Bennett, Brian

‘Brian Bennett has been a force in British music for over 40 years’  Tim Rice

By the late 1950s, Brian was one of the most sought-after drummers around. He was drummer in residence at the legendary 2i’s in Soho and a regular on Jack Good’s ground breaking TV show Oh Boy. In 1961, he joined Cliff Richard and The Shadows and wrote many of the hit songs from the films, including “Summer Holiday” (for which he won his first Ivor Novello award), “Wonderful Life” and “Finders Keepers”.

In the 1970s, Brian became Cliff Richard’s musical director and toured the world after forming The Brian Bennett Orchestra, which included the first concerts to be staged in Russia. By the mid 1970s, Brian was in demand as an arranger, conductor and record producer and was composing for film and television.

During the 1980s, he was awarded his second Ivor Novello award (for 25 years services to music) and was writing and recording music for a wide range of TV shows including Dallas, Knotts Landing, Pulaski, The Royal Wedding, BBC Golf theme, The Sweeney, Dennis Hopper’s film The American Way and Ellen Barkin and David MacCallum’s Terminal Choice.

In 1990, he won his third Ivor Novello award for Best Score for a Television Series (The Ruth Rendell Mysteries).

From the 1990s to 2000, Brian was in demand more than ever and scored the long-running series The Knock, Nomads of the Wind, Global Sunrise, The Harpist, David Jason In His Element, Living Britain and Dirty Work.

In 2001 Brian received the Gold Badge Award given by the British Academy of Composers & Songwriters Society. He also won the Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards 2000/2001 for Best Original Title Music for Murder In Mind.

Always in demand as a drummer, Brian has recorded drum tracks for Peter Frampton, Ella Fitzgerald, The Walker Brothers, Labi Siffre, Marvin Welch & Farrar and others. Through it all, he always embracing new innovations and was constantly learning and adapting to new musical styles and trends.

In 2004 Brian was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) Award and collected it from The Queen herself at Buckingham Palace.

More recently, Brian wrote with his son, Warren, 24 episodes of the award-winning TV series New Tricks. He also recorded and produced an album with Cliff Richard and The Shadows. He is currently working on a musical called Soho and music for a production called Starchild. In January of 2016, Brian released his album Shadowing John Barry, which contained the music of John Barry played by The Brian Bennett Orchestra.