“Geoff Leonard knows more about me than I know myself.”
John Barry
Geoff Leonard is an authority on the works of composer John Barry, and has co-written several books about him. He is also an authority on British TV music and has produced several related albums of TV themes.
He has co-written sleeve-notes for numerous CDs, including those featuring music by Maurice Jarre, Roy Budd, Ron Grainer, John Barry and Adam Faith.
Geoff was born in Bristol, England, UK, and educated at Cotham Grammar School in the city.
After spending many years working in the banking industry, in 1990 he produced his first CD, Beat Girl/Stringbeat, by John Barry. This was followed by a succession of British TV Theme albums, and albums featuring the works of John Barry, Don Black and Ron Grainer, all of which were released on his own label, Play It Again.
During the early 1990s, Leonard and co-writer Pete Walker worked on their first book, John Barry – A Life in Music, which was published in 1998. They also co-wrote numerous articles for magazines, such as Film Score Monthly, Music from the Movies and 007 Magazine.
Throughout the 2000s, Geoff worked for IMDb.com, managing biographies, composers, and the music-department, amongst other tasks.
In 2008, he and Walker wrote a follow-up book, John Barry: The Man with the Midas Touch; in 2018, they co-wrote Hit and Miss: The Story of The John Barry Seven; both published by Redcliffe Press.
Windmill Publications was set up to enable further books and CDs; and ‘John Barry – The Early Years’ is a compilation album focusing on the years 1959-1962, in which every track features a Barry arrangement or composition; ‘The Stringbeat Years: Songs Accompanied by John Barry’, is a 4-CD box-set comprising of 144 tracks, a 24-page booklet (replete with period photographs and comprehensive notes) and including ten bonus tracks (among them the CD debut of the first ever cover version of a John Barry instrumental composition).
Books include ‘Music by John Barry’ (co-written with Jon Burlingame and originally published by Redcliffe Press), ‘John Barry’s Music to Watch Bond By’, ’The Misadventures of a very Uncivil Servant’, and ‘Memorable Gloucestershire County Cricket Club Matches: Triumphs, Disasters, and Near Misses: 1940s-1970s’.
In conjunction with designer Ruud Rozemeijer, Geoff runs a number of websites; subjects include musicians John Barry, Adam Faith, Ron Grainer; and also some for popular UK music shows such as Oh Boy!, Thank Your Lucky Stars and Drumbeat.
Geoff is also omnipresent on Youtube, and specialises in videos of steam trains. He is a life member of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, and a keen photographer.
