John Scott

Born Patrick John Michael O’Hara Scott on 1 November 1930 in Bristol, England, the musician participated energetically in the pop environment of the 1960s before establishing himself as a distinguished composer of film scores, dividing his time between residences in London and Hollywood. Early on he served as staff arranger for the Ted Heath band while performing on saxophone, clarinet, harp and flute, earning recognition for many years as one of England’s leading jazz flautists. Under the name Johnny Scott he performed with the Woody Herman orchestra and supplied arrangements for Bert Ambrose, later crediting lessons absorbed from Henry Mancini during London recording sessions on flute and saxophone for the films Charade and Arabesque. He collaborated closely with John Barry as a member of The John Barry Seven, contributing to Barry’s soundtracks for Beat Girl (1959) and The Whisperers (1967) as well as several early James Bond pictures. Studio work placed him alongside Cilla Black, Tom Jones, Matt Monro, the Hollies, Shirley Bassey, Elkie Brooks, Gerry And The Pacemakers, P.J. Proby, Edward Woodward, the Mike Sammes Singers, Freddie And The Dreamers, Spike Milligan and Charlie Drake. In the mid-1960s he assembled the Johnny Scott Quintet, himself on flute with Duncan Lamont on saxophone, Barry Morgan on drums, David Snell on harp and Arthur Watts on bass. Growing compositional ambitions prompted him to submit pieces to mood-music publishers including Keith Prowse, Peer International and Boosey & Hawkes for use by radio, film and television clients. A 1965 promotional short titled Shellarama generated commissions for his debut feature score, A Study In Terror (1965), initially credited under Patrick John Scott; persuasion led to the Johnny billing, which later yielded to John as his screen assignments expanded. Subsequent projects encompassed Doctor In Clover (1966), Rocket To The Moon (1966) and The Long Duel (1967). Jaw surgery in 1971 ended his performing career, after which composition became his sole focus. Later major scores included Jerusalem File (1971), Antony And Cleopatra (1972), England Made Me (1973), Penny Gold (1973), The Final Countdown (1980), Greystoke (1984), The Shooting Party (1984), King Kong Lives (1986), Deadly Pursuit (released in the US as Shoot To Kill) (1987), Man On Fire (1987), The Deceivers (1988), Winter People (1989) and Black Rainbow (1990). His music for Inseminoid (1980) earned the 1981 prize for Best Musical Score at the International Festival of Horror and Science Fiction films in Madrid, Spain. Television contributions comprise signature tunes for Thames Report on ITV and Tonight, Midweek and Nationwide on BBC, plus episodes of The World About Us for the BBC, The Queen’s Garden (1985) and Survival for Anglia Television. Among recent projects are several Jacques Cousteau specials: Clipperton - The Island Time Forgot (1981), The Warm Blooded Sea (1983), The Amazon (1983) and the 1985 tribute marking Cousteau’s 75th birthday. Two Emmy awards recognized his television scores for the 1972 documentary Wild Dogs Of Africa and the 1978 mini-series Little Vic. After recording for numerous labels he founded his own imprint, JOS Records, to release his film music.