Craig Armstrong

Life and career Armstrong was born in Shettleston, Glasgow, Scotland. He was awarded the Charles Lucas prize and the Harvey Lohr scholarship for composition, the FTCL Fellowship in composition, and also won the GLAA Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 1982. Upon completing his studies, Armstrong served as music and dance specialist at the Strathclyde Regional Council in 1984. In 1985 Armstrong toured with Midge Ure on his Gift World Tour, and with Ultravox on their european U-Vox Tour winter 1986. Between 1994–2002 he was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company to write music for The Broken Heart and The Tempest, both directed by Michael Boyd.

He sees no difference in credibility between popular and classical forms and this respect for the pop genre was cemented in 1994 with a one-off collaboration with the Bristol band Massive Attack on their album Protection,

Honours OBE ribbon Armstrong was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for his contribution to music.

Key works 1994: Slow Movement (strings) 1998: 20 Movements (orchestra) 1999: If Time Must Pass (violin, strings) 1999: Escape (orchestra, vocal). The composition was used in the pilot of the 2000 science fiction series Dark Angel''', as well as having been used in various film trailers and sports broadcasts due to the emotional buildup caused by its rising crescendo and choir.

It was used in the trailer for the BBC's Euro 2012 coverage (the BBC had already used 'Balcony Scene' from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack for their Euro 2004 trailer), and has often been used in the BBC's Top Gear series at the climax of the season finale "epic challenges". Armstrong lists the songs which Top Gear has used on his web site. "Escape" has been used in a number of action film trailers, including Spider-Man 2 and Daredevil.

"Escape" has also been used as entrance music by various sports teams, including the professional wrestling stable Team Vision, Premier League football team Aston Villa when playing at their home ground Villa Park, as well as fellow Premier League team Wigan Athletic when at the DW Stadium. It has also been used as entrance music for the England rugby union team at Twickenham stadium, Premiership rugby union team Leeds Carnegie before home games, and Kent County Cricket Club in Twenty20 matches.

Filmography

1995: Close (Short) 1995: Fridge (Short) 1995: Good Day for the Bad Guys 1996: Romeo + Juliet – BAFTA and Ivor Novello awards. 1997: Orphans 1998: The Negotiator – Opening credit track ("Rise") 1999: Plunkett & Macleane 1999: Best Laid Plans 1999: The Bone Collector 2000: Romeo Must Die 2001: Moulin Rouge! – Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score 2001: Kiss of the Dragon 2002: The Magdalene Sisters 2002: The Quiet American 2003: Love Actually 2003: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life – Track ("Lab Scene" ) 2004: The Clearing 2004: Ray – Grammy Award for Best Original Score 2004: Layer Cake – Track ("Ruthless Gravity") 2005: Fever Pitch 2005: Must Love Dogs 2006: World Trade Center 2007: Elizabeth: The Golden Age (with A. R. Rahman) 2008: The Incredible Hulk 2010: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps 2010: Neds 2011: In Time 2013: The Great Gatsby 2015: Far from the Madding Crowd 2015: Victor Frankenstein 2016: Me Before You 2016: Snowden 2016: Bridget Jones's Baby 2019: Mrs Lowry & Son 2019: The Burnt Orange Heresy 2020: The One and Only Ivan 2021: The Most Reluctant Convert 2023: The Great Escaper''