Roland Shaw born Roland Edgar Shaw-Tomkins 26 May 1920 is an English composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, musical arranger, and orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 leader.

Shaw attended the Trinity College of Music

Trinity College of Music

Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...

 and served in the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 in World War II leading RAF No 1 Band of the Middle East Forces.

Following wartime service he arranged music for Ted Heath, Teddy Foster, Mantovani

Mantovani

Annunzio Paolo Mantovani known as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was "Britain's most successful album act before The Beatles .....

 and many others.

He became an arranger and record producer for Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

 with his orchestra recording for that label and Phase 4 Stereo

Phase 4 Stereo

Phase 4 Stereo was a branch of London Records created in 1961. Phase 4 Stereo supposedly created better sound by being recorded on a 10-channel, and later 20-channel, recording console...

. His orchestra performed on the albums Mexico and Westward Ho. In December 1964 his orchestra released an album of cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

s of Themes from the James Bond Thrillers to coincide with the American release of Goldfinger

Goldfinger (film)

Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...

. The popularity of Shaw's arrangements of Bond themes led to More Themes from the James Bond Thrillers for the release of Thunderball

Thunderball (film)

Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...

with tracks from both albums released on a UK album called James Bond in Action. In 1966 Shaw's orchestra performed Themes for Secret Agents. Themes from the James Bond Thrillers Vol.3/More James Bond in Action followed the release of Casino Royale

Casino Royale (1967 film)

Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...

and You Only Live Twice

You Only Live Twice (film)

You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...

in 1967. Shaw came back in 1971 for The Return of James Bond/The Phase 4 World of Spy Thrillers for the release of Sean Connery

Sean Connery

Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...

's return as Bond in Diamonds Are Forever

Diamonds Are Forever (film)

Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...

. Shaw recruited guitarist Vic Flick

Vic Flick

Victor Harold Flick is an English guitarist, most famous for playing the guitar riff in the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...

 to repeat his guitar playing on the Gypsy Camp track.

Shaw arranged music for films such as Summer Holiday (1963) and The Secred of My Success (1965) and wrote the score for Straight on Till Morning.

External links

• Shaw at Spaceage Pop http://www.spaceagepop.com/shaw.htm
• Shaw's James Bond
  James Bond
  James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
  
  music recordings http://www.ajb007.co.uk/articles/the-bond-music-of-roland-shaw-1920-2008/
• Shaw's credits http://www.amphonic.com/htdocs/mainpages/comparea/cb/shaw.html