Vic Flick, James Bond theme guitarist, dead at 87
Prolific session musician Vic Flick, forever immortalised through his work writing the theme tune for the James Bond film series, has died aged 87. His son has confirmed that the guitarist passed away on November 14th after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Even if you do not know the legendary guitarist by name, it is more than likely that you have encountered his playing numerous times in your life. Flick performed as a session artist with everybody from The Beatles to Dusty Springfield, playing on such iconic songs as ‘It’s Not Unusual’ by Tom Jones and Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’. However, Flick is probably best known, within guitar circles, for penning the timeless riff that became the James Bond theme.
After working with composer John Barry during the late 1950s and early ’60s, Flick soon found himself recruited to work on the soundtrack of Dr. No, the first film in the James Bond series. The brilliance of Flick’s riff lies within its simplicity and adaptability, as shown by the fact that the session musician went on to work on various other Bond soundtracks, including From Russia With Love and Goldfinger.
As with most session musicians of that era, Flick was not paid handsomely for his vital contribution to music and cinema history. At the time, the guitarist was paid £6 for creating the riff that went on to define one of British cinema’s most iconic characters. Despite the lacklustre pay packet, the Bond theme was enough to make Flick a legendary name within the industry.
Back in 2021, Flick reflected on the “mysterious, powerful sound” of the theme, telling Guitar Player, “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. It wouldn’t let me down – until it fell eight feet into a music pit and disintegrated.” The guitarist was a true innovator on guitar, endlessly pursuing a distinctive sound through experimentation and hardware changes.
Today, the James Bond theme is among the first riffs most people learn when playing the guitar, and its mysterious power has never really waned in the many decades since it was first written. Although Vic Flick has now passed away, it will be a very long time before his musical legacy truly burns out.
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