#howard blake

[bttrflyblu]

Amy Manford - Walking in the Air (Official Lyric Video)

[movie--posters]

[youcallyourselfafilmcritic]

So much props need to be given to Howard Blake's score in The Snowman

Not even just *THAT* song it's just perfectly warmly Christmassy. It's one of the reasons I keep coming back to this short

[tenderbri]

So, apparently when the final version of Queen’s Flash Gordon soundtrack had been put on tape, Brian May went round to Howard Blake’s house (who composed the orchestral bits of the soundtrack) to play it to him there, because Brian didn’t have a working stereo at his own home. Turns out, Howard didn’t have one either, but he was like “so, my little kid has one”, anyway, long story short, they both ended up on the floor of this child’s bedroom listening to Flash Gordon on a shitty little Mickey Mouse cassette player (lying under the bed because the cord was so short), and when I tell you I am howling with laughter–

[tvln]

endless night (uk, gilliat 72)

[morganwolfe]

The Snowman (1982) Story by  Raymond Briggs. Score by  Howard Blake. Peter Auty performs, “Walking in the Air.”

[vintage1981]

#ThrowbackThursday: Flash Gordon

Dec 5, 1980: Flash Gordon was released in U.S. theaters.

Flash Gordon is a 1980 superhero film based on the King Features comic strip of the same name created by Alex Raymond. Directed by Mike Hodges and produced by Dino De Laurentiis, the film was shot in Technicolor and Todd-AO-35. It stars Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Topol, Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed and Ornella Muti. The movie was co-written by Michael Allin (known for Enter the Dragon) and Lorenzo Semple Jr. (who had previously scripted De Laurentiis's remake of King Kong). It uses a camp style similar to the 1960s TV series Batman (which Semple developed) in an attempt to appeal to fans of the original comics and serial films. Although a box office success in the United Kingdom, it performed poorly in other markets. The film is notable for its soundtrack composed, performed and produced by the rock band Queen, with the orchestral sections by Howard Blake. The film has since gained a significant cult following.

[vinylspinning]

Rainbow: Bent Out of Shape (1983)

Swear to God: when I first saw this in stores, back in the day, I thought it was a Duran Duran album ...

But then, by the time Bent Out of Shape arrived 35 years ago, Rainbow’s career, which had started so magically in the mid ‘70s, armed with Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio’s evocative Castle Metal, was reaching a terribly depressing conclusion.

Indeed, ever since Blackmore had replaced Down to Earth singer Graham Bonnett with Joe Lynn Turner for 1981’s temporarily fresh-sounding Difficult to Cure, Rainbow’s catalog had been a story of diminishing returns.

And the harder Ritchie tried to mimic the formulaic, radio-friendly corporate rock that moved millions of units in America for bands like Foreigner and Journey, the faster Rainbow’s larger fan-base, ex-U.S., abandoned ship, looking for their fantasy metal fix elsewhere, usually from Iron Maiden.

In other words, Bent Out of Shape may as well have been a tree falling in a forest with no one to hear it, whether it was racing through soft-metal sprints like “Stranded,” “Fire Dance” and the simply atrocious “Drinking with the Devil,” crafting melancholy instrumentals lacking the inspiration of yore (“Anybody There” ironically begged its titular question of the musicians themselves; “Snowman” covered a popular children’s cartoon theme), or shooting for melodic rock heaven with “Can’t Let You Go” (nifty symphonic intro by David Rosenthal) and “Fool for the Night.”

Well, for what it’s worth, I can’t see how Blackmore and Turner could have done any better than the simultaneously haunting and infectious “Street of Dreams,” which has been a welcome ear-worm in my subconscious all of these three-and-a-half decades.

Alas, most diehard Rainbow fans were having none of it, and Blackmore was all out of excuses ... Deep Purple’s long awaited reunion beckoned.

More Rainbow: Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Rising, On Stage, Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll, Down to Earth, Difficult to Cure, Jealous Lover EP, Straight Between the Eyes, Finyl Vinyl, Live in Munich 1977.