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

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

. 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

James Bond films James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Nive ...

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

A Jolly Bad Fellow ''A Jolly Bad Fellow'' (US: ''They all Died Laughing'') is a 1964 British black comedy film directed by Don Chaffey. It stars Leo McKern and Janet Munro.Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for directing the Beatles' films '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) and '' Help!'' (1965), and the superhero films ' ...

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 a play of the same name by ...

'' (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

Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly ...

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

Lowrey organ The Lowrey organ is an electronic organ named for its developer, Frederick C. Lowrey (1871–1955), a Chicago-based industrialist and entrepreneur. Lowrey's first commercially successful full-sized electronic organ, the Model S Spinet or '' ...

. 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 Fontana Records, 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

Annie Ross Annabelle McCauley Allan Short (25 July 193021 July 2020), known professionally as Annie Ross, was a British-American singer and actress, best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Early life Ross was born in Surr ...

'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

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

contributed the album notes for the 1971 release ''St. Elmo's Fire''. Haven was married to 1965 Miss World winner Lesley Langley 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 British male organists 2016 deaths British male jazz musicians