A black day for the James Bond music since that fateful penultimate day of January 2011 where the master John Barry left us. Derek Watkins, trumpetist for every Bond film soundtrack from 1962's DR NO to 2012's SKYFALL, has died today after battling to a sarcoma, a rare form of cancer.
The sad news where spread via Twitter by David Arnold, composer of five 007 soundtracks since 1997: "That will be a chair in the Trumpet section that will remain permanently empty... an irreplaceable musician and a down to earth, funny man," he said. At the same time, John Altman, who rescored the tank chase sequence for GOLDENEYE, reflected that Watkins was "part of his life since the 60s".
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| Derek Watkins and his much loved instrument |
Born in Reading, Berkshire, on March 2, 1945, Watkins was taught to play the cornet aged 4, and he would play with his father's dance band until he became a professional at the age of 17, when he started his long lasting relationship with the Bond franchise.
The trumpetist also worked in a huge variety of films like MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, the 007 parody JOHNNY ENGLISH, BRIDGET'S JONES DIARY, GLADIATOR, and 2003's Academy Award winner CHICAGO.
From THE GOLDENEYE DOSSIER, we'd like to offer our deepest condolences to his family.
Source: DerekWatkins.com
