RIP Vic Flick

Have you heard the music of Vic Flick? No? I beg to differ. If you have any doubt, click here. What you will hear is the iconic guitar riff that highlights The James Bond Theme, which Flick originally recorded in 1962 for the film Dr. No. In addition to that legendary tune, Flick played on literally hundreds of other songs as one of the world’s most prolific session guitarists. Sadly, he passed away November 14 at the age of 87 after a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. He is survived by his wife Judy, to whom he was married for 64 years.

Victor Harold Flick was born on May 14, 1937, in Surrey, England. Both of his parents were musically active – his father a piano teacher and his mother a singer. Flick learned to read music as a child and, in his early teens, joined the family band that included his father on piano, his brother on saxophone, and a neighbor on violin. Although Flick could also play piano, he felt the band was lacking an essential instrument: a guitar, so he decided to learn to play. After just four lessons, plus hours of listening to records and practicing, he knew he had found his musical home.

For his first professional gig (several years before his now legendary association with James Bond), Flick hooked up with Les Clarke and His Musical Maniacs at a Butlin’s Holiday Camp in the seaside town of Skegness on England’s east coast. (Such English holiday camps were roughly akin to the Catskill Mountain resorts in the U.S. where many popular American musicians cut their professional teeth.) During the ensuing winter, Flick and his brother Alan formed the Vic Alan Quintet and landed another Butlin’s gig the following summer, this time in Clacton, a popular beach town a couple of hours east of London.

The Clacton gig proved to be a turning point in Flick’s career, thanks to the well-known resident bandleader, Eric Winstone, who discovered that Flick was not only a talented guitar player, but he could actually read music. From there, Flick found himself playing a consistent string of gigs, as well as broadcasts for BBC radio. He joined the popular Bob Cort skiffle group, who, in 1957, found themselves touring as the opening act for the John Barry Seven, the backing band for Paul Anka. Within a few months, Flick was invited to join the JB7, as they were popularly known, and his career caught fire. Flick began more than a decade of near-constant work for EMI Records’ Columbia label at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Flick played with some of the music industry’s most popular recording artists, including Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield, Burt Bacharach, Herman’s Hermits, Englebert Humperdinck, John Williams, and the Bee Gees, to name but a few. It was Flick whose guitar work helped propel Tom Jones to stardom on songs such as It’s Not Unusual and What’s New Pussycat, and he accompanied Petula Clark on her memorable musical trip Downtown.

The world of cinema also benefited from Flick’s guitar virtuosity. If you’ve seen the Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night, you’ll recall a scene where Ringo spends an afternoon strolling around town and alongside the River Thames, enjoying some time as a self-described “deserter” from the frenetic world of a 60s pop star. As he meanders, an instrumental version of Ringo’s Theme (This Boy) accompanies him. It is none other than Vic Flick playing the beautiful lead guitar melody. Take a listen here if you need a reminder of just how beautiful it is.

Of course it is the aforementioned James Bond Theme for which Flick will best be remembered. Monty Norman composed the piece, but it was John Barry (of the JB7) whose arrangement brought it to life in 1962. Somewhat unbelievably, Flick was paid a paltry seven pounds, ten shillings for that recording (the equivalent of about $15). Fortunately, future royalties would correct that injustice.

Flick’s association with the suave and handsome Bond would show up again in the soundtracks of From Russia with Love and Goldfinger. Shirley Bassey sang the title song of the latter film, and the story goes that John Barry told her she wasn’t holding the final note long enough to suit him. According to Flick, “Shirley slipped behind a studio partition, took her bra off, threw it over the partition, and declared, ‘OK, let’s take that last note again.’”

Later in his career, Flick collaborated with the likes of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Paul McCartney. He published his autobiography in 2008 and was honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2012 for “The Music of Bond: The First 50 years.” A Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Guitar Museum followed in 2013 for “contribution to the history of the guitar.”

The world of popular music owes a debt of gratitude to Vic Flick. I’m not a martini drinker, but if I were, I’d put on a dinner jacket, sit down at the classiest cocktail bar I could find and, in my best Bond voice, order one in Vic’s honor, specifying, of course, “shaken, not stirred.” Rest in peace, Vic Flick.