
Barry Adamson has been creating all of his life. Perhaps his greatest creation is himself as a multi-disciplined artist. The self-taught musician rose to prominence as the bass player in Magazine and toured extensively. His establishment as a solo artist came after a three year stint with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and heralded the release of his seminal first solo album, ‘Moss Side Story’. Critically acclaimed, it raised Adamson’s name as a composer of diverse complexity; able to tell a story with music, where the images were those supplanted in the minds of the listeners. Offers quickly followed and saw Adamson work with some of the film industry’s most intriguing mavericks including Derek Jarman, David Lynch, Oliver Stone and Danny Boyle.
Having released nine studio albums, including the 1992 Mercury Music Prize nominated ‘Soul Murder’, Adamson has continued to tour globally with his talents being in as much demand by new generations of artists, as he was after his first solo release. He is constantly sought across all art forms for commentary and contribution. His music being both the platform and background for documentaries, TV series, adverts, computer games and even an Olivier Award winning ballet performance by Sylvie Guillem and the Ballet Boyz.
It was always a logical progression for Adamson to move behind the camera and once again his brooding film noir style and dark comedy has seen him write, direct and score a number of short films. His latest offering, ‘The Swing The Hole and The Lie’, being shown at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
Rising phoenix like from the flames of his previous work, Adamson continues to push himself and blur the lines of film, music and art.
Winter 2015 he returned to the studio to begin recording his new solo album, KNOW WHERE TO RUN, which shows him embracing all of his diverse influences into a more commercial undertaking.
Musician, composer, writer, photographer, filmmaker. Barry Adamson is not a man to take it easy.
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— Credits
• We Are Many (2014)
Feature film directed by Amir Amirani
• The Sweeney (2012)
Feature film directed by Nick Love
• Therapist (2011)
Short film written and directed by Barry Adamson
• Dreams Of A Life (2011)
Documentary film directed by Carol Morley
• Blizzard: Race To The Pole (2006)
BBC2 documentary series
• The Rouge Shoes (2004)
Directed by Kevin McCarthy
• The World Of Interiors (2003)
Animated short directed by Bunny Schendler
• The Race [Le Raid] (2002)
Directed by Djamel Bensalah
• The Beach (2001)
Feature film directed by Danny Boyle
• Out Of Depth (2000)
Directed by Simon Marshall
• The Escort (1999)
Directed by Michel Blanc
• Roaming The Streets (1999)
Directed by Zsombor Dyga
• The Acid House (1998)
Directed by Paul McGuigan
• Lost Highway (1997)
Feature film directed by David Lynch
• Natural Born Killers (1994)
Feature film directed by Oliver Stone
• Gas Food Lodging (1992)
Feature film directed by Allison Anders
• Delusion (1991)
Feature film directed by Carl Colpaert
• The Last Of England(1987)
Directed by Derek Jarman