Dennis Alfred Berry was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

, composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, arranger

Arranger

In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...

, and producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

. His work has been used in filmmaking

Filmmaking

Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...

 and television productions.

Early life

Born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Berry was involved in music from the age of fourteen. He played bass

Double bass

The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

, guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, and saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

. He also taught himself French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

, Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

, and German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

.

Marriage and family

In 1949 he married Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

-born Aaltje Wolschryn, and they had one child. He had lived in London until his marriage. Then he and his wife moved to the new town of Stevenage

Stevenage

Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....

, before building a house on a plot of land (which they bought from Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers

Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...

) in the centre of Welwyn Garden City

Welwyn Garden City

-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...

.

Career

In 1939 Berry joined Francis, Day, and Hunter as a copyist

Copyist

A copyist is a person who makes written copies. In ancient times, a scrivener was also called a calligraphus . The term's modern use is almost entirely confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript.-Music...

 before going on to Boosey & Hawkes

Boosey & Hawkes

Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....

 as a staff arranger, then to Lawrence Wright and Paxton Music, and finally Peer-Southern. He arranged for Carroll Gibbons

Carroll Gibbons

Carroll Gibbons was an American-born musician, bandleader and composer who made his career primarily in Britain. He was born and raised in Clinton, Massachusetts. In his late teens he travelled to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music...

, The Squadronaires

The Squadronaires

The Squadronaires is a Royal Air Force band which began and performed in England during and after World War II. The official title of the band was 'The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra', but it was always known by the more popular title "The Squadronaires"....

, and Ted Heath

Ted Heath (bandleader)

Ted Heath, musician and big band leader, led Britain's greatest post-war big band recording more than 100 albums and selling over 20 million records...

. As Paxton's representative he was based in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, and became staff arranger for the Skymasters Dance Orchestra and freelanced for The Ramblers and the Metropole.

He was a correspondent for Variety

Variety (magazine)

Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

and Melody Maker

Melody Maker

Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

.

In 1949 he returned to Paxton's offices in England, where he worked in their music library, producing background music for film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

s, television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

, and worldwide distribution. During the 1950s he became the head of the library and published one of his most successful pieces, a composition of his own called Holiday in Hollywood. During this time he was also a representative of the Dutch Songwriter's Guild.

Berry had started composing some years earlier, and his early works included "Apple Honey", "Boston Bounce", and "You Couldn't Be Sweeter". Some of these can now be found on the iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 store, as part of compilations of light classical music.

As well as using his own name, he composed under various pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

s, including Frank Sterling (in collaboration with Stuart Crombie), Jack Sharp, Charles Kenbury, Michael Rodney and (more commonly) Peter Dennis. This was to avoid any signs of favouritism on behalf of the record labels, as he was publishing his own music. He conducted the Peter Dennis Band and the Peter Dennis Orchestra on several LP

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 recordings, but these were most likely groups made up of session musician

Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...

s rather than typical membership-based groups. In the early 1960s, he joined the record label Conroy Music - sometimes referred to as Berry/Conroy (although the Berry in the name is actually that of Roy Berry, no relation) - which published a large amount of library music. One piece, Moviescope, was selected to be the theme to the WGN-TV

WGN-TV

WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...

 television series Family Classics

Family Classics

Family Classics was a Chicago television series which began in 1962 when Frazier Thomas was added to another program at WGN-TV. Thomas not only hosted classic films but also selected the titles and personally edited them to remove those scenes which he thought were not fit for family viewing. After...

.

While working at Paxton's library and later as manager of the Southern Music Library (now Peer-Southern), he was responsible for including compositions by Dolf Van Den Linden, Johnny Scott

Johnny Scott

Johnny Scott may refer to:*Johnny Scott , defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League*Johnny Scott , jazz vocalist and tenor saxophonist...

, and Barry Forgie on their library records, as well as his own. He produced many of the recordings, an activity which he continued on a freelance basis after he retired. This included a number of sessions in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, working on films such as The Beastmaster

The Beastmaster (film)

The Beastmaster is 1982 fantasy film directed by Don Coscarelli that starred Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, John Amos and Rip Torn. The film was marketed with the tagline "Born with the courage of an eagle, the strength of a black tiger, and the power of a god."-Summary:The Beastmaster tells the story...

(1982) and The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter is a 1990 fantasy film and sequel to The NeverEnding Story. It was directed by George T. Miller and starred Jonathan Brandis as Bastian Bux, Kenny Morrison as Atreyu, and Alexandra Johnes as the Childlike Empress. The only actor to return from the first...

, and also arrangements of classics for the de Wolfe library.

Berry also worked on the first Monty Python

Monty Python

Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...

 film And Now For Something Completely Different

And Now For Something Completely Different

And Now for Something Completely Different is a film spin-off from the television comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus featuring favorite sketches from the first two seasons. The title was used as a catchphrase in the television show....

, and collaborated with artists such as Johnny Dankworth and Roger Roger

Roger Roger (composer)

Roger Roger was a French film composer and bandleader. His aliases included: Eric Swan, Cecil Leuter, the last being a pseudonym he used for his electronic productions...

. His work (both compositions and production) was often heard on BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 test card

Test card

A test card, also known as a test pattern in North America and Australia, is a television test signal, typically broadcast at times when the transmitter is active but no program is being broadcast...

.

Death and legacy

After retiring, he and his wife emigrated to South Africa for two years, before returning to life in Hertfordshire for the rest of his life. Although he died in 1994, his work continues to be used worldwide, frequently as incidental music

Incidental music

Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....

 in television, most recently in BBC's Little Britain

Little Britain

Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...

and Dick and Dom in da Bungalow

Dick and Dom in da Bungalow

Dick and Dom in da Bungalow was a CBBC children's entertainment television series presented by the duo Dick and Dom...

, MTV's

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 The Osbournes

The Osbournes

The Osbournes is an American reality television program featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 2002, and in its first season, was cited as the most-viewed series ever on MTV...

and the Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon (TV channel)

Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...

 cartoons Rocko's Modern Life

Rocko's Modern Life

Rocko's Modern Life is an animated series created by Joe Murray. The show aired for four seasons between 1993 and 1996 on Nickelodeon. Rocko's Modern Life is based around the surreal, parodic adventures of an anthropomorphic wallaby named Rocko, and his life in the city of O-Town...

and SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...

. His music was also used by Disney

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

 in an in-hotel promotional video for the Disneyland Resort Paris

Disneyland Resort Paris

Disneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part within the commune of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne....

 theme park.

List of recordings (incomplete)

All recordings are on the Peer International Library label unless otherwise stated.

Date	Album name	Band/orchestra	Mono/stereo	Role	Library number
1970	Soul of a City	Leon Hardt and his Orchestra	Mono	Composer (one track) and producer	PIL 9004
1971	Combustion, Big Band Sound	Barry Forgie Orchestra	Mono	Composer (one track) and producer	PIL 9008
1971	No Waiting	Peter Dennis Orchestra	Mono	Composer (three tracks) and producer	PIL 9012
1972	Zenith	Peter Dennis Orchestra	Mono	Composer (one track) and producer	PIL 9014
1973	Flip Top	The Barry Moore Combo	Mono	Composer (five tracks) and producer	PIL 9021
1976	Trendy	Frank Sterling Big Band	Stereo	Composer (three tracks) and producer	PIL 9032
1980	Pretty Pose	Peter Dennis Orchestra	Stereo	Composer (nine tracks) and producer	PIL 9042
2002 (Compilation)	Classic Film & TV, Vol 2; Matinee Mania	Peter Dennis Orchestra/Frank Sterling Big Band	Stereo	Composer and producer (three tracks)	Bruton BRO19/354
2002 (Compilation)	Classic Film & TV, Vol 3; Radio Times	Peter Dennis Orchestra/Frank Sterling Big Band	Stereo	Composer and producer (two tracks)	Bruton BRO20/355

External links