THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

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This month: Vic Flick

In 1999, I interviewed legendary former John Barry Seven guitarist, Vic Flick, over the phone from his adopted home of Santa Monica for a brief article.

He was doing publicity for a new album called Bond - Back in Action, to which he had contributed a new version of the main title theme that he had originally played in 1962 for the first James Bond film, Dr. No.

We covered a lot of ground - hardly surprising given the sheer quantity of hit records, classic TV theme tunes and film soundtracks on which he appeared. When you hear I Only Want To Be With You by Dusty Springfield, What's New Pussycat? by Tom Jones, Big Spender by Shirley Bassey or Downtown by Petula Clark, it's Flick on guitar, cut at a time when he was one of the most in-demand session players in London, known for his distinctive, highly expressive lead work, and ability to work fast and sight-read music notation. A constant presence on radio that decade, he could also be regularly heard on television in the title music to era-defining series such as The Avengers, The Prisoner, Crossroads or Juke Box Jury, or films like The Ipcress File.