115 - John Altman on Monty Python, Prince, Muddy Waters, Amy Winehouse & more

About this episode

John Altman shares his experiences working with iconic musicians and contributing to notable film scores.

Altman John’s Uncles Sid Phillips & Wolf Phillips were big band conductors at the London Palladium so John grew up around the likes of Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong & Jack Benny. At a young age he played with the likes of Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, John Martyn, Nick Drake, Bridget St. John & Kevin Ayers. He joined Hot Chocolate & also found time to jam with Jimi Hendrix, have a laugh with Freddie Mercury & have Muddy Waters attend his 21st birthday party.  John also had a hand in the music of Monty Python playing a key role in the Life Of Brian spinoff hit Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.  Beatles spoof The Rutles featured John’s work & we hear how he recreated the famous Beatles sound on record.  Moving into the world of cinema & John had a hand in the music of Pierce Brosnan’s first turn as James Bond in 1995’s Goldeneye & also in 1997’s Titanic which became the biggest movie of all time up to that point. We hear about a frantic phone call from James Cameron during the making of Titanic.  John has also played on an estimated 4000 TV adverts ranging from Sheila’s Wheels to You Can Do It If You B&Q…

People in this episode

Host: Rock n Roll Book Club

Guest: John Altman

Topics covered

• music history
• film music
• collaborations
• celebrity encounters
• advertising music

Keywords

• John Altman
• Monty Python
• music history
• Titanic
• Jimi Hendrix
• Freddie Mercury
• advertising music
• The Snowman
• collaborations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Monty Python, Hot Chocolate, The Rutles, Titanic, Goldeneye, Sheila’s Wheels, B&Q, Raymond Briggs

Books & works: Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, Walking In The Air, The Snowman

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