Vic Flick

About

From Wikipedia:

Victor Harold Flick (born 14 May 1937) is an English guitarist, best known for playing the guitar riff in the “James Bond Theme”. He also played the distinctive guitar riff in the intro and bridge of the Herman’s Hermits recording of “Silhouettes”, a 1965 UK Top 5 hit. He also played a slightly modified “James Bond” guitar part in The Beatles’ “Help!” (1965) soundtrack score.

Biography

In the late 1950s Flick joined the John Barry Seven, and his first composition for the group was the track “Zapata”. With them, he played the guitar riff for the theme of the popular TV show Juke Box Jury and appeared on every episode of BBC TV’s Drumbeat.

On the Dr. No soundtrack, he was lead guitarist on the track, the “James Bond Theme”. Flick continued to contribute to the James Bond soundtracks from the 1960s through the late 1980s.

Apart from his early 1960s work as the lead guitarist in the John Barry Seven, Flick was a session player, featured on many early 1960s UK pop records. Flick was a member of the George Martin Orchestra, and contributed to the soundtrack of the film A Hard Day’s Night playing his Olympic white 1961 Fender Stratocaster on “Ringo’s Theme (This Boy)” instrumental.

He has worked with many popular recording artists, including Herman’s Hermits, Nancy Sinatra, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, Paul McCartney, Engelbert Humperdinck, Lulu, Shirley Bassey, Burt Bacharach, Petula Clark, Sandie Shaw, Crispian St. Peters, Hank Marvin, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, John Williams, Mark Wirtz, John Schroeder, Don Partridge, Typically Tropical and Don Lusher. One of Flick’s legendary guitars, a Clifford Essex Paragon De Luxe, on which he played the original “James Bond Theme”, was displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

He played the 12 string guitar part on Peter and Gordon’s 1964 # 1 record “A World Without Love“.

In 1965, Sir George Martin recruited Vic Flick and most of the original Goldfinger musicians to provide “James Bond”-sounding music for The Beatles movie Help! soundtrack.

Flick also collaborated with Merchant Ivory Productions as composer/music arranger for Autobiography of a Princess (1975), The Europeans (1979), Quartet (1981), and Heat and Dust (1983).

In 1999, he worked with composer Nic Raine, backed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, on the James Bond tribute album titled Bond Back in Action.

In 2003, he recorded the album James Bond Now, featuring tracks from James Bond soundtracks and new compositions.

In 2005, he played on the soundtrack of the From Russia With Love video game by Electronic Arts.

In 2008, his autobiography, Vic Flick Guitarman: From James Bond to The Beatles and Beyond , was published by Bearmanor Media.

On October 5, 2012, Vic Flick was honored at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for “The Music of Bond: The First 50 Years.” He played the “James Bond Theme” on his 1939 Clifford Essex Paragon De Luxe “James Bond” Guitar to a live audience. He also was interviewed on stage by Jon Burlingame, a writer on the subject of music for film and television.

He was presented with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2013 by The National Guitar Museum for “contribution to the history of the guitar.” He was the 4th recipient of the annual award. […]

Vic Flick played guitars on all tracks of “Thrillington“, recorded in 1971.

Last updated on April 30, 2022