John Barry celebrated at Royal Albert Hall memorial concert

Friends and fans of the late film composer John Barry – who died in January at the age of 77 – have celebrated his life and career at a memorial charity concert. Dame Shirley Bassey was amongst the performers at the event, held at the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Barry’s song Goldfinger, written for the James Bond franchise, became her signature tune. Ex-James Bond Timothy Dalton and Beatles producer Sir George Martin were among the speakers and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performed selections from a host of Barry scores.

Sir Michael Parkinson opened the tribute, remembering the composer – who died in January at the age of 77 – as “a great man of music. He had an intuitive understanding of how to create the perfect union of music and the moving image”.