Gary Hughes was a film music composer who was particularly active during the 1960, s and worked on a number of historical dramas for Hammer films. Born Gareth McClean Hughes on March 21st, 1922 in Nanaimo Canada, Hughes initially began his working career as a print setter but always had a passion for music. Whilst being employed in the printing industry he began to study music in his spare time, he eventually achieved his goal and became a musician becoming a trombone player and then progressed to doing arrangements and finally to becoming a composer. He re-located to England in 1955 with his wife Grace and settled in Richmond Surrey.
JOHN HOLLINGSWORTH, MUIR MATHESON and SIR WILLIAM WALTON.
He carried on doing arrangements and writing his own compositions and was asked to arrange some music for Sir William Walton, which threw him into the limelight and he began to work for several composers who were popular at that time. In 1960, he wrote the music for LINDA which was conducted by Muir Mathieson, soon after this he was recruited by John Hollingsworth who was the Musical director for Hammer films and worked on a handful of movies these included the period dramas, DEVIL SHIP PIRATES, THE VIKING QUEEN, PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER, A CHALLENGE FOR ROBIN HOOD and the English civil war tale THE SCARLET BLADE, which starred Oliver Reed and Lionel Jefferies.
He also collaborated with Muir Mathieson again in 1964 on the Cy Enfield directed HIDE AND SEEK. At the age of just 56, the composer passed away in Farnham Surrey, on April 25th 1978, this was after a series of strokes, the fourth of these proved to be fatal. It is a great shame that he passed away at such an early age, as I am certain he would have continued to be a sought-after composer of film scores, his music was particularly suited to the adventure movies of the 1960’s but he was a versatile and talented composer, arranger. There is not a great deal of his music available on any format, although GDI records did include a handful of cues from his Hammer assignments on their compilations of themes from Hammer films. These are mainly the opening themes for the movies.
MOVIE MUSIC INTERNATIONAL. (MMI) . 