Bond - Vic Flick - Guitarman: From James Bond to The Beatles and Beyond

by Vic Flick

Few musicians have had a career like Vic Flick. Working prolifically during the fifties, sixties and seventies, he performed alongside such artists as Tom Jones, Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis, Jr., Engelbert Humperdinck, Bing Crosby, and many others. Now for the first time, Vic Flick tells what it was like to be a part of the British Invasion that included The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Vic spent time with them all, and after reading this insightful memoir, you'll feel that you have, too!

Vic Flick's connection with the films in the James Bond series is legend. His guitar sound on the “James Bond Theme” stirred the hearts and imaginations of a generation. He knew the music business from the inside, including the good and the bad business practices, the money, the agents, and the managers. From The Beatles to Nancy Sinatra, from Tom Jones to Dusty Springfield, they're all within the pages of Vic Flick's autobiography. In the late 1950s, Flick joined The John Barry Seven, and his first composition for the group was “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. When Hollywood beckoned him to work on soundtrack for Dr. No (1962), he played lead guitarist on the "James Bond Theme.” He continued to contribute to the James Bond soundtracks from the 1960s through the late 1980s. He also contributed to the soundtrack of The Beatles musical, A Hard Day's Night, playing his Olympic white 1961 Fender Stratocaster on "Ringo's Theme (This Boy)" instrumental. He has worked with many notable artists, including Herman's Hermits, Nancy Sinatra, Engelbert Humperdinck, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page. He played the 12-string guitar part on Peter and Gordon's 1964 # 1 record, "A World Without Love.” In 2005, he provided his guitar talents to the soundtrack of the From Russia With Love video game. 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." "Vic's book is an amazing read, full of his entertaining sense of humor and a reservoir of miscellaneous facts and tales of the studios and the musicians who made London such a fabulous place to be in the '60s. Miss it at your peril." – Pipeline (UK)