It was this solid grounding that helped sow the seeds for a crossover career that’s seen her collaborate with some of the biggest names in pop, pen an opera for the Royal Opera House, become Composer in Association for the BBC Concert Orchestra and build a name as a lauded screen composer.įollowing on from her graduation from the Royal College of Music, and the discovery that she had ‘perfect pitch’, Anne got a job at Trevor Horn’s studio as a string arranger. Things like Suppé’s Poet and Peasant Overture, and Eric Coates, all of those wonderful bits of light music. ‘As a child I was an expert on all of that. ‘Does anyone remember Your Hundred Best Tunes?’ she laughs. Raised almost exclusively on the light classical music of her parents’ record collection, Anne approached her teenage years with both an encyclopaedic brain for orchestral arrangements and an ear tuned to the ephemeral excitement of pop. Picking up the PRS for Music Outstanding Contribution to British Music accolade at The Ivors ceremony in May, she modestly says of her 40 years of sonic adventuring: ‘Some people are naturally gifted and it just flows out of them, but for the vast majority of us, yes we have some talent, but the rest of it is technique, experience and hard work.’

It’s a style she settled on at the very start of her career, and one that helped whisk her from artful novice into one of the country’s most decorated composers.Īnne’s rare standing is cemented by her Grammy, BRIT, Oscar and now Ivor Novello Award wins, all in recognition of her adventurous musical mutations and remarkable achievements.

I think the combination of electronics and orchestral music can be absolutely, rivetingly exciting if you get it right,’ she continues. She’s looking at the joining date on her Musicians’ Union card (1978) and remembering what life was like before her classical incursions into electronic pop helped define an important chapter in British chart history. ‘I remember I’d always get very excited by the idea that you could sample a door closing or a hammer and build a rhythm track from those abstract sounds,’ says shape-shifting composer, arranger and orchestrator Anne Dudley. Anita Awbi meets a talent at the top of her game… From abstract left turns in Art of Noise to orchestrating some of pop’s biggest moments, composer Anne Dudley has always lived a musical life less ordinary.

Art of noise moments in love dynamics