Art & Hue

Laurie Johnson

One of the greatest film & TV music composers of all time has to be Laurie Johnson. From “The Avengers” and “Jason King” to “The Professionals” and “This is your Life”, his memorable compositions set the tone perfectly for what was to come.

Laurie Johnson theme music

One of the best, if not THE best, television themes of all time has to be Laurie Johnson’s titles music for “The Avengers“. The stylish swagger and powerful impact of Steed and Mrs Emma Peel is encapsulated perfectly with Johnson’s use of strings, brass and harpsichord.

Rather than re-use “The Avengers” music for “The New Avengers” in the 1970s, Johnson reworked the opening bars from the original into a whole new theme for Purdey, Steed, and Gambit.

The 1960s also saw Johnson create the iconic music for “Jason King” starring Peter Wyngarde and “Animal Magic” which was re-used many years later as the theme for the BBC mockumentary “W1A”.

Following “The New Avengers”, Johnson created another of TV’s most catchy themes ever for C.I.5. agents Bodie & Doyle in “The Professionals“.

As well as Laurie’s body of classic television themes, he also provided the soundtrack for a wide and varied selection of films over the years.

Some of Johnson’s film soundtracks include the Stanley Kubrick film “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” starring Peter Sellers; “What a Whopper” with Sid James, Adam Faith, Charles Hawtrey, and Carole Lesley; “The Beauty Jungle” with Janette Scott and Sid James; “The Good Companions” with Janette Scott, Joyce Grenfell, and Carole Lesley; “You Must Be Joking!” with Terry-Thomas, Bernard Cribbins, and Irene Handl; “The Belstone Fox” with Dennis Waterman; “No Trees in the Street” with Stanley Holloway, Herbert Lom, Carole Lesley, and David Hemmings; “Hot Millions” with Maggie Smith and Peter Ustinov; “A Hazard of Hearts” with Diana Rigg; and “Diagnosis: Murder” with Christopher Lee.

Discover Laurie Johnson’s music on Apple iTunes.

Laurie Johnson

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Laurie Johnson

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