Billi Productions Ltd is delighted to have secured international Scottish composer and Academy Award® nominee Patrick Doyle for the musical score. Patrick has been an avid supporter of the project since its inception and has been working on innovative musical themes for the film.
British singing legend Dame Shirley Bassey has also joined the project to perform the title track 'Guardian of the Highlands'. Indeed it is the first time Sir Sean has worked with Dame Shirley since the Bond era with Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever.
Patrick's passion for Sir Billi was such that he requested a voice-over role! Having made many appearances in Kenneth Branagh's films and with his incredible sense of humour and vocal ability he rose to the challenge of 'The German Admiral' and made the character his own!
Patrick studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and graduated in 1974. He was made a fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in 2001. His first theatre score was written in 1978, and subsequently he has written the music for a host of other theatre, radio, television and film productions.
Patrick has worked with Kenneth Branagh on a great many highly successful productions including: Frankenstein (starring Robert De Niro), the Samuel Goldywn & Renaissance Film Much Ado About Nothing, the musical, Love's Labour's Lost, As You Like It and the four-hour epic adaptation of Hamlet, for which Patrick was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Score.
Patrick has enjoyed huge worldwide box office success with Working Title's children's smash Nanny Mcphee (starring Emma Thompson), Eragon (starring John Malkovich) and the universally popular franchise Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Directed by Mike Newell.)
In 2008 Patrick completed the worldwide hit Nim's Island (directed by Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett) and the animated feature Igor (directed by Tony Leondis). Patrick is currently working on a series of albums. Two for solo piano and one for string quartet.
When asked how the collaboration with Dame Shirley came about Director Sascha Hartmann, who also composed and produced the original song said: "My wife Tessa and I agreed that Dame Shirley was the ultimate artist to perform the title track for this film, especially given the 'Bond' connection of Sir Sean and Dame Shirley. So I sat down and wrote a song for her! Tessa approached her management and thankfully she fell in love with the song. It really was a dream come true for us as she is an absolute icon, true professional and a pleasure to work with".
The song has already been recorded at Metropolis Studios in London and mixed by Mick Guzauski in New York and Dame Shirley is thrilled with the outcome. When asked how the producers persuaded her to join the project, Dame Shirley said: "There was no persuading needed here, I liked the song from the moment I heard it. Sascha and Tessa made the process incredibly fun and easy for me and we got a great result".
Sir Sean Connery is an Executive Producer and has been heavily involved with the independent studio project since its inception. He said: "It's marvellous to have Dame Shirley back in the same show, after all these years since Goldfinger! It goes without saying that her rendition of Goldfinger set up the entire mood for the film - she's done just the same here! It's a tremendous plus to have someone of her stature join the project and with a great song and her incredible performance, she will simply launch Sir Billi's story, which is fantastic!"
Producers are working on a soundtrack album at the moment with 4 other original songs from the film and of course the music by Patrick Doyle who is composing the underscore.
