Critical popcorn

You know we love a good film score here at Critical Popcorn, and these are some very special ones – indeed – and a glorious result at the top! Across the past month, Scala Radio and Abbey Road Studios have been inviting listeners to vote for their favourite film score recorded at the iconic studios.

This is the first time the public has been able to vote for their favourite score, and it has been revealed that John Williams’ soundtrack to Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark has come out on top.

The iconic film which was released in 1981 features music composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra in Abbey Road’s Studio One. Although the score missed out on the Academy Award for Best Original Score, the Indiana Jones theme went on to become one of the most well-loved and recognisable pieces of film music.

Just missing out on the top spot by a handful of votes was Howard Shore’s score to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Released in 2001 to great critical acclaim, the soundtrack won the Academy Award for Best Original Score, the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album, and the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Soundtrack. Shore also features at number 7 for The Return of the King.

Williams also took third place in the vote, with another 1980’s score for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. The most recent film in the top 10 is Sam Mendes’ 2019 epic war drama 1917 which saw Thomas Newman’s score performed by an 87-piece orchestra in Studio One.

The full top 10 Abbey Road Studios film scores were revealed by Charles Nove on his Scala Radio this morning!

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark – John Williams
2. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring – Howard Shore
3. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – John Williams
4. Apollo 13 – James Horner
5. Skyfall – Thomas Newman
6. Aliens – James Horner
7. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – Howard Shore
8. 1917 – Thomas Newman
9. Chocolat – Rachel Portman
10. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – Hans Zimmer

The vote formed part of Scala Radio’s popular All Movies Monday programming, which see’s listeners take charge of the 12-hour movie music marathon, broadcasting 9am-9pm today, with each hour themed around a specific genre, composer, director or actor. 

To celebrate the partnership, Scala Radio have also launched a new Premium station called Film Scores from Abbey Road so film fans can enjoy all the best movie music recorded there.

Subscribers to Premium can head to www.planetradio.co.uk/scala-radio/premium to listen, whilst non-subscribers can enjoy three months free using code ABBEYROAD! Always keep an eye on the auto-renew though, if you’re not planning on the keeping the good stuff coming.