David Arnold | |
|---|---|
 Arnold at the BMI Awards in May 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1962-01-23)23 January 1962 (age 63) Luton, England |
| Genres | Film score |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1993–present |
David Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is an English film composer whose credits include scoring fiveJames Bond films (1997-2008), as well asStargate (1994),Independence Day (1996),Godzilla (1998),Shaft (2000),2 Fast 2 Furious (2003),Four Brothers (2005),Hot Fuzz (2007), and the television seriesLittle Britain andSherlock. ForIndependence Day, he received aGrammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television, and forSherlock, he and co-composerMichael Price won aCreative Arts Emmy[1] for the score of "His Last Vow", the final episode in the third series. Arnold scored the BBC /Amazon Prime seriesGood Omens (2019) adapted byNeil Gaiman from his bookGood Omens, written withTerry Pratchett.[2] Arnold is a fellow of theBritish Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
While attending a Sixth Form College in Luton, Arnold became friends with directorDanny Cannon.[3] Cannon initially created short films for which Arnold was asked to write the music. The two made their respective major film debuts withThe Young Americans. "Play Dead", a song from the film with singerBjörk, charted No. 12 in the UK. The following year he scoredStargate andLast of the Dogmen, with excerpts from the former ranking third in the most commonly used soundtrack cues for film trailers.[4]
Arnold then composed music forStargate directorRoland Emmerich's next two movies,Independence Day andGodzilla, as well as four movies for directorJohn Singleton. In addition, he has scored various comedies, dramas, and nineteenth-century period pieces, as well as providing music for several British television shows including the 2000 remake ofRandall and Hopkirk (Deceased) andLittle Britain. During film production, his compositions are conducted by Nicholas Dodd. In 2010, he composed the music forCome Fly With Me, a British television series from the producers ofLittle Britain.
He is a member of theBritish Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA).[5] On Thursday 29 November 2012, Arnold received an honorary degree fromUniversity of West London.[6] Now a university honorary, he will work closely with the University in particularLondon College of Music, a faculty within the institute. In 2014, he appeared as himself inThe Life of Rock with Brian Pern.
Arnold performed his debut orchestral concert, showcasing his film and television music, on Sunday 6 July 2014 at London'sRoyal Festival Hall.[7] The line-up featured Nicholas Dodd conducting,David McAlmont as surprise guest vocalist ("My secret weapon!" said Arnold) and the Urban Voices Collective choir, plusMark Gatiss andAmanda Abbington introducing the suite ofSherlock music, for which Arnold's collaborator on the project,Michael Price, replaced Dodd.[8]
He performed his music in a series of orchestral concerts in 2015: Dublin[9]) in January (with theRTÉ Concert Orchestra); Manchester[10] (with theManchester Camerata) in April; and London[11] (with theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra), Birmingham[12] and Nottingham[13] (with theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO)) in June 2015. He was also the special guest at 'The music of David Arnold[14]', a concert in Lucerne in October 2015, with Ludwig Wicki conducting the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. On 5 June 2016 Film Music Prague performed a concert of his work, with Arnold in attendance (and performing) as special guest.[15] In February 2016 the Royal Albert Hall announced[16] the premiere ofIndependence Day Live on 22 September 2016. This celebrated the 20th anniversary of the film's release with a live orchestral performance. David Arnold gave a pre-show talk about his work and theRoyal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and Maida Vale Singers (conducted by Gavin Greenaway) performed the original music while the film screened. The Upcoming magazine gave the event a five star review noting that "with unrivalled acoustics and a ceiling filled with floating UFO-shaped objects, the Hall set the ideal scene for the audience and the musicians alike" and that the production "kept the audience on the edge of their seats as if the film had just been released for the first time."[17]
Arnold hosted another two concerts of his music in Dublin, at theBord Gáis Energy Theatre on 19 and 20 May 2017, with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. The first concert showcased his career in writing music for film and television,[18] the second wasIndependence Day Live with the film screened as the orchestra played the score alongside.[19] The first James Bond film ever to be screened with a live orchestra wasCasino Royale in Concert which took place at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 30 September 2017; David Arnold held a pre-concert question and answer session.[20]
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Arnold was a Bond fan from an early age and also a fan of Bond composerJohn Barry. In 1997, Arnold producedShaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project, an album featuring new versions of the themes from various James Bond films. The album featured a variety of contemporary artists includingJarvis Cocker,Chrissie Hynde,David McAlmont,Propellerheads andIggy Pop; a version ofYou Only Live Twice byBjörk was recorded but not included on the album. John Barry, the composer of many of the themes on the album, was complimentary about Arnold's interpretation of his work; "He was very faithful to the melodic and harmonic content, but he's added a whole other rhythmic freshness and some interesting casting in terms of the artists chosen to do the songs. I think it's a terrific album. I'm very flattered."[21] Barry contactedBarbara Broccoli, producer of the then-upcomingTomorrow Never Dies, to recommend Arnold as the film's composer.[22] Arnold was hired to score the instalment and, returning the compliment to the man he refers to as "The guvnor",[23] included musical references to Barry's score forFrom Russia with Love, as well as, of course, theJames Bond Theme composed byMonty Norman with Barry's arrangement.
Arnold scored the four subsequent Bond films:The World Is Not Enough,Die Another Day (in which he included references to John Barry's score forOn Her Majesty's Secret Service),Casino Royale andQuantum of Solace.[24] Arnold did not score the 23rd James Bond film,Skyfall, withThomas Newman taking his place.[25] Arnold commented that Newman had been selected by the film's director,Sam Mendes, because of their history of working together, rather than because of Arnold's commitment to working with directorDanny Boyle as composer for the Opening Ceremony of the2012 Summer Olympics. However, a part of Arnold's composition work onCasino Royale was reused, with a credit, inSkyfall and again inSPECTRE.
Arnold also co-wrote the main theme songs forThe World Is Not Enough ("The World Is Not Enough" byGarbage) andCasino Royale ("You Know My Name" byChris Cornell), as well as "Surrender" byk.d. lang which appears during the end credits ofTomorrow Never Dies having been originally proposed as the opening theme. Arnold also contributed the main themes to Kevin Kiner's score for Activision'sGoldenEye 007, the remake of the 1997 game of the same name.
In 2017, a part of a track entitled "Vesper" from Arnold's composition work on theCasino Royalesoundtrack was reused in aSherlock episode entitled "The Final Problem", the third episode of the fourth series, in a track entitled "Pick Up" composed by Arnold himself[26][non-primary source needed] andMichael Price.
Arnold has collaborated with such musical acts asCast,Kaiser Chiefs,Massive Attack, andPulp, and solo artistsNatasha Bedingfield,Melanie C,Björk,Chris Cornell,Shirley Manson,Mark Morriss,Nina Persson and in 2009 producedShirley Bassey's albumThe Performance.
In 2001, he provided a new arrangement ofRon Grainer'sDoctor Whotheme music for theEighth Doctor audio dramas fromBig Finish Productions. His version was used as the Eighth Doctor theme starting with 2001'sStorm Warning until 2008, when it was replaced with a new version arranged byNicholas Briggs starting withDead London. Arnold's theme returned to the Eighth Doctor releases with the 2012 box set,Dark Eyes.
Arnold is the second cousin of Irish singer-songwriterDamien Rice, and is an ambassador for aid agencyCARE International in the UK. He has made minor appearances in two different episodes ofLittle Britain as separate characters.
In February 2011, it was announced that he had been appointed Musical Director for the2012 Olympic Games and the2012 Paralympic Games in London.[27]
In May 2011, he was part of the United Kingdom's jury for theEurovision Song Contest 2011.[28]
Arnold took part in a tribute toJohn Barry on 20 June 2011 at theRoyal Albert Hall in London, singing a song that was composed by Barry and playing the guitar part of the James Bond theme.[29]
In 2014, Arnold teamed up withRichard Thomas, to write the music and lyrics for the newWest End musicalMade in Dagenham.[30]
In October 2015 he collaborated withLethal Bizzle andSinead Harnett to create a song combining orchestral,grime and soul elements. The song, 'Come This Far', was performed live[31] at a special event at One Mayfair, as part ofBulmers Cider's LiveColourful LIVE promotion, and made available as a free download from Bulmers' website. He andSherlock co-composerMichael Price also composed the music for ITV's Jekyll and Hyde television series which premiered in October 2015.[32]
In September 2016 the Royal Albert Hall hosted an orchestral performance ofIndependence Day with the score performed live to picture, David Arnold gave a pre-show talk.[33]
In 2019, David Arnold provided additional production forSophie Ellis-Bextor's orchestral album,The Song Diaries. Later in 2020, he co-produced an orchestral cover of 'My Favourite Things' (fromThe Sound of Music) along withRichard Jones (ofThe Feeling) for Sophie's 2020 compilation albumSongs From The Kitchen Disco.
In July 2023, it was announced that Arnold and Ellis-Bextor would collaborate with lyricistDon Black for the track toChannel 4 andUniversal Pictures film, "Mog's Christmas", based uponthe children's book series byJudith Kerr. The track, titled "As Long As I Belong", is about "the importance of belonging". The film is slated for a Q4 2023 release.[34]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Young Americans | Wedding Band | Also composed the score |
| 2000 | The League of Gentlemen | Victorian Gentleman with Fox | TV series (1 episode: "The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special") |
| 2003 | Little Britain | Minicab Controller / Politician | TV series (2 episodes) |
| Year | Title | Developer | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | GoldenEye 007 | Eurocom (Wii/PS3/Xbox 360) n-Space (DS) | Activision Nintendo (Wii) | Re-arranged themain title song only The soundtrack is composed by Kevin Kiner |
| 2012 | 007 Legends | Eurocom | Wrote and composed the main title theme tune only The soundtrack is composed by Kevin Kiner |
| Year | Title | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2011 | Stiller & Meara | Red Hour Digital | — |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album / Film | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [35] | IRE | NED [36] | BEL (FLA) [37] | GER | SWE [38] | NOR [39] | |||||||||
| 1993 | "Play Dead"(withBjörk) | 12 | 18 | 11 | 33 | 41 | 7 | 10 | The Young Americans | ||||||
| 1997 | "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"(withPropellerheads) | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Shaken & Stirred | ||||||
| "Diamonds Are Forever"(withDavid McAlmont) | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1999 | "One Brief Moment"(withNatacha Atlas) | 125 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Gedida | ||||||
| 2000 | "Theme From Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)"(withNina Persson) | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) | ||||||
| 2012 | "Wish You Were Here"(withEd Sheeran,Richard Jones,Nick Mason &Mike Rutherford) | 34 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | A Symphony of British Music | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||||
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