Vic Flick, guitarist on James Bond theme song, dies aged 87

nme.com:

James Bond theme, has died aged 87.The British session musician passed away last Thursday (November 14) after suffering with Alzheimer’s disease according to his son, Kevin Flick.The Bond theme tune was originally recorded in 1962 for the first movie Dr.

No, with Flick playing the famous riff on a 1939 English Clifford Essex Paragon Deluxe guitar plugged into a Fender Vibrolux amplifier.

He was paid just £6 at the time.He went on to work on various other Bond soundtracks, including From Russia With Love and Goldfinger.“It had an edge to it, sort of a dynamic sound,” Flick told Jon Burlingame for his 2012 book The Music Of James Bond (via The Guardian). “I overplayed it – leaned into those thick low strings with the very hard plectrum, played it slightly ahead of the beat, and it came out exciting, almost ‘attacking’, which fit the James Bond image.”More recently he reflected on the “mysterious, powerful sound” of the theme, telling Guitar Player in 2021: “The recorded sound was due to the plectrum I used and the guitar’s strings.

I placed the DeArmond pickup near the bridge. I put a crushed cigarette packet underneath it to get it nearer the strings. That helped to get that round sound.”“Most important, sound-wise, was the Vox AC15 amplifier,” Flick continued. “I used it on tour.