Monty Norman, the man behind the iconic James Bond theme, died at the age of 94. The composer’s official website shared the message “It is with sadness we share the news that Monty Norman died on 11th July 2022 after a short illness.”

He composed the score for ‘Dr No’, the 1962 Bond film starring Sean Connery, and the instrumental eventually became the theme for the entire franchise. 

John Barry eventually re-arranged the theme and claimed to have written it, but courts have ruled twice in Norman’s favour, and the deceased singer’s site also claims “We recognized we needed a fresh, contemporary sound for the main theme, and in the up-and-coming young John Barry we found a wonderful arranger, so the whole thing worked very well.”

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Born in Stepney, East London on April 4, 1928, Norman was originally named Monty Noserovitch. He was the only child of Jewish parents and left London due to World War II, but returned during the blitz – German bombing of the city. Norman served with the RAF and became interested in singing during this time. 

During the 1950s and 1960s, Norman was a singer for big bands including names like Ted Heath and Nat Temple. The London-born artist also shared top billing with other singers and comedy stars like Peter Sellers.

He moved into composing music in the late 1950s, working on projects like ‘The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll’ and ‘The Day the Earth Caught Fire’.  

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Norman was the first husband of actor Diana Coupland, and the couple was married for 20 years before splitting up. They have a daughter together. She supported her ex when he sued The Sunday Times for claiming that Barry had composed the James Bond theme. 

Coupland called it “blatantly untrue” and Norman was ultimately awarded £30,000 for the case.