November 20th 2024.
Renowned guitarist Vic Flick has passed away at the age of 87. Flick, known for his iconic riff in the James Bond theme tune, passed away after battling Alzheimer's disease, according to his son Kevin who shared the news on social media.
Flick's claim to fame may not have been a financial success, as he was only paid £6 for rearranging and recording the theme tune for the first James Bond film, Dr No, released in 1962. However, his contribution to the franchise has become synonymous with the action-packed series and his guitar, a 1939 English Clifford Essex Paragon Deluxe, is now on display in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
At the young age of 25, Flick recorded the iconic theme song along with several other musicians. In an interview with Jon Burlingame for the 2012 book The Music of James Bond, Flick described the unique sound he created for the riff, "It had an edge to it, sort of a dynamic sound." His technique of playing the riff "slightly ahead of the beat" gave it an exciting and attacking quality, perfectly fitting the James Bond image.
Born in Surrey in 1937, Flick's talent as a guitarist extended far beyond the famous James Bond riff. Throughout his illustrious career, he worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry such as The Beatles, Tom Jones, Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Cliff Richard. His guitar playing can be heard on numerous hit songs like Peter and Gordon's "A World Without Love," Petula Clark's "Downtown," and Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" and "What's New Pussycat?"
In 2013, Flick was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the National Guitar Museum for his contributions as a session guitarist. The organization described him as "one of the world's great guitarists" and expressed their pride in being associated with him. Flick's association with the 007 franchise continued beyond 1962, as he also performed on several other James Bond soundtracks, including Shirley Bassey's iconic theme for Goldfinger.
Flick is survived by his wife Judith, son Kevin, and one grandchild. This news is still developing, and more updates will be shared soon. If you have any celebrity stories, videos, or pictures, you can reach out to our entertainment team at The Agency by emailing us, calling us, or visiting our Submit Stuff page. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates on celebrities and entertainment news. You can also sign up for our daily push alerts to get articles sent straight to your device.
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