Never Ever (re titled Circle of Passion for USA).

Never Ever was the first full length film for which I wrote the music. Set in Paris, the story revolves around the central character (played by Peter Finch – Charles Finch’s son) falling in love with a woman outside of his crumbling marriage. It is very romantic and as the setting was Paris I elected to use a cycle of fifths (utilised very successfully by Michel Legrand) for the harmonic movement under the main theme. In many ways this choice was prescient as the film was re titled ‘Circle of Passion’ for release in America (to express the cyclical narrative) and the cycle of fifths fits the title well. I wanted to invoke the musical atmosphere created most beautifully in the 1976 Brian De Palma film ‘Obsession’ by Bernard Herrmann (who wrote the score for ‘Taxi Driver’ and, of course, the iconic ‘Psycho’). Bernard Herrmann is a musical hero of mine and the opportunity to supply a harmonically rich score was irresistible. Guy Barker (who I had the pleasure of playing with in the Richard Niles big band ‘Bandzilla’) graced the music with his mellifluous trumpet playing. The day we recorded orchestra with Guy on trumpet and my goodself on piano remains in my memory as one of the nicest ways to spend a day on Earth.