John Scott (born Patrick John O'Hara Scott, 1 November 1930), also known as Johnny Scott and Patrick John Scott, is an English film composer and music

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

. Scott has collaborated with well-known directors and producers, including

Mark Damon Mark Damon (born April 22, 1933) is an American film actor and producer. He became noted for roles in films like Roger Corman's ''House of Usher'', before moving to Italy and becoming a notable Western star and member of the 1960s Dolce Vita ...

Richard Donner Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American filmmaker whose notable works included some of the most financially-successful films during the New Hollywood era. According to film historian ...

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film '' The Ten ...

Mike Hodges Michael Tommy Hodges (29 July 1932 – 17 December 2022) was a British screenwriter, film and television director, playwright and novelist. His films as writer/director include ''Get Carter'' (1971), '' Pulp'' (1972), ''The Terminal Man'' (197 ...

Hugh Hudson Hugh Hudson (born 25 August 1936) is an English film director. He was among a generation of British directors who would begin their career making documentaries and television commercials before going on to have success in films. He directed the ...

Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (born July 21, 1926) is a retired Canadian film and television director, producer, and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. He has directed numerous feature films and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best D ...

Irvin Kershner Irvin Kershner (born Isadore Kershner; April 29, 1923November 27, 2010) was an American film director, actor, and producer of film and television. He gained notice early in his career as a filmmaker for directing quirky, independent drama films ...

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one o ...

, Daniel Petrie,

Roger Spottiswoode John Roger Spottiswoode (born 5 January 1945) is a Canadian-British director, editor and writer of film and television. Early life He was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was raised in Britain. His father Raymond Spottiswoode was a Briti ...

, and Norman J. Warren.

Life and career

Scott was born in Bishopston,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

, England. His father, a musician in the Bristol Police Band, gave him his first music lessons. At the age of 14, he enrolled in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

(in the

Royal Artillery Band The Royal Artillery Band was the first official, and permanent British military band (and former symphony orchestra) originating in 1557, but granted official status in 1762. Consisting of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments (and until 2 ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thro ...

) as a Boy Musician in order to continue his musical studies of the clarinet, harp and

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

. Later, Scott toured with some of the best-known British bands of the era. He was hired by EMI to arrange and conduct some of its most popular artists and, during this time, worked with Beatles producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

(playing flute in the band's 1965 recording " You've Got To Hide Your Love Away"). Scott also recorded such artists as

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

, and

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the ban ...

. As a musician, he played with

The Julian Bream Consort Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perce ...

John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, h ...

, Cleo Laine,

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Reco ...

and

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

. Credited as Johnny Scott, and playing flute, he led a

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 majo ...

quintet, quartet and trio during the 1960s. He played for

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

and was principal saxophonist in John Barry's

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

'' film '' Goldfinger'' (1964). Since the 1960s, Scott has composed for more than 100 film and television productions. Some of Scott's most praised and recognized scores are ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' ( First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in arou ...

'' (1972), '' England Made Me'' (1973), '' North Dallas Forty'' (1979), '' The Final Countdown'' (1980), '' Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes'' (1984) and ''

The Shooting Party ''The Shooting Party'' is a 1984 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges and based on the book of the same name by Isabel Colegate. The film is set in 1913, less than a year before the beginning of the First World War, and shows the soon ...

'' (1985). His TV work includes the themes to the BBC current affairs programmes '' Nationwide'' and ''Midweek'',

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead ...

for the ITV series '' Rosemary and Thyme'', and documentaries by French explorer

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). Th ...

. He also composed the instrumental piece "Gathering Crowds" for a stock music library. While the opening bars of the piece were used briefly in 1976 by ABC for its nightly national news program, the piece would later become iconic in the US for its use as the closing theme for the long-running

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

highlights show '' This Week in Baseball''. Scott is also active as a classical composer (having written a

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning co ...

, a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

, four

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

s and a guitar concerto) and as a conductor. Orchestras that he has conducted include the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Sym ...

, 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

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Opera Orchestra, the Lubliana Radio Orchestra and the Prague Philharmonic. In 2006–2008, Scott served as the artistic director of the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra. On 16 October 2013 Scott was presented with a BASCA Gold Badge Award in recognition of his contribution to music.

Selected filmography

*''

A Study in Terror ''A Study in Terror'' is a 1965 British thriller film directed by James Hill and starring John Neville as Sherlock Holmes and Donald Houston as Dr. Watson. It was filmed at Shepperton Studios, London, with some location work at Osterley Hou ...

'' (1965) *'' Doctor in Clover'' (1966) *'' Stranger in the House'' (1967) *'' The Long Duel'' (1967) *'' Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon'' (1967) *'' Berserk!'' (1967) *'' The Violent Enemy'' (1968) *'' Amsterdam Affair'' (1968) *'' Her Private Hell'' (1968) *'' Loving Feeling'' (1969) *'' Crooks and Coronets'' (1969) *'' Twinky'' (1969) *''

Trog ''Trog'' is a 1970 British science fiction horror film directed by Freddie Francis, and starring Joan Crawford in a story about the discovery of a troglodyte (or Ice Age "caveman") in twentieth-century United Kingdom. The screenplay was wr ...

'' (1970) *'' Girl Stroke Boy'' (1971) *'' Wake in Fright'' (1971) *''

'' (1972) *'' Doomwatch'' (1972) *''

The Jerusalem File ''The Jerusalem File'' is a 1972 film directed by John Flynn. It stars Bruce Davison, Nicol Williamson, Daria Halprin, and Donald Pleasence. Plot The film follows a young American named David, who comes to Israel to study and finds an Arab fri ...

'' (1972) *'' Mark of the Devil Part II'' (1973) *'' England Made Me'' (1973) *'' Penny Gold'' (1973) *'' Billy Two Hats'' (1974) *'' Craze'' (1974) *''

Symptoms Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showi ...

'' (1974) *''

Hennessy Jas Hennessy & Co., commonly known simply as Hennessy (), is a French producer of cognac, which has its headquarters in Cognac, France. It is one of the "big four" cognac houses, along with Martell, Courvoisier, and Rémy Martin, who together ...

'' (1975) *'' That Lucky Touch'' (1975) *'' Satan's Slave'' (1976) *'' The People That Time Forgot'' (1977) *'' North Dallas Forty'' (1979) *''

The Hostage Tower ''The Hostage Tower'' is a 1980 American spy and thriller television film starring Peter Fonda and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and directed by Claudio Guzmán, well known for his work in sitcoms. It is based on a story by Alistair MacLean. A book ...

'' (1980) *'' The Final Countdown'' (1980) *'' Inseminoid'' (1981) *''

Yor, the Hunter from the Future ''Yor, the Hunter from the Future'' ( it, Il mondo di Yor, lit=The World of Yor) is a 1983 science fiction fantasy film directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring Reb Brown, Corinne Cléry, Luciano Pigozzi, and John Steiner. The film was an ...

'' (1983) *'' Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes'' (1984) *''

'' (1985) *'' The Whistle Blower'' (1986) *'' King Kong Lives'' (1986) *'' The Clan of the Cave Bear'' (1986) (rejected) *'' Man on Fire'' (1987) *''

A Prayer for the Dying ''A Prayer for the Dying'' is a 1987 thriller film about a former IRA member trying to escape his past. The film was directed by Mike Hodges, and stars Mickey Rourke, Liam Neeson, Bob Hoskins, and Alan Bates. The film is based on the 1973 Ja ...

'' (1987) (rejected) *'' White Water Summer'' (1987) (rejected) *'' Shoot to Kill'' (1988) *'' The Deceivers'' (1988) *'' Winter People'' (1989) *''

Black Rainbow ''Black Rainbow'' is a 1989 psychological thriller film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Rosanna Arquette, Jason Robards Jr., Tom Hulce, Mark Joy, Ron Rosenthal, and John Bennes. It was filmed in Rock Hill, South Carolina and Charlotte, Nor ...

'' (1989) *'' King of the Wind'' (1990) *'' Lionheart'' (1990) *''

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapp ...

'' (1992) *'' Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog'' (1995) *'' The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo'' (1997) *'' The New Swiss Family Robinson'' (1998) *'' Time of the Wolf'' (2002) *''

The Wicker Tree ''The Wicker Tree'' is a 2011 British horror film written and directed by Robin Hardy. It contains many direct parallels and allusions to the 1973 film '' The Wicker Man'', which was also directed by Hardy, and is intended as a companion piec ...

'' (2011)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, John 1930 births 20th-century classical composers 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century English composers 21st-century classical composers 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century English composers English male classical composers English clarinetists English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English film score composers English male film score composers English flautists English harpists English jazz bandleaders English jazz saxophonists English classical saxophonists British male saxophonists English television composers English male composers Living people Musicians from Bristol 20th-century saxophonists 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century clarinetists 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians Varèse Sarabande Records artists 20th-century flautists 21st-century flautists