Roland Shaw

Roland Shaw (born Roland Edgar Shaw-Tomkins; 26 May 1920 – 11 May 2012) was an English composer, musical arranger, and orchestra leader.[1]

Roland Shaw
Background information
Birth nameRoland Edgar Shaw-Tomkins
Born(1920-05-26)26 May 1920
Leicester, England
Died11 May 2012(2012-05-11) (aged 91)
GenresTraditional pop
Occupation(s)Composer, conductor
Years active1940's-1970's
LabelsDecca

Shaw was born in Leicester and attended the Trinity College of Music. He served in the Royal Air Force in World War II leading RAF No 1 Band of the Middle East Forces.[2] Following wartime service he arranged music for Ted Heath, Mantovani and many others.[3]

The popularity of Shaw's arrangements of Bond themes led to More Themes from the James Bond Thrillers for the release of Thunderball with tracks from both albums released on a 1965 UK album called James Bond in Action. In 1966, his orchestra released a compilation entitled Themes for Secret Agents. In 1967 Themes from the James Bond Thrillers Vol.3 (released in the UK as More James Bond in Action) followed the release of Casino Royale and You Only Live Twice. Shaw came back in 1971 with a double album The Return of James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever (released as a single album in the UK as The Phase 4 World of Spy Thrillers) for the release of Sean Connery's return as Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. Shaw recruited guitarist Vic Flick to repeat his guitar playing on the Gypsy Camp track.[4]

Shaw arranged the music in several films and composed the scores for The Secret of My Success (1965) and Straight on Till Morning (1972).

Notes
  1. "Roland Shaw obituary". Telegraph. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  2. Dellar, Fred CD Liner Notes James Bond in Action 2008
  3. pp. 170-173 MacKenzie, Colin Mantovani: A Lifetime in Music 2005 Melrose Books
  4. "Wes Britton's SpyWise". Spywise.net. 20 March 2009. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.

References
  • Dellar, Fred CD Liner Notes James Bond in Action (2008)
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