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Laurie Johnson
(86), composer, bandleader, conductor and arranger.
Laurie Johnson was born in Hampstead, London, UK on February 7 1927, into a family with a strong musical tradition. His parents, Harold and Ethel Johnson, recognised their son's musical aptitude early on and encouraged his passion for the arts. After grammar school, he began his formal education in music at the Royal Academy of Music in London under Ralph Vaughan Williams, who helped him hone his skills in composition, arrangement, and orchestration.
Having left the Academy, he spent four years serving in the band of the Coldstream Guards, frequently participating in major ceremonial events, before embarking on a career penning arrangements for the Ted Heath Band and later for many of Britains leading dance bands and recording orchestras. This work brought him to the attention of the UK movie industry, and he was soon writing and conducting scores for such films as "The Good Companions" (1957), "The Moonraker" (1958), "Girls at Sea" (1958), "No Trees in the Street" (1959), "Tiger Bay" (1959), and "Operation Bullshine" (1959). In 1959, he also penned his first television theme, for the TV drama "No Hiding Place".
The same year, he was asked to act as composer and music director for the musical "Lock Up Your Daughters", winning an Ivor Novello Award alongside Lionel Bart who had penned the lyrics. The following year, he signed with the prestigious KPM Music Library in London, providing (whether as a composer, conductor or arranger), literally thousands of pieces to the Library, many of which are still being used today in such shows as "SpongeBob SquarePants". He also scored a Top 10 hit in 1961 with "Sucu Sucu", the theme from the television series "Top Secret" and went on to hit the UK album charts with such releases as "The New Big Sound of the Laurie Johnson Orchestra" (1963) and "The Big New Sound Strikes Again" (1965).
His television scores included "Echo Four Two" (1961), "Top Secret" (1961), "Animal Magic" (1962), "Riviera Police" (1965), "The Avengers" (1965), "This Is Your Life" (1969), "Red Gauntlet" (1970), "Shirley's World" (1971), "Jason King" (1971), "Thriller" (1973), "The New Avengers" (1976), "The Professionals" (1977) and "W1A" (2014), while his contribution to such theatre productions as "Pieces of Eight" (1959) and "The Four Musketeers" (1967) enhanced to his reputation. In addition, he also co-owned the production company Avengers Mark One Productions Ltd which produced several of these TV series.
Between 1960 and 1990. Laurie worked prolifically in the movie industry, providing themes for such films as "I Aim at the Stars" (1960), "Spare The Rod" (1961), "What a Whopper " (1961), "Siege of the Saxons" (1963), "Bitter Harvest" (1963), "Dr. Strangelove" (1964), "First Men in the Moon" (1964), "East of Sudan" (1964), "The Beauty Jungle" (1964), "You Must Be Joking!" (1965), "Hot Millions" (1968), "Mister Jerico" (1970), "And Soon the Darkness" (1970), "The Firechasers" (1971), "Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter" (1972), "The Belstone Fox" (1973), "The Maids" (1974), "Hedda" (1975), "Diagnosis: Murder" (1975), "It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet" (1976), "A Hazard of Hearts" (1987), "It's Alive III: Island of the Alive" (1987), "The Lady and the Highwayman" (1989) and "A Ghost in Monte Carlo" (1990).
In 1997, at the age of 70, and having seen his work being used in more than 400 movies or TV shows, he announced his retirement from composing, before announcing the formation of The London Big Band with Jack Parnell as conductor, Vince Hill as vocalist, trumpeter Kenny Baker and saxophonist Tom Whittle. The band released several albums, one of which produced the hit single "Theme From The Professionals" (1997), and three years later, he also went on to publish a well-received autobiography titled "Noises in the Head".
In Stanmore, North London, UK, on January 16, 2024, from natural causes.
© Jim Liddane
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