Composer’s Remarkable Journey from Performer to Oscar-Nominated Film Composer

  

Composer’s Remarkable Journey from Performer to Oscar-Nominated Film Composer

The composer spent much of his career working behind the scenes, writing music for film and television, but he never completely lost his passion for performing.

“I love live audiences,” he told Radio 4’s Sue Lawley in 2003.

A Brief Career as a Solo Artist

A year later, he signed a record deal and achieved a top-10 hit in Sweden with a cover of The Beatles’ “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” However, his career as a solo recording artist was relatively short-lived.

In the mid-1970s, he also appeared on television, taking a recurring role as soldier Martin Gimbel in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm.

Over time, however, he noticed that directors frequently cast him in roles that required him to play a musical instrument. This encouraged him to make music his main professional focus.

From Theatre to Film

In 1974, Fenton secured his first major position as composer and musical director for a production of Twelfth Night at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Eight years later, his career reached another major milestone when he received an Oscar nomination for his score for Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.

For the film, Fenton collaborated with renowned Indian composer and instrumentalist Ravi Shankar to create music that reflected India’s rich musical traditions.

Remarkably, Gandhi was only Fenton’s fourth attempt at composing music for a film, and he was still largely self-taught at the time.

Successful Television Career

Throughout the 1980s, Fenton became one of the most recognised composers working in British television.

He composed music for several acclaimed productions, including the BAFTA-winning The Jewel in the Crown, The Monocled Mutineer, and Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads.

He also created a number of well-known television and radio theme tunes, including music for the BBC’s One O’Clock News, Six O’Clock News, Nine O’Clock News, Newsnight, The Money Programme, and Radio 4’s PM.

Oscar Recognition for Cry Freedom

For the 1987 film Cry Freedom, which tells the story of South African anti-apartheid campaigner Steve Biko, Fenton collaborated with South African jazz musician Jonas Gwangwa.

Their work earned two Oscar nominations, for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

Almost by accident, Fenton ended up performing the film’s title song himself. The song included the names of anti-apartheid activists who had been imprisoned or killed by the South African government.

Fenton had originally recorded the words simply as a guide for Gwangwa. However, Gwangwa chose to retain parts of Fenton’s original recording as a “gesture of brotherhood.”

The song was subsequently nominated for an Oscar, leading Fenton to perform it live on television in front of a huge international audience.

As he later recalled on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, performing the song in front of such a vast audience was something he had never originally intended.

Lamielsid News will continue to bring readers stories about notable figures and their contributions to music, film and culture.