Anne Dudley

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For other people named Anne Dudley, see Anne Dudley (disambiguation).

Anne Dudley
Dudley in March 2014
Dudley in March 2014
Background information
Birth nameAnne Jennifer Beckingham
Born (1956-05-07) 7 May 1956 (age 65)
Beckenham, Kent, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Composer, pianist, keyboardist, songwriter
Instruments
  • Synthesizers
  • piano
LabelsAngel/EMI
Associated actsArt of Noise
Websiteannedudley.co.uk

Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001.[1] She has worked in the classical and pop genres, as a film composer, and was one of the core members of the synthpop band Art of Noise. In 1998, Dudley won an Oscar for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score for The Full Monty. In addition to over twenty other film scores, in 2012 she served as music producer for the film version of Les Misérables,[2] also acting as arranger and composing some new additional music.

Career[]

Dudley was born in Beckenham, Kent. She graduated with a master's in music from King's College London in 1978.[3] Trained as a classical performer, she moved into the competitive commercial field as a session musician, where her professional relationship with Trevor Horn began. In 1982, Dudley made significant contributions to the Horn-produced The Lexicon of Love album by ABC. She went from fleshing-out keyboard parts to scoring the album's orchestrations (which were, according to Horn, her first-ever string arrangements)[4] and also co-writing some of the songs.[5] In 2019, she conducted the Southbank Sinfonia during Martin Fry's Lexicon of Love tour.[6]

Dudley was a founding member of the successful band Art of Noise in 1983, which helped pioneer the use of sampling within the pop genre. Their stand-out hits include "Beat Box" (1984), "Moments in Love" (1985), "Close (to the Edit)" (1984), "Paranoimia" (1986), which featured a monologue about insomnia by the artificial intelligence character, Max Headroom (who fitted in well with the groups futuristic anonymity), and, with Tom Jones, "Kiss", a Top 10 in 1988. Art of Noise also produced the theme tune to the ITV game show The Krypton Factor which was used between 1986 and 1993 and is arguably its most recognised theme. "(Theme From) The Krypton Factor" was composed and recorded in 1986 and was reworked as "Crusoe" on their 1987 album.

Dudley's association with Trevor Horn and Art of Noise led on to working with artists such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Seal, Marc Almond, Rod Stewart, Robbie Williams and, more recently, Siphiwo. She has co-written songs with Malcolm McLaren ("Buffalo Gals"), Cathy Dennis ("Too Many Walls"), and a 1930s-inspired song with Sting called "This Was Never Meant to Be".[7]

She produced the Tom Jones hit "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1988) and a Debbie Harry single "Strike Me Pink" (1993).

In 1989, Dudley produced and conducted the string arrangements for the eponymous debut album Waterfront by Welsh sophisti-pop duo, Waterfront. Her intricate production is demonstrated most notably on the song, "Nature of Love", which was released as a single in both the UK and US. Another collaboration in 1989 was with Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys and Bernard Sumner of New Order; Dudley contributed the lush string arrangements on their debut Electronic release, "Getting Away with It", which peaked at #12 in the UK in December 1989, and #38 in the US in 1990.

Dudley produced two tracks on the 2002 Opera Babes album Beyond Imagination (ranking No. 1 on the UK classical charts for 11 weeks, and No. 4 on the US Billboard charts). In 2004, she produced the album Voice for Alison Moyet. The album, an eclectic collection of cover versions, reached No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart.

Her works for orchestra include "Northern Lights", a 14-minute reflection of Norway's Aurora Borealis for full orchestra, performed in 2005 and 2006 at the Royal Festival Hall and broadcast on BBC Radio 3's Late Junction programme in May 2005. Her first commission as Composer in Association with the BBC Concert Orchestra was "Music and Silence", inspired by the novel of the same name by Rose Tremain and first performed at The Royal Festival Hall in 2002. Dudley arranged Bach's Chaconne from Partita in D minor for piano trio, and a recording by the Eroica Trio appears on their Baroque album. Her album Ancient and Modern, with modern versions of some traditional hymns and Bach chorales, was released in 1999. She was the musical director for Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra, first performed in Brighton then at the Royal Albert Hall in 2008, which was recorded and released as a DVD in December 2009. The show was toured in 2009 with eight different regional orchestras participating. It involved the orchestra playing the Nokia theme tune and a french horn concerto evolving into the theme from Coronation Street.

Dudley collaborated with Sam Taylor-Wood in producing the sound and video installation Sigh at the White Cube in 2008. This work featured the BBC Concert Orchestra on eight large projected screens, miming to Dudley's score.

Film scores[]

Dudley's career in film music has spanned 20 years and her film scores include:

Her TV music includes:

Session musician work[]

Dudley has worked as a session musician for many artists, and her string and orchestral arrangements appear on a diverse array of albums. These include:

  • ABC – The Lexicon of Love album (reaching No. 1 in the UK charts 1982) and The Lexicon of Love II released May 2016;
  • a-ha – string scores for the singles "Hunting High & Low" (7" remix) (1986) and "The Blood That Moves the Body" (1988)
  • Oleta Adams – Circle of One album (reaching No. 1 in the UK charts 1991);
  • Marc Almond – Tenement Symphony album which included the tracks "Jacky" and "The Days of Pearly Spencer";
  • The Associates – Wild and Lonely album;
  • Rick Astley – Free album;
  • B*Witched – Awake and Breathe album;
  • Chris Botti – Slowing Down the World album;
  • Boyzone – A Different Beat album;
  • Cher – It's a Man's World album;
  • Petula Clark – "La Vie en Rose" track;
  • Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Rattlesnakes album;
  • Andrea Corr – Ten Feet High album;
  • Cathy Dennis – Move to This and Into the Skyline albums;
  • Electronic – "Getting Away with It" single (reaching No. 12 in the UK charts and number 38 in the US in 1990);
  • Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome album which included their 2nd and 3rd No. 1s "Two Tribes" and "The Power of Love";
  • Elton John – The Big Picture album;
  • Martyn Joseph – Being There album;
  • Kingmaker – Sleepwalking album;
  • Annie Lennox – Medusa album (No. 1 in the UK charts 1995);
  • Let Loose – "Best in Me" single;
  • Virginia MacNaughton – The Music album;
  • Paul McCartney – Press to Play and Give My Regards to Broad Street albums;
  • Malcolm McLaren – Duck Rock album;
  • The Men They Couldn't Hang – "A Map of Morocco" single;
  • George Michael – "Careless Whisper" single (reaching No. 1 in 25 countries);
  • Liza Minnelli – Results album (reaching No. 6 in the UK charts in 1989);
  • The Moody Blues – Greatest Hits album;
  • Moist – "Gasoline" single;
  • Jimmy Nail – Crocodile Shoes album (reaching No. 2 in the UK charts in 1994);
  • The Painted Word – Lovelife album;
  • OMD – Universal album;
  • Pet Shop Boys – Very album;
  • Propaganda— A Secret Wish album;
  • Pulp – Different Class and This Is Hardcore albums (both reaching No. 1);
  • Rialto – "Monday Morning 5:19" single;
  • Frances Ruffelle – "Stranger to the Rain" single;
  • Rush – Power Windows album;[8]
  • S Club – 7 album (No. 1 in the UK charts in 2000);
  • Scarlet – Naked album;
  • Seal – Seal, Seal II and Human Being albums;[9]
  • Siphiwo – Hope album (featuring Nelson Mandela on the title track);
  • Wendy Stark – Stark album;
  • Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works and If We Fall in Love Tonight albums, and the single "Downtown Train";
  • Suggs – The Lone Ranger album;
  • Travis – "More Than Us" EP, featuring Dudley on the title track;
  • Tina Turner – Wildest Dreams album;[9]
  • Wet Wet Wet – Holding Back the River album (reaching No. 2 in the UK charts 1989);
  • Wham! – "Everything She Wants" single and "Young Guns (Go for It)", their first hit single;
  • Robbie Williams – Reality Killed the Video Star album;
  • Will Young – Friday's Child album (reaching No. 1 in the UK charts in 2004) and "Leave Right Now" single (reaching No. 1 in the UK charts in 2003).

Awards[]

In addition to Dudley's Academy Award for The Full Monty, she has received a number of awards and nominations.

  • Grammy Award (1987): The Art of Noise version "Peter Gunn" won for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1986.
  • Brit Award (twice): 1998 for Best Soundtrack (1998), for The Full Monty. 1989 for Buster, for Best British Soundtrack.
  • Ivor Novello Award (3 nominations): for Crime Traveller, Best Original Music for Broadcast 1997; for , Best Original Music for Television 2003; and for Trial and Retribution, Best Television Soundtrack 2008.
  • BASCA Gold Badge Award: 14 October 2014,[10] in recognition of their unique contribution to music.
Other honors
  • 2004: She was made a Fellow of The Royal College of Music.
  • 2011: Awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Kent.

Television appearances[]

Discography (not including work from Art of Noise)[]

See also[]

  • Art of Noise

References[]

  1. ^ "Anne Dudley". BBC Concert Orchestra. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Anne Dudley biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Alumna of the Year: Anne Dudley". King's College London. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Trevor Horn". Red Bull Music Academy Lecture, Madrid 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  5. ^ "How we made: ABC's Martin Fry and Anne Dudley on The Lexicon of Love". The Guardian. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  6. ^ "ABC The Lexicon of Love". Royal Albert Hall. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Doerschuk, Bob (2008). Keyboard Presents: the Best of the '80s – the Artists, Instruments, and Techniques of an Era. Backbeat Books. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-87930-930-5.
  8. ^ "Power Windows | Rush.com". Rush.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Anne Dudley | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Sir Bob Geldof to be honoured by Gold Badge Awards – M Magazine". M-magazine.co.uk. 10 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  11. ^ "BBC – Christmas University Challenge alumni line-up announced – Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2019.

External links[]

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