LORNE BALFE

Top Gun Maverick composer on his latest venture

Tell us a bit about your most recent project.

Working on the new Beverly Hills Cop movie, the second time working with Harold Faltermeyer’s themes, after

Top Gun: Maverick. Working with 80s analogue synths is exceptional fun.

Is there anything still unissued? Plenty of early band songs and experiments.

Have you done anything that fans may not know about?

Jingles, from Stannah stairlifts to Coca-cola, and quite a few films. What’s the last album that you bought?

Peter Gabriel i/o.

Was anyone in your family a musician?

My father wrote songs, including Blue Is The Colour for Chelsea FC.

Have you kept studio notebooks or the like?

I have all musicians and contributing team members sign the scores from sessions as a memento.

Who’s taken music forward in the last decade?

U2 at The Sphere and ABBA’S Voyage. What’s your most prized music item?

The first synth that my parents gave me, my Yamaha DX7.

Which of your songs is the most personally meaningful?

The theme for Kung Fu Panda 3 written with my father.

With whom would you most like to record?

Depeche Mode or Stevie Wonder. What’s your favourite songwriter’s best lyric?

Peter Gabriel, Big Time.

Of all the people that you’ve worked with, who taught you the most?

My father, on the importance of a good tune and approaching every project with a new voice. And also Hans Zimmer, about being a filmmaker and understanding storytelling.

If you drove an ice cream van, what’d it play?

The theme to Midsummer Murders.

I love the composer, Jim Parker, who created a truly unique, catchy theme, and a fantastic score.

Beverly Hills Cop 4 is in cinemas on 3 July.