Vic Flick
Victor Harold Flick (born 14 May 1937) is an English studio guitarist, best known for playing the guitar riff in the "James Bond Theme".
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Discography
- 3 References
- 4 External links
Biography
In the late 1950s Flick joined the John Barry Seven, and his first composition for the group was the track "Zapata". With them, he played the guitar riff for the theme of the popular TV show Juke Box Jury and appeared on every episode of BBC television's Drumbeat.
On the Dr. No soundtrack, he was lead guitarist on the track, the "James Bond Theme". Flick continued to contribute to the James Bond soundtracks from the 1960s through the late 1980s. He also played a pastiche of the "James Bond" guitar part for The Beatles' film Help! (1965). One of Flick's guitars, a Clifford Essex Paragon De Luxe, on which he played the original "James Bond Theme", was displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
Apart from his early 1960s work as the lead guitarist in the John Barry Seven, Flick was a session player, featured on many early 1960s UK pop records. Flick was a member of the George Martin Orchestra, and contributed to the soundtrack of the film A Hard Day's Night playing his Olympic white 1961 Fender Stratocaster on "Ringo's Theme (This Boy)" instrumental.
He has worked with many popular recording artists, including Nancy Sinatra, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, Paul McCartney, Engelbert Humperdinck, Lulu, Shirley B*ey, Burt Bacharach, Petula Clark, Sandie Shaw, Crispian St. Peters, Hank Marvin, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, John Williams, Mark Wirtz, John Schroeder, Don Partridge, Typically Tropical and Don Lusher. He played the 12 string guitar part on Peter and Gordon's 1964 # 1 record "A World Without Love". He also recorded with Herman's Hermits, playing the distinctive guitar riff in the intro and bridge of "Silhouettes", a 1965 UK Top 5 hit although this is disputed by Karl Green of Herman’s Hermits in an interview on the Sky Arts programme “The British Invasion”.
Flick also collaborated with Merchant Ivory Productions as composer/music arranger for Autobiography of a Princess (1975), The Europeans (1979), Quartet (1981), and Heat and Dust (1983).
In 1999, he worked with composer Nic Raine, backed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, on the James Bond tribute album *led Bond Back in Action. In 2003, he recorded the album James Bond Now, featuring tracks from James Bond soundtracks and new compositions.
In 2005, he played on the soundtrack of the From Russia With Love video game by Electronic Arts.
In 2008, his autobiography, Vic Flick Guitarman: From James Bond to The Beatles and Beyond (ISBN:978-1593933081), was published by Bearmanor Media.
On 5 October 2012 Vic Flick was honoured at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for "The Music of Bond: The First 50 Years." He played the "James Bond Theme" on his 1939 Clifford Essex Paragon De Luxe “James Bond” Guitar to a live audience. He also was interviewed on stage by Jon Burlingame, a writer on the subject of music for film and television. He was also presented with the "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2013 by The National Guitar Museum for "contribution to the history of the guitar." He was the fourth recipient of the annual award.
Flick appeared on a 2013 episode of the History Channel show Pawn Stars *led "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service". Here he brought in his 1961 Fender Stratocaster guitar to shop owner Rick Harrison, who, after consulting Jesse Amoroso, settled on a price of $55,000 for the guitar.The guitar sold at auction in 2014 for $25,000.
Discography
- West of Windward - 1968 - Rediffusion
- Bond Back in Action (Featured/1999)
- James Bond Now (2003)
References
External links
- Official website
- Vic Flick at IMDb
- John Barry Website (review of Vic Flick Guitarman: From James Bond to the Beatles and Beyond)
- Guitarist Vic Flick on "Goldfinger" and the James Bond Theme on YouTube
- James Bond 007 Theme Tune (original) on YouTube
- Vic Flick Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2014)