Anne Dudley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne Dudley
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![]() Dudley in March 2014
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Background information | |
Birth name | Anne Jennifer Beckingham |
Born | Beckenham, Kent, England |
7 May 1956
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Composer, pianist, keyboardist, songwriter |
Instruments | |
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Anne Dudley (born on May 7, 1956) is a talented English composer, keyboard player, and conductor. She is also a pop musician. She was the first "Composer in Association" for the BBC Concert Orchestra in 2001. Anne Dudley has worked in both classical and pop music. She is well-known for composing music for movies. She was also a key member of the synth-pop band Art of Noise.
In 1998, Anne Dudley won an Oscar for her music in the movie The Full Monty. This was for "Best Original Musical or Comedy Score." Besides her work on over twenty other movies, she also helped create the music for the 2012 film Les Misérables. She was the music producer, arranger, and even wrote some new music for it.
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Anne Dudley's Music Career
Anne Dudley was born in Beckenham, Kent, England. She studied music and earned a master's degree from King's College London in 1978. Even though she trained as a classical musician, she started working as a session musician in the pop music world. This is where she began working with music producer Trevor Horn.
In 1982, Anne Dudley helped with the album The Lexicon of Love by the band ABC. Trevor Horn produced this album. She started by adding keyboard parts and then arranged the orchestra music for the whole album. She even helped write one of the songs!
Art of Noise: A Pioneer Band
Anne Dudley was a founding member of the band Art of Noise in 1983. This group was very important because they helped start the trend of using sampling in pop music. Sampling means using parts of existing recordings to create new music.
Some of their popular songs include:
- "Beat Box" (1984)
- "Moments in Love" (1985)
- "Close (to the Edit)" (1984)
- "Paranoimia" (1986), which featured a voice from the artificial intelligence character, Max Headroom.
- "Kiss" (1988), a Top 10 hit with Tom Jones.
Art of Noise also created the theme song for the TV game show The Krypton Factor. This theme was used from 1986 to 1993.
Working with Famous Artists
Because of her work with Trevor Horn and Art of Noise, Anne Dudley got to work with many other famous artists. These include Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Seal, Marc Almond, Rod Stewart, and Robbie Williams.
She has also co-written songs with:
- Malcolm McLaren ("Buffalo Gals")
- Cathy Dennis ("Too Many Walls")
- Sting ("This Was Never Meant to Be")
Anne Dudley produced the hit song "You Can Leave Your Hat On" for Tom Jones in 1988. She also produced a song for Debbie Harry called "Strike Me Pink" in 1993.
In 1989, she produced and arranged the string music for the first album by the band Waterfront. She also worked with Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys and Bernard Sumner from New Order. She added beautiful string arrangements to their song "Getting Away with It" in 1989.
Anne Dudley produced two songs for the Opera Babes album Beyond Imagination in 2002. In 2004, she produced the album Voice for Alison Moyet. This album reached No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart.
Orchestral Works and Performances
Anne Dudley has also created music for full orchestras. Her piece "Northern Lights" is a 14-minute musical picture of Norway's Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). It was performed at the Royal Festival Hall and played on BBC Radio 3.
Her first project as Composer in Association with the BBC Concert Orchestra was "Music and Silence." This piece was inspired by a novel and first performed in 2002. She also arranged Bach's "Chaconne from Partita in D minor" for a piano trio. Her album Ancient and Modern (1999) features modern versions of traditional hymns and Bach chorales.
She was the music director for Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra. This show was performed at the Royal Albert Hall and later toured with different orchestras. It included fun parts like the orchestra playing the Nokia theme tune!
In 2008, Anne Dudley worked with artist Sam Taylor-Wood on an art installation called Sigh. This project featured the BBC Concert Orchestra on large screens, pretending to play Dudley's music.
Anne Dudley's Film Scores
Anne Dudley has been composing music for movies for over 20 years. Here are some of the films she has scored:
- Buster (1988), a British comedy-drama starring Phil Collins.
- The Pope Must Die (1991), a comedy film starring Robbie Coltrane.
- The Crying Game (1992), an Irish/British drama film.
- Felidae (1994), a German animated mystery about cats.
- The Full Monty (1997), a comedy about unemployed steel workers. Anne Dudley won an Oscar for her music in this film!
- American History X (1998), an American drama starring Edward Norton.
- Pushing Tin (1999), a comedy-drama about air traffic controllers.
- The Miracle Maker (2000), an animated film for TV.
- Monkeybone (2001), an American film combining live-action and stop-motion animation.
- A Man Apart (2003), starring Vin Diesel.
- Bright Young Things (2003), a British drama directed by Stephen Fry.
- Black Book (2006), a World War II film.
- Tristan & Isolde (2006), a romantic drama based on a medieval legend.
- Les Misérables (2012), a huge musical film (she was the music producer and arranger).
- Elle (2016), a French thriller.
- The Hustle (2019), an American comedy film starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson.
TV Music
Anne Dudley has also composed music for many TV shows, including:
- Jeeves and Wooster (all episodes) with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.
- Above Suspicion.
- Kavanagh QC.
- The Tenth Kingdom, an American fantasy TV miniseries.
- Poldark (2015), a BBC TV series.
Selected Session Musician Work
A session musician is someone who is hired to play on recordings or performances, but isn't a permanent member of a band. Anne Dudley has done a lot of work as a session musician, especially arranging string and orchestral music. Here are some of the artists she has worked with:
- ABC – The Lexicon of Love album (No. 1 in the UK charts 1982).
- a-ha – string music for "Hunting High & Low" and "The Blood That Moves the Body."
- Oleta Adams – Circle of One album (No. 1 in the UK charts 1991).
- Marc Almond – Tenement Symphony album.
- Rick Astley – Free album.
- Boyzone – A Different Beat album.
- Cher – It's a Man's World album.
- Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Rattlesnakes album (string arranger).
- Electronic – "Getting Away with It" single (No. 12 in the UK, No. 38 in the US).
- Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome album, including their No. 1 hits "Two Tribes" and "The Power of Love".
- Elton John – The Big Picture album.
- Annie Lennox – Medusa album (No. 1 in the UK charts 1995).
- Paul McCartney – Press to Play and Give My Regards to Broad Street albums.
- Malcolm McLaren – Duck Rock album.
- George Michael – "Careless Whisper" single (No. 1 in 25 countries).
- Liza Minnelli – Results album (No. 6 in the UK charts 1989).
- Jimmy Nail – Crocodile Shoes album (No. 2 in the UK charts 1994).
- Pet Shop Boys – Very, Concrete, and Fundamental albums.
- Rush – Power Windows album.
- S Club – 7 album (No. 1 in the UK charts 2000).
- Seal – Seal, Seal II, and Human Being albums.
- Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works and If We Fall in Love Tonight albums.
- Suggs – The Lone Ranger album.
- Travis – "More Than Us" EP.
- Tina Turner – Wildest Dreams album.
- Wet Wet Wet – Holding Back the River album (No. 2 in the UK charts 1989).
- Wham! – "Everything She Wants" and "Young Guns (Go for It)" singles.
- Robbie Williams – Reality Killed the Video Star album.
- Will Young – Friday's Child album (No. 1 in the UK charts 2004) and "Leave Right Now" single (No. 1 in the UK charts 2003).
Awards and Recognition
Besides her Oscar for The Full Monty, Anne Dudley has won and been nominated for many other awards:
- Grammy Award (1987): The Art of Noise version of "Peter Gunn" won for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance."
- Brit Award (twice):
- 1998: For Best Soundtrack for The Full Monty.
- 1989: For Best British Soundtrack for Buster.
- Ivor Novello Award (3 nominations):
- For Crime Traveller, Best Original Music for Broadcast 1997.
- For The Key, Best Original Music for Television 2003.
- For Trial and Retribution, Best Television Soundtrack 2008.
- BASCA Gold Badge Award: In 2014, for her special contribution to music.
Other honors:
- In 2004, she became a Fellow of The Royal College of Music.
- In 2011, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Kent.
Television Appearances
- Anne Dudley appeared on the 2018/2019 Christmas University Challenge. She represented King's College London with other famous alumni.
Discography (excluding Art of Noise work)
- Buster (1988)
- Songs from the Victorious City (1991) (with Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman)
- Jeeves and Wooster Album titled "The World of Jeeves & Wooster" (1991)
- The Pope Must Die (1991)
- The Crying Game (1992)
- Felidae (1994)
- Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets (1995)
- American History X (1998)
- Ancient and Modern (1999)
- Pushing Tin (1999)
- The 10th Kingdom (2000)
- A Different Light (2001)
- Monkeybone (2001)
- Seriously Chilled (2003)
- Club Classical: Orchestral Chillout Sounds (2003)
- Tristan & Isolde (2006)
- Black Book (2006)
- Crossing the Bar (2022)
See also
In Spanish: Anne Dudley para niños