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Anne Dudley | |
|---|---|
 Dudley in March 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Anne Jennifer Beckingham (1956-05-07)7 May 1956 (age 69) Chatham, Kent, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Keyboards |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | Art of Noise |
| Website | annedudley |
Anne Jennifer Dudley (néeBeckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the firstBBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001.[1] She has worked in theclassical and pop genres, as a film composer, and was one of the core members of thesynth-pop bandArt of Noise. In 1998, Dudley won anOscar forBest Original Musical or Comedy Score forThe Full Monty. In addition to over twenty other film scores, in 2012 she served as music producer for the film version ofLes Misérables,[2] also acting as arranger and composing some new additional music.
Dudley was born inChatham, Kent. She attendedEltham Hill Grammar School for Girls.[3] She graduated with a master's degree in music fromKing's College London in 1978.[4] Trained as a classical performer, she moved into the competitive commercial field as asession musician, where her professional relationship withTrevor Horn began. In 1982, Dudley contributed to theABC albumThe Lexicon of Love, produced by Horn. She went from fleshing out keyboard parts to scoring the album's orchestrations (which were, according to Horn, her first-ever string arrangements)[5] and alsoco-writing one of the songs.[6]
Dudley was a founding member of the bandArt of Noise in 1983, which helped pioneer the use ofsampling within pop music. Their hits include "Beat Box" (1984), "Moments in Love" (1985), "Close (to the Edit)" (1984), "Paranoimia" (1986), which featured a monologue about insomnia by theartificial intelligence character,Max Headroom, and, withTom Jones, "Kiss", a Top 10 in 1988. Art of Noise also produced the theme tune to theITV game showThe Krypton Factor which was used between 1986 and 1993. "(Theme From) The Krypton Factor" was composed and recorded in 1986 and was reworked as "Crusoe" on their 1987 album.
Dudley's association with Trevor Horn and Art of Noise led on to working with artists such asFrankie Goes to Hollywood,Seal,Marc Almond,Rod Stewart,Robbie Williams and, more recently,Siphiwo. She has co-written songs withMalcolm McLaren ("Buffalo Gals"),Cathy Dennis ("Too Many Walls"), and a 1930s-inspired song withSting called "This Was Never Meant to Be".[7]
She produced the Tom Jones hit "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1988) and aDebbie Harry single "Strike Me Pink" (1993).
In 1989, Dudley produced and conducted the string arrangements for theeponymous debut album by Welsh pop duoWaterfront. Her intricate production is demonstrated most notably on the song "Nature of Love", which was released as a single in both the UK and US. Another collaboration in 1989 was withNeil Tennant fromPet Shop Boys andBernard Sumner ofNew Order; Dudley contributed the lush string arrangements on their debutElectronic release, "Getting Away with It", which peaked at #12 in the UK in December 1989, and #38 in the US in 1990.
Dudley produced two tracks on the 2002Opera Babes albumBeyond Imagination (ranking No. 1 on the UK classical charts for 11 weeks, and No. 4 on the USBillboard charts). In 2004, she produced the albumVoice forAlison Moyet. The album, an eclectic collection of cover versions, reached No. 7 on theUK Albums Chart.
Her works for orchestra include "Northern Lights", a 14-minute reflection of Norway'sAurora Borealis for full orchestra, performed in 2005 and 2006 at theRoyal Festival Hall and broadcast onBBC Radio 3'sLate Junction programme in May 2005. Her first commission as Composer in Association with the BBC Concert Orchestra was "Music and Silence", inspired by the novel of the same name byRose Tremain and first performed at The Royal Festival Hall in 2002. Dudley arranged Bach'sChaconne from Partita in D minor forpiano trio, and a recording by theEroica Trio appears on theirBaroque album. Her albumAncient and Modern, with modern versions of some traditionalhymns andBachchorales, was released in 1999. She was the musical director forBill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra, first performed in Brighton then at theRoyal Albert Hall in 2008, which was recorded and released as a DVD in December 2009. The show was toured in 2009 with eight different regional orchestras participating. It involved the orchestra playing theNokia theme tune and aFrench horn concerto evolving into the theme fromCoronation Street.
Dudley collaborated withSam Taylor-Wood in producing the sound and video installationSigh at theWhite Cube in 2008. This work featured theBBC Concert Orchestra on eight large projected screens, miming to Dudley's score.
In 2019, 2022 and 2024, she conducted theSouthbank Sinfonia duringMartin Fry's Lexicon of Love tour.[8]
Dudley's career in film music has spanned 20 years and herfilm scores include:
Her TV music includes:
Dudley's work as asession musician andstring andorchestral arrangements includes:
In addition to Dudley's Academy Award forThe Full Monty, she has received a number of awards and nominations.
| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | 1998 | Best Original Musical or Comedy Score | The Full Monty | Won | [12] |
| Brit Awards | 1989 | Best Soundtrack/Cast Recording | Buster | Won | [13] |
| 1998 | Best Soundtrack/Cast Recording | The Full Monty | Won | [14] | |
| British Academy Film Awards | 1998 | Best Original Music | The Full Monty | Nominated | [15] |
| British Academy Television Awards | 1993 | Best Original Music | Jeeves and Wooster | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Best Original Music | Poldark | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | Best Original Music | Poldark | Nominated | ||
| César Awards | 2017 | Best Original Music | Elle | Nominated | [16] |
| Children's and Family Emmy Awards | 2025 | Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Live Action Program | The Velveteen Rabbit | Nominated | [17] |
| Grammy Awards | 1987 | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | "Peter Gunn" | Won | [18] |
| 1988 | Best Pop Instrumental Performance | "Dragnet" | Nominated | ||
| Juno Awards | 2004 | Songwriter of the Year | Folklore | Nominated | [19] |
