The John Barry Seven was a band formed by John Barry in 1957, after he aban… Read Full Bio ↴The John Barry Seven was a band formed by John Barry in 1957, after he abandoned his original career path of arranging for big bands.
He contacted three musicians with whom he had served in the army and three local musicians and invited them to join his new band. The first line-up was: John Barry (vocals & trumpet), Mike Cox (tenor-sax), Derek Myers (alto-sax), Ken Golder (drums), Fred Kirk (bass guitar), Ken Richards (lead guitar) and Keith Kelly (rhythm guitar). For a short time the JB7 became John Barry & The Seven when he introduced a vibraphone player, John Aris, but by the time the band began recording for EMI (Parlophone) the experiment had been abandoned.
The JB7 appeared on British TV shows such as Six-Five Special and Oh Boy! during 1957 and 1958, but discontent began spreading through the band. Jack Good proved to be a hard taskmaster on Oh Boy! Rehearsals were deliberately lengthy, intense and arduous in order to perfect what was a fast-paced show.
When compounded by a tough touring schedule and regular recording commitments, morale began to suffer among the band's members. Disagreements started to surface. Fatigue bred discontent. Some resentment towards Barry simmered to the boil, because he did not have to appear when accompanying other artists on the bill. Add the homesickness caused by incessant travelling to the list of grievances and it was quite obvious that all was not well. At times work could be so irregular, that the band had already arrived back home in Yorkshire, by the time London-based Barry was in a position to call them south again for a few more dates. Moreover, they were losing a certain amount of work on Oh Boy! resulting in a substantial reduction in wages.
As a consequence, when Derek Myers received an offer to play with a big band in Scotland on a permanent basis, it was an offer he couldn't refuse. A week of almost constant bickering made up his mind for him. Mike Cox, on complaining bitterly about the quality of gigs offered, also left; likewise, Fred Kirk (a trained aircraft fitter), after spotting a job in aviation. When Ken Richards announced he wanted to return to Scarborough, Golder felt it was time for him to go too, not wishing to be the only one of the original local big-band trio remaining.
Mike Peters and Jimmy Stead (both from Ossett, near Leeds) replaced Kirk and Myers respectively. Peters then introduced Londoner Dennis King as a replacement for the disenchanted Mike Cox, while Stead brought in Dougie Wright, a drummer with whom he had played in the Leeds-based Bill Marsden Big Band. It meant that with the exception of Barry and Keith Kelly, the original band was a thing of the past. With the departure of lead guitarist Ken Richards, Barry was in urgent need of a replacement. Initially, he brought in another Leeds musician, Jack Oliver, but when he lasted a mere week, Barry decided to approach Vic Flick, whom he had encountered on a Paul Anka package tour, then still working with The Bob Cort Skiffle Group.
Much to Barry's relief, he jumped at the chance and arrived in time to rehearse for an important show at the Metropolitan in Edgware Road on 10 November 1958. The Seven was contracted to perform a 20-minute act as well as backing several other artists, including Marty Wilde. The line-up now read: John Barry (trumpet), Vic Flick (lead guitar), Mike Peters (bass guitar), Keith Kelly (rhythm guitar), Jimmy Stead (baritone sax), Dennis King (tenor-sax) and Dougie Wright (drums). For a very short time they experimented with a female singer, Liza Page, the sister of the TV star Jill Day, but this did not prove as successful as they had hoped.
BBC TV's rationale behind the inception of Drumbeat was to fill a spot in their summer schedules that would seriously threaten the popularity of ITV's Oh Boy! Producer Stewart Morris offered the band an audition with a view to appearing in its own right and also to back a variety of other artists, just as in the early days of Oh Boy! Barry liked the idea, and to seal the booking, decided to introduce a pianist into the group as a replacement for Keith Kelly, who had decided to try a solo career as a singer. Vic Flick suggested his flat mate Les Reed, then playing jazz piano in London night clubs.
The new line-up lasted until 1961 when Barry became too busy arranging and composing to continue. He installed Vic Flick as the leader and brought in Bobby Carr on trumpet to take his place. The band enjoyed a lot of chart success as well as appearing regularly on radio and TV and on pop package tours - often with Adam Faith.
During 1962, Dougie Wright and Les Reed departed - the former in search of more regular work and the latter to forge a career in writing and producing. Dickie Harwood and then Andy White replaced Wright for a short period, while Brian 'Rachmaninoff' Hazelby initially took over from Les Reed, before Kenny Salmon became a more permanent fixture. With Barry concentrating on his own future, the band was unable to find the same amount of work, particularly after having severed links with Adam Faith. What's more, since 'The James Bond Theme', further chart success was proving elusive; as such, other members were beginning to look to where the grass might be greener.
Vic Flick was one such person. He had been with the Seven since late 1958 and had led the band on stage for the past two years, but increasing demands on his time as a session player led to his decision to leave. Although he gave three months notice, Barry was unable to find a suitable replacement, thereby forcing him to temporarily disband the group. Flick's last performance as a member of the Seven was at Torquay in August 1963, after which he spent many years ensconced in various London recording studios as a much sought after freelance session musician, accompanying a roll call of the top names in the business.
By October 1963, after a temporary hiatus, Barry was able to assemble the nucleus of a resurrected JB7 with the assistance of acclaimed session drummer Bobby Graham. According to Graham, he had been requested by Barry to take over the leadership as a result of Barry's determination to cash in on the lucrative bookings that the Seven were still attracting at universities and colleges throughout the UK. Graham's pedigree in the pop world was indeed impressive. He was a member of The Outlaws, Joe Brown and The Bruvvers and Marty Wilde's Wildcats before moving into regular session work. At this point, the band consisted of Graham (drums), Dave Richmond (bass guitar), Ron Edgeworth (keyboards), Ray Russell (lead guitar), Terry Childs (baritone sax), Bob Downes (tenor sax) and Alan Bown (trumpet). After only a few months, Ray Styles was recruited to replace Dave Richmond on bass guitar, while Tony Ashton took over from Ron Edgeworth on piano and vocals.
In 1964, Graham - like Flick and Richmond before him - decided to concentrate on ever-increasing studio session work, something he had never entirely given up. At that point, Alan Bown took over as leader of the JB7, leaving only him and Terry Childs remaining from the Graham-led band. As soon as he took charge of the JB7, he was keen to book the new line-up into a studio, the result of which was the single '24 Hours Ago', the first JB7 vocal since Barry's early efforts seven years previously. This 45 featured new vocalist and keyboard player Mike O'Neil, and apart from Bown and Childs, the line-up was Dave Green (tenor-sax), Stan Haldane (bass guitar), Ernie Cox (drums) and Ron Menicos (lead guitar). The one remaining significant change to the line-up involved Mike O'Neil, who was replaced on keyboards/vocals by Jeff Bannister. Bown admits to have been disappointed when Barry gave him three months' notice of intent to permanently disband the group, particularly as the band was still much in demand at venues as wide ranging as winter gardens, hotels, universities and colleges. He is convinced that the band would still be performing up to the present day (and still making a good living at it) had the John Barry Seven moniker been retained. As it was, Bown quickly formed The Alan Bown Set, which included Stan Haldane, Jeff Bannister and Dave Green from the remains of the group. Although they were able to take over many of the JB7's regular bookings, the money was not the same without that all-important name.
John Barry, OBE (born John Barry Prendergast on 3 November 1933 in York, England; died 30 January 2011 in Oyster Bay, New York, US) was a renowned Golden Globe and five-time Academy Award-winning English film score composer. He was best known for composing 11 James Bond soundtracks and was hugely influential on the 007 series' distinctive style.
He contacted three musicians with whom he had served in the army and three local musicians and invited them to join his new band. The first line-up was: John Barry (vocals & trumpet), Mike Cox (tenor-sax), Derek Myers (alto-sax), Ken Golder (drums), Fred Kirk (bass guitar), Ken Richards (lead guitar) and Keith Kelly (rhythm guitar). For a short time the JB7 became John Barry & The Seven when he introduced a vibraphone player, John Aris, but by the time the band began recording for EMI (Parlophone) the experiment had been abandoned.
The JB7 appeared on British TV shows such as Six-Five Special and Oh Boy! during 1957 and 1958, but discontent began spreading through the band. Jack Good proved to be a hard taskmaster on Oh Boy! Rehearsals were deliberately lengthy, intense and arduous in order to perfect what was a fast-paced show.
When compounded by a tough touring schedule and regular recording commitments, morale began to suffer among the band's members. Disagreements started to surface. Fatigue bred discontent. Some resentment towards Barry simmered to the boil, because he did not have to appear when accompanying other artists on the bill. Add the homesickness caused by incessant travelling to the list of grievances and it was quite obvious that all was not well. At times work could be so irregular, that the band had already arrived back home in Yorkshire, by the time London-based Barry was in a position to call them south again for a few more dates. Moreover, they were losing a certain amount of work on Oh Boy! resulting in a substantial reduction in wages.
As a consequence, when Derek Myers received an offer to play with a big band in Scotland on a permanent basis, it was an offer he couldn't refuse. A week of almost constant bickering made up his mind for him. Mike Cox, on complaining bitterly about the quality of gigs offered, also left; likewise, Fred Kirk (a trained aircraft fitter), after spotting a job in aviation. When Ken Richards announced he wanted to return to Scarborough, Golder felt it was time for him to go too, not wishing to be the only one of the original local big-band trio remaining.
Mike Peters and Jimmy Stead (both from Ossett, near Leeds) replaced Kirk and Myers respectively. Peters then introduced Londoner Dennis King as a replacement for the disenchanted Mike Cox, while Stead brought in Dougie Wright, a drummer with whom he had played in the Leeds-based Bill Marsden Big Band. It meant that with the exception of Barry and Keith Kelly, the original band was a thing of the past. With the departure of lead guitarist Ken Richards, Barry was in urgent need of a replacement. Initially, he brought in another Leeds musician, Jack Oliver, but when he lasted a mere week, Barry decided to approach Vic Flick, whom he had encountered on a Paul Anka package tour, then still working with The Bob Cort Skiffle Group.
Much to Barry's relief, he jumped at the chance and arrived in time to rehearse for an important show at the Metropolitan in Edgware Road on 10 November 1958. The Seven was contracted to perform a 20-minute act as well as backing several other artists, including Marty Wilde. The line-up now read: John Barry (trumpet), Vic Flick (lead guitar), Mike Peters (bass guitar), Keith Kelly (rhythm guitar), Jimmy Stead (baritone sax), Dennis King (tenor-sax) and Dougie Wright (drums). For a very short time they experimented with a female singer, Liza Page, the sister of the TV star Jill Day, but this did not prove as successful as they had hoped.
BBC TV's rationale behind the inception of Drumbeat was to fill a spot in their summer schedules that would seriously threaten the popularity of ITV's Oh Boy! Producer Stewart Morris offered the band an audition with a view to appearing in its own right and also to back a variety of other artists, just as in the early days of Oh Boy! Barry liked the idea, and to seal the booking, decided to introduce a pianist into the group as a replacement for Keith Kelly, who had decided to try a solo career as a singer. Vic Flick suggested his flat mate Les Reed, then playing jazz piano in London night clubs.
The new line-up lasted until 1961 when Barry became too busy arranging and composing to continue. He installed Vic Flick as the leader and brought in Bobby Carr on trumpet to take his place. The band enjoyed a lot of chart success as well as appearing regularly on radio and TV and on pop package tours - often with Adam Faith.
During 1962, Dougie Wright and Les Reed departed - the former in search of more regular work and the latter to forge a career in writing and producing. Dickie Harwood and then Andy White replaced Wright for a short period, while Brian 'Rachmaninoff' Hazelby initially took over from Les Reed, before Kenny Salmon became a more permanent fixture. With Barry concentrating on his own future, the band was unable to find the same amount of work, particularly after having severed links with Adam Faith. What's more, since 'The James Bond Theme', further chart success was proving elusive; as such, other members were beginning to look to where the grass might be greener.
Vic Flick was one such person. He had been with the Seven since late 1958 and had led the band on stage for the past two years, but increasing demands on his time as a session player led to his decision to leave. Although he gave three months notice, Barry was unable to find a suitable replacement, thereby forcing him to temporarily disband the group. Flick's last performance as a member of the Seven was at Torquay in August 1963, after which he spent many years ensconced in various London recording studios as a much sought after freelance session musician, accompanying a roll call of the top names in the business.
By October 1963, after a temporary hiatus, Barry was able to assemble the nucleus of a resurrected JB7 with the assistance of acclaimed session drummer Bobby Graham. According to Graham, he had been requested by Barry to take over the leadership as a result of Barry's determination to cash in on the lucrative bookings that the Seven were still attracting at universities and colleges throughout the UK. Graham's pedigree in the pop world was indeed impressive. He was a member of The Outlaws, Joe Brown and The Bruvvers and Marty Wilde's Wildcats before moving into regular session work. At this point, the band consisted of Graham (drums), Dave Richmond (bass guitar), Ron Edgeworth (keyboards), Ray Russell (lead guitar), Terry Childs (baritone sax), Bob Downes (tenor sax) and Alan Bown (trumpet). After only a few months, Ray Styles was recruited to replace Dave Richmond on bass guitar, while Tony Ashton took over from Ron Edgeworth on piano and vocals.
In 1964, Graham - like Flick and Richmond before him - decided to concentrate on ever-increasing studio session work, something he had never entirely given up. At that point, Alan Bown took over as leader of the JB7, leaving only him and Terry Childs remaining from the Graham-led band. As soon as he took charge of the JB7, he was keen to book the new line-up into a studio, the result of which was the single '24 Hours Ago', the first JB7 vocal since Barry's early efforts seven years previously. This 45 featured new vocalist and keyboard player Mike O'Neil, and apart from Bown and Childs, the line-up was Dave Green (tenor-sax), Stan Haldane (bass guitar), Ernie Cox (drums) and Ron Menicos (lead guitar). The one remaining significant change to the line-up involved Mike O'Neil, who was replaced on keyboards/vocals by Jeff Bannister. Bown admits to have been disappointed when Barry gave him three months' notice of intent to permanently disband the group, particularly as the band was still much in demand at venues as wide ranging as winter gardens, hotels, universities and colleges. He is convinced that the band would still be performing up to the present day (and still making a good living at it) had the John Barry Seven moniker been retained. As it was, Bown quickly formed The Alan Bown Set, which included Stan Haldane, Jeff Bannister and Dave Green from the remains of the group. Although they were able to take over many of the JB7's regular bookings, the money was not the same without that all-important name.
John Barry, OBE (born John Barry Prendergast on 3 November 1933 in York, England; died 30 January 2011 in Oyster Bay, New York, US) was a renowned Golden Globe and five-time Academy Award-winning English film score composer. He was best known for composing 11 James Bond soundtracks and was hugely influential on the 007 series' distinctive style.
From Russia With Love
The John Barry Seven & Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From Russia with love, I fly to you
Much wiser since my goodbye to you
I've travelled the world to learn
I must return
From Russia with love
I've seen places, faces
And smile for a moment
But, oh, you haunted me so
Still, my tongue tied young bride
Would not let my love for you show
In case you'd say "No"
To Russia I flew but there and then
I suddenly knew you'd care again
My running around is through
I'd fly to you
From Russia with love
Much wiser since my goodbye to you
I've travelled the world to learn
I must return
From Russia with love
I've seen places, faces
And smile for a moment
Still, my tongue tied young bride
Would not let my love for you show
In case you'd say "No"
To Russia I flew but there and then
I suddenly knew you'd care again
My running around is through
I'd fly to you
From Russia with love
The song "From Russia with Love" by The John Barry Seven & Orchestra is the theme song for the 1963 James Bond film of the same name. The lyrics describe a person who has traveled the world to seek knowledge and wisdom but realizes that they still long for the love they left behind in Russia. The song suggests that the person has learned from their experiences and is now ready to return to their love. The lyrics convey the feeling of nostalgia and the desire to rekindle a lost love.
The lyrics also depict the fear of rejection and the reluctance to express one's true feelings. The line "Still, my tongue-tied young bride would not let my love for you show, in case you'd say 'no'" suggests that the person is hesitant to express their love because they are afraid of being rejected. However, the realization that their love is still important to them gives them the courage to fly back to Russia to express their feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
From Russia with love, I fly to you
I am coming to you from Russia as an expression of my love for you.
Much wiser since my goodbye to you
I have learned much since I last said goodbye to you.
I've travelled the world to learn
I have journeyed far and wide to gain knowledge and experience.
I must return
I am compelled to come back to you.
From Russia with love
I bring with me love from Russia as a gift for you.
I've seen places, faces
I have witnessed many different cities and people.
And smile for a moment
I briefly found happiness in those experiences.
But, oh, you haunted me so
Despite these moments of joy, you were always on my mind.
Still, my tongue tied young bride
I was unable to express my love for you due to my shyness and inexperience.
Would not let my love for you show
I kept my feelings hidden in fear of rejection.
In case you'd say "No"
I did not want to risk hearing you reject me.
To Russia I flew but there and then
I traveled to Russia, and in that moment,
I suddenly knew you'd care again
I realized that you still cared for me.
My running around is through
I am done with my wandering ways.
I'd fly to you
I am coming to see you.
From Russia with love
I bring with me love from Russia as a gift for you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN BARRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@SerkanOz
Great, great, great!!! Thank you very much.
@nemesiobolanos2353
Stupenda
@robinpearn6736
I still have my Ember Records, single of this tune. Magic!
@alanrogs3990
Excellent!
@chingmeichen436
NICELY DONE AND I FELT I WAS BACK IN "SIXTY-THREE" ON THE TURNTABLE...........LOVED THE ONE DOLLAR FORTY-FIVES!
@MauricioCasteglione
Amazing. Thanks for posting.
@josecorozal8356
espectacular
@garethbramley1
The single release without Alan Haven's organ.
@UTubeAngelique
B side... now that's on par...
@cristianevi780
1995 entrenamiento a nuevo valle