Anne Dudley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anne Dudley
Dudley in March 2014
Background information
Birth name	Anne Jennifer Beckingham
Born	(1956-05-07) 7 May 1956 (age 69) Chatham, Kent, England
Genres	Film scores electronic synth-pop new wave
Occupation(s)	Composer pianist keyboardist songwriter
Instruments	Piano keyboards synthesizer
Labels	Angel EMI

Anne Dudley is a talented English composer, keyboard player, and conductor. She was born on May 7, 1956. Anne is well-known for her work in both classical and pop music. She has also composed music for many films.

Anne was a key member of the electronic music band Art of Noise. In 1998, she won an Oscar for her amazing music in the movie The Full Monty. She has created music for over twenty other films. In 2012, she also helped produce the music for the film Les Misérables. She arranged music and wrote new parts for it.

Anne Dudley's Musical Journey

Anne Dudley was born in Chatham, Kent, England. She studied music and earned a master's degree from King's College London in 1978. Anne first trained as a classical musician. Later, she started working as a session musician in the commercial music world. This is where she began working with Trevor Horn, a famous producer.

In 1982, Anne helped with the ABC album The Lexicon of Love. She added keyboard parts and even created the orchestral arrangements for the album. She also helped write one of the songs.

Being Part of Art of Noise

Anne was a founding member of the band Art of Noise in 1983. This group was a pioneer in using sampling in pop music. Sampling means using parts of other recordings in new songs.

Some of their popular songs include "Beat Box" (1984) and "Moments in Love" (1985). They also had hits like "Close (to the Edit)" (1984) and "Paranoimia" (1986). In 1988, they had a Top 10 hit with Tom Jones called "Kiss". Art of Noise also created the theme music for the TV game show The Krypton Factor.

Working with Other Artists

Anne Dudley's work with Trevor Horn and Art of Noise led her to collaborate with many other famous artists. She worked with Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Seal, Marc Almond, Rod Stewart, and Robbie Williams.

She also helped write songs with Malcolm McLaren ("Buffalo Gals") and Cathy Dennis ("Too Many Walls"). She even wrote a 1930s-style song with Sting called "This Was Never Meant to Be".

Anne produced the hit song "You Can Leave Your Hat On" for Tom Jones in 1988. She also produced a single for Debbie Harry called "Strike Me Pink" in 1993.

In 1989, Anne produced and conducted string arrangements for the band Waterfront's first album. She also worked with Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys and Bernard Sumner from New Order. Anne added beautiful string arrangements to their song "Getting Away with It" in 1989.

She produced two songs on the 2002 Opera Babes album Beyond Imagination. This album was very successful, reaching No. 1 on the UK classical charts. In 2004, Anne produced the album Voice for Alison Moyet. This album reached No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart.

Orchestral Works and Collaborations

Anne Dudley has composed pieces for orchestras. One of her works is "Northern Lights," a 14-minute piece inspired by Norway's Aurora Borealis. It was performed at the Royal Festival Hall in 2005 and 2006.

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. Anne 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. Anne was also the musical director for Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra. This show was performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 2008 and later toured.

In 2008, Anne worked with artist Sam Taylor-Wood on an art installation called Sigh. This project featured the BBC Concert Orchestra on large screens, playing along to Anne's music.

More recently, in 2019, 2022, and 2024, she conducted the Southbank Sinfonia during Martin Fry's Lexicon of Love tour.

Film Music Compositions

Anne Dudley has created music for films for over 20 years. Some of her film scores include:

• Buster (1988), a British comedy-drama.
• The Pope Must Die (1991), a comedy film.
• The Crying Game (1992), an Irish/British drama.
• Felidae (1994), a German animated mystery.
• The Grotesque (1995), a British film.
• The Full Monty (1997), a comedy for which Anne won an Oscar.
• American History X (1998), an American drama.
• Pushing Tin (1999), a comedy-drama about air traffic controllers.
• The Miracle Maker (2000), an animated film for TV.
• Lucky Break (2001), a British comedy.
• Monkeybone (2001), an American film combining live-action and stop-motion animation.
• Bright Young Things (2003), a British drama.
• Black Book (2006), a World War II film.
• Tristan & Isolde (2006), a romantic drama.
• Perfect Creature (2007), a New Zealand horror/thriller.
• Les Misérables (2012), a big musical film.
• Elle (2016), a French thriller.
• The Hustle (2019), an American comedy.
• Benedetta (2020), a French/Italian drama.

Her TV music includes scores for:

• Jeeves and Wooster (a TV series).
• Above Suspicion.
• Kavanagh QC.
• The Tenth Kingdom (an American fantasy miniseries).
• Poldark (2015 BBC TV series).
• The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries.
• The Velveteen Rabbit.

Session Musician Work

Anne Dudley has also worked as a session musician. This means she plays instruments or arranges music for other artists' recordings. Her work includes:

• ABC – The Lexicon of Love album (No. 1 in UK, 1982).
• a-ha – string scores for "Hunting High & Low" (1986).
• Oleta Adams – Circle of One album (No. 1 in UK, 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.
• Cathy Dennis – Move to This and Into the Skyline albums.
• Electronic – "Getting Away with It" single (No. 12 in UK, 1990).
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome album.
• Elton John – The Big Picture album.
• Annie Lennox – Medusa album (No. 1 in UK, 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 UK, 1989).
• Jimmy Nail – Crocodile Shoes album (No. 2 in UK, 1994).
• OMD – Universal album.
• Pet Shop Boys – Very, Concrete and Fundamental albums.
• Pulp – Different Class and This Is Hardcore albums (both No. 1).
• Rush – Power Windows album.
• S Club – 7 album (No. 1 in UK, 2000).
• Seal – Seal, Seal II and Human Being albums.
• Rod Stewart – A Spanner in the Works and If We Fall in Love Tonight albums.
• Travis – "More Than Us" EP.
• Tina Turner – Wildest Dreams album.
• Wet Wet Wet – Holding Back the River album (No. 2 in UK, 1989).
• Wham! – "Everything She Wants" single.
• Robbie Williams – Reality Killed the Video Star album.
• Will Young – Friday's Child album (No. 1 in UK, 2004).

Awards and Recognitions

Besides her Oscar for The Full Monty, Anne Dudley has received many other awards and nominations:

• Grammy Award (1987): The Art of Noise's version of "Peter Gunn" won for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
• Brit Award (twice): In 1998 for Best Soundtrack for The Full Monty, and in 1989 for Buster.
• Ivor Novello Award (3 nominations): For Crime Traveller (1997), The Key (2003), and Trial and Retribution (2008).
• BASCA Gold Badge Award: In 2014, for her special contribution to music.

Other honors

• 2004: She became a Fellow of The Royal College of Music.
• 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 notable alumni.

Discography (Solo and Collaborations)

Here are some of Anne Dudley's albums and soundtracks, not including her work with Art of Noise:

• Buster (1988)
• Songs from the Victorious City (1991) (with 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