From left: Malcolm McNeill, John Charles and Bruno Lawrence in 1994 Photo: John Charles collection / AudioCulture
New Zealand composers have been creating music for locally-made movies since the 1930s, and one of the first composers to really put their mark on a string of hit films with his original music was John Charles.
A true Renaissance man, John cut his teeth playing piano in jazz bands like the Acme Sausage Company, was an integral part of musical collective BLERTA, and - along with childhood friend Geoff Murphy - made the transition to film.
Ryan Smith talks with Bryan Crump about the contribution of composer John Charles to Aotearoa's film music. Charles died in early May at the age of 83, and is particularly remembered for his collaborations with film director Geoff Murphy, composing soundtracks to such iconic NZ movies as Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu and The Quiet Earth.
For more about John Charles, visit his profile at AudioCulture - the Noisy Library of New Zealand Music. And for more on our country's rich film music history, check out the Film Music Aotearoa series of articles by Ryan Smith.
