Acclaimed composer, conductor and musician Nick Glennie-Smith, who contributed to the soundtracks for some of Hollywood and Disney's most beloved movies, died on August 17 at the age of 74 at his home in Los Angeles. Although it was revealed he had been suffering a period of ill-health, no cause of death was confirmed. His career spanned pop music, film, television and live performance.
Early career in pop music
The star began his professional career as a keyboard player. He was a member of prog-rock group Wally in the 1970s. He later worked with artists including Leo Sayer, Roger Daltrey, Phil Collins, Tina Turner, Elvis Costello, Nik Kershaw, Duane Eddy, and Paul McCartney. In 1980, he began recording and touring with Cliff Richard, eventually appearing on three albums with the legendary star.
Film breakthrough and major scores
His movie breakthrough came with Michael Bay's 1996 action flick The Rock, on which he, Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams shared principal composing duties. The score was hugely influential on Hollywood action music of the following decade and firmly established him as a composer in his own right.
He went on to compose the scores for films such as Home Alone 3 (1997), The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), We Were Soldiers (2002), Secretariat (2010) and Disney's animated sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998).
As part of Hans Zimmer's film score company Remote Control Productions, he conducted music for the soundtracks on the Transformers films between 2007 and 2017, X-Men: First Class and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (both 2011). Alongside this, he was Zimmer's accompanist on the score for Man of Steel (2013) and later served as musical director for his enormously successful live concerts. In 2012, he had the prestigious honour of conducting the orchestra for the Academy Awards ceremony.
Tributes from colleagues and fans
Tributes flooded in for the star as news of his death became public. Fellow composer Bear McCreary took to Instagram to pen: "#RIP to composer Nick Glennie-Smith, perhaps most famous for his contributions to 'The Rock,' but immortalized in my heart for his soaring, heartfelt score to 'The Man in the Iron Mask.' I probably watched that movie 30 times, in large part because of how his epic score unified an all-star cast. He made that movie soar. My thoughts are with his friends and family. Thanks for the tunes."
Another user commented: "I was fortunate enough to see him perform live on stage with Hans Zimmer. Hans also had a lot of great compliments for him as they worked together for most of Hans' career. I thoroughly enjoy the Rock expanded score. Now I will check out The Man in the iron mask. His legacy will live on as long as people cherish his work."
A third chimed in: "When I was a kid, Before even getting interested in film music, I was mesmerized by 'The Man in the Iron Mask' and that score. Seeing the movie again after starting this wonderful job I remembered how much of that score stayed in my subconscious and made me realize the true extent of his genius. He will be truly missed."
Meanwhile a fourth shared: "Such sad news to hear. A tremendous musician and composer. As a conductor, he was a personal hero of mine. RIP sir."
