry’s hypnotic jazz arrangements, brassy horns, and swooning strings made his sound one of the most easily recognised in the world. His scores for Midnight Cowboy, The Ipcress File and Body Heat told you everything you needed to know within their first few seconds. Barry wrote the soundtracks for 11 James Bond films including Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice.