Ben Bartlett passed away last Sunday, April 19 at age 61 after battling lung cancer. The composer wrote numerous scores for British television and television over the last three decades and was best known for his music from the BBC documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination and won a BAFTA TV Award. His other scoring credits include BBC’s Walking with Beasts & Walking with Monsters, ITV’s Vera, which ran between 2011 and 2025, Sky’s The Tunnel, ITV’s The Loch, Sky’s Mad Dogs, ITV’s Lucan, Sky’s Stan Lee’s Lucky Man and ITV’s The Trials of Jimmy Rose. Among his feature scoring credits are Marc Munden’s 2007 drama The Mark of Cain and Robert Krause’s 2006 horror thriller Blood Trails.
Tag: Ben Bartlett
Soundtrack Album for the Final Seasons of ITV’s ‘Vera’ Released
Silva Screen Records has released a new soundtrack album for the ITV drama Vera. The album features selections of the original music from the show’s final four seasons composed by Ben Bartlett (Walking with Dinosaurs, The Tunnel, Walking with Beasts, Mad Dogs, Lucan, The Loch). The soundtrack is now available to stream/download on Amazon and any other major digital music services. Also listen to the composer’s first two tracks after the jump. The label has previously released an album featuring selections of Bartlett’s score from the early seasons back in 2019. Vera is created by Ann Cleeves and stars Brenda Blethyn, David Leon, Jon Morrison, Riley Jones, Kenny Doughty, Ibinabo Jack, Paul Kaye, Rhiannon Clements, Sarah Kameela Impey and Shobna Gulati.
New Soundtrack Album for Sky’s ‘Mad Dogs’ Released
Sky Music has released a new soundtrack album for the 2011 Sky original drama Mad Dogs created by Cris Cole and starring Max Beesley, Philip Glenister, John Simm, Marc Warren and Ben Chaplin. The album features selections of the original music from the show’s third and fourth season composed by Ben Bartlett (Walking with Dinosaurs, The Tunnel, Walking with Beasts, Vera, Lucan, The Loch). Visit Amazon or any other major digital music services services to stream/download the soundtrack also listen to the composer’s main titles and end credits tracks after the jump. Red Stamp Records has previously released an album featuring Samuel Sim’s score from the first two seasons back in 2020.
Expanded ‘Walking with Beasts’ Soundtrack Album Released
Overtone Music has released a new soundtrack album for the 2001 nature documentary series Walking with Beasts created by Tim Haines, Jasper James & Andrew Wilks, produced by BBC Science Unit and narrated by Kenneth Branagh (in its original version) and Stockard Channing (in the U.S. version). The album features the original score from the show composed by Ben Bartlett (The Tunnel, Vera, Lucan, The Loch) and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, including previously unreleased music. The soundtrack is now available to stream/download on Amazon and most other major digital music services. Listen to the composer’s title track and one of the new tracks after the jump.
‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ 25th Anniversary Edition Soundtrack Album Released
Overtone Music has released a digital version of the soundtrack album for the 1999 documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs created by Tim Haines, produced by BBC Science Unit and narrated by Kenneth Branagh (in its original version) and Avery Brooks (in the U.S. version). The album features the original score from the show composed by Ben Bartlett (The Tunnel, Vera, The Loch, Lucan), including three additional tracks. The 25th Anniversary soundtrack is now available to stream/download on Amazon (and most other major digital music services), where you can also check out the track list. BBC Records has previously released the original 1999 soundtrack album on CD.
‘Fresh Air… Breathe In’ & ‘Breathe Out’ Compilation Albums Announced
Air-Edel has announced a duo of compilation albums entitled Fresh Air… Breathe In and Fresh Air… Breathe Out through their label Besant Hall Records. The album features music from Air-Edel’s worldwide roster of composers and artists, including Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Thor, Cinderella), Dario Marianelli (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice), Cliff Eidelman (Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, Christopher Columbus: The Discovery), Lisa Gerrard (Gladiator, Whale Rider), Drum & Lace (Dickinson, Good Girls), Michael J. McEvoy (Finding Your Feet, Me and Orson Welles), James T. Sale (Saint Judy, Return to Zero), Ben Bartlett (Walking with Dinosaurs) among others, and consist of both pre-existing, unreleased tracks and new works composed specifically for the albums, which were created in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The albums are now available across all digital platforms, with proceeds from the album sales, downloads and streams benefiting the arts and health not-for-profit organization Breathe Arts Health Research.Visit Amazon to stream/download the Fresh Air… Breathe In album and click here for the Fresh Air… Breathe Out album.
Soundtrack Album for ITV’s ‘Lucan’ to Be Released
Silva Screen Records will release a soundtrack album for the ITV mini-series Lucan. The album features the original music from the drama composed by Ben Bartlett (Walking with Dinosaurs, The Tunnel, Vera, The Loch). The soundtrack will be released digitally on August 9, 2019 and will be available to download here, where you can also check out audio samples. Lucan is written by Jeff Pope, directed by Adrian Shergold and stars Rory Kinnear, Catherine McCormack and Christopher Eccleston. The series focuses on the life of Lord Lucan (aka Richard John Bingham), the 7th Earl of Lucan, a suspected murderer who disappeared without trace in 1974.
Soundtrack Album for ITV’s ‘Vera’ Announced
Silva Screen Records has announced the first soundtrack album for the ITV original series Vera. The album features selections of the original music from the show composed by Ben Bartlett (Walking with Dinosaurs, The Tunnel, The Loch, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, The Mark of Cain). The soundtrack will be released digitally on August 9, 2019 and physically a few weeks later. Click here to download the album and visit Amazon to order the CD version as an import. Vera is created by Ann Cleeves and stars Brenda Blethyn, Kenny Doughty, Ibinabo Jack, Jon Morrison, Riley Jones, Paul Kaye and Steve Evets. The series follows the eccentric but brilliant DCI Vera Stanhope and her team as they face a series of captivating murder mysteries set against the breathtaking Northumberland landscape.
‘The Loch’ Soundtrack Released
ITV Studios has released a soundtrack album for the mini-series The Loch. The album features the music from the 6-parter composed by Ben Bartlett (Walking with Dinosaurs, The Mark of Cain, The Ballad of Big Al). The soundtrack is now available to download on Amazon, where you can also listen to audio samples. The Loch is created by Stephen Brady (Fortitude, Vera) and stars Laura Fraser, Siobhan Finneran, William Ash, Jack Bannon, Don Gilét, John Heffernan, Simone Lahbib and Alastair Mackenzie. The crime drama takes place in a community nourished and sustained by myth, where the search for a serial killer becomes a matter of life and death for a local detective who is trying to cope with her first murder case.
Weekly TV Music Roundup (June 19, 2016)
Premiering today in the U.S. is the British/French TV series The Tunnel based on the Scandinavian drama The Bridge and starring Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy. The music from the show’s first season is composed by Adrian Johnston (Becoming Jane, Kinky Boots, Bridesheads Revisited, Dancing on the Edge) and the second season is scored by Ben Bartlett (Walking with Dinosaurs, The Mark of Cain). The drama follows two detectives working together to find a serial killer who left the upper-half body of a French politician and the lower-half of a British prostitute in the Channel Tunnel. The series will air in the U.S. on PBS. Visit the official show website for more information.
Premiering tomorrow, June 20, is the documentary Suited directed by Jason Benjamin and produced by Lena Dunham. Owen Pallett (Her, Life, The Box) has composed the film’s original music. The movie centers on Bindle & Keep, a Brooklyn tailoring company that is known for making custom suits for a growing legion of gender-nonconforming clients. The documentary premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and premieres on HBO. Visit the official movie website to learn more about the film.