Roy Frederick Budd was born in Surrey, England on March
14, 1947. Budd became interested in music from an early age and began to play
the piano when he was two, initially by ear and then by copying various melodies
he heard by listening to the radio. When he was six, two Austrian music experts
visited him at home and after various tests, found that he had perfect pitch.
In 1953, he made his public concert debut at the London Coliseum. By the age of
eight, he could play the Wurlitzer organ and four years later he was appearing
on television at the London Palladium. Although widely thought to be a
self-taught pianist, he did also receive piano lessons from a lady called Mrs.
Sax.
He formed the "Roy Budd Trio" with bassist
Peter McGurk and his cousin, drummer Trevor Tomkins before leaving school and
embarking on a career as a jazz pianist. Roy later reformed the trio with Tony
Archer or Jeff Clyne on bass and Chris Karan on drums. Clyne was later replaced
by Pete Morgan, creating a line-up that was maintained until his death.
Budd's film work in the eighties included the scores for “Mama
Dracula” (1980), “Field of Honor” (1986), and Picha's adult cartoons “The
Missing Link” (1980) and “The Big Bang” (1987). Returning to his first love, he
played regular jazz shows at Duke's Bar in Marylebone, London, partnering with
veteran harmonica player, Larry Adler. He also arranged for and accompanied
such artists as Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, and Charles Aznavour.
Budd's last work was a new symphonic score for the 1925
silent film The Phantom of the Opera. The score was over 80 minutes long. Roy
died of a cerebral hemorrhage on August 7, 1993 in London only weeks before the
premier of The Phantom of the Opera production.
BUDD, Roy (Roy
Frederick Budd) [3/14/1947, Surrey,
England, U.K. – 8/7/1993, London, England, U.K. (brain hemorrhage)] – composer,
conductor, conductor, musician (piano, organ), actor, brother of musician Peter
C. Budd [1940- ], married singer,
dancer, actress Caterina Valente [1931-
] (1972-1979) father of recording engineer Alexander Budd [1974- ], married to Sylvia Budd (1980-1993),
formed the musical group CSC [
Catlow – 1971
Welcome to Blood City - 1977
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