David Arnold facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Arnold
Arnold at the BMI Awards in May 2011
Background information
Born	(1962-01-23) 23 January 1962 (age 63) Luton, England
Genres	Film score
Occupation(s)	Composer
Instruments	Clarinet guitar piano
Years active	1993–present

David Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is a famous English composer. He writes music for movies and TV shows. You might know his work from five James Bond films (from 1997 to 2008). He also composed music for big movies like Independence Day (1996) and Godzilla (1998).

On TV, he wrote music for popular shows such as Little Britain and Sherlock. For Independence Day, he won a Grammy Award. For Sherlock, he won an Emmy Award with his co-composer Michael Price. David Arnold also wrote the music for the TV series Good Omens in 2019.

His Music Career

David Arnold became friends with director Danny Cannon when he was in college. David started writing music for Danny's short films. Their first big movie together was The Young Americans. A song from that movie, "Play Dead" with singer Björk, became very popular in the UK.

After that, David wrote music for the movie Stargate. Some of his music from Stargate became very popular for use in movie trailers. He continued to work with Stargate director Roland Emmerich on Independence Day and Godzilla. He also worked on four movies for director John Singleton.

David has composed music for many different types of films. These include comedies, dramas, and historical movies. He also wrote music for British TV shows like Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Little Britain. In 2010, he composed music for the TV series Come Fly With Me.

In 2012, David Arnold received a special honorary degree from the University of West London. This means he was recognized for his great achievements in music.

Live Music Concerts

David Arnold started performing his movie and TV music live in concerts. His first big orchestral concert was in London in 2014. He had an orchestra, a choir, and special guests like Mark Gatiss.

He continued to perform his music in concerts in 2015. He played in cities like Dublin, Manchester, and London. He was also a special guest at a concert in Lucerne, Switzerland. In 2016, the Royal Albert Hall held a special event. They showed the movie Independence Day while a live orchestra played David's music. People loved it and said it felt like watching the movie for the first time.

In 2017, David hosted more concerts in Dublin. One concert showed his career in film and TV music. The other was another Independence Day Live event. He also took part in the first ever James Bond film screening with a live orchestra. This was for Casino Royale in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

James Bond Music

Arnold at the Royal Albert Hall in London in October 2022. He helped celebrate 60 years of James Bond films.

David Arnold was a big fan of James Bond movies and their music from a young age. He especially admired the original Bond composer, John Barry. In 1997, David created an album called Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project. On this album, different artists sang new versions of classic James Bond themes.

John Barry himself was very impressed with David's album. He even suggested David to the producers of the next Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies. So, David was hired to write the music for that movie. He even included musical hints from John Barry's older Bond scores.

David went on to score four more James Bond films:

• The World Is Not Enough
• Die Another Day
• Casino Royale
• Quantum of Solace

He did not compose the music for the 23rd Bond film, Skyfall. However, some of his music from Casino Royale was used again in Skyfall and SPECTRE.

David also helped write the main theme songs for some Bond movies. These include "The World Is Not Enough" by Garbage and "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell for Casino Royale.

Other Projects

David Arnold has worked with many different musicians and bands. These include Cast, Kaiser Chiefs, and Pulp. He also produced an album for the famous singer Shirley Bassey in 2009.

In 2001, he created a new version of the famous Doctor Who theme music. This version was used for the Eighth Doctor's audio adventures until 2008.

David Arnold is also a distant cousin of the Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice. He is an ambassador for the aid organization CARE International in the UK. He has even made small acting appearances in two episodes of Little Britain.

In 2011, David was chosen to be the Musical Director for the 2012 Olympic Games and 2012 Paralympic Games in London. This was a very important role. He also helped judge the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.

In 2014, David teamed up with Richard Thomas to write the music and songs for a new musical called Made in Dagenham. In 2015, he worked with artists like Lethal Bizzle to create a song that mixed different music styles. He also composed music for the TV series Jekyll and Hyde.

More recently, in 2023, it was announced that David Arnold would work with singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and lyricist Don Black. They are creating a song for a new film called "Mog's Christmas," based on the popular children's books. The song is called "As Long As I Belong" and talks about how important it is to feel like you belong.

Acting Filmography

Discography

Films

Television

Video games

Web series

Singles in charts

Awards

David Arnold has won several important awards for his music:

• Won: Grammy Award – Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television – for Independence Day
• Won: Ivor Novello Awards – Best International Film Score for The World Is Not Enough
• Won: Ivor Novello Awards – BASCA Fellowship (2005)
• Nominated: BAFTA Award – Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music – for Casino Royale
• Nominated: Grammy Award – Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media – for "You Know My Name" from Casino Royale (as a songwriter)
• Won: BBC Radio Awards – Best music production – for The Sound of Cinema with David Arnold
• Won: Emmy Award - Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Special – for Sherlock ("His Last Vow") (with Michael Price)

Images for kids

• 

  Arnold at the BMI Awards in May 2011

• 

  Arnold at the Royal Albert Hall in London in October 2022 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He curated The Sound of 007 in Concert, marking 60 years of the Bond film series.

See also

In Spanish: David Arnold para niños