Tim Atack is an internationally acclaimed film and TV composer, with credits including Cemetery Junction, FIFA Uncovered, and the Netflix feature and film festival hit, Wham!.
Tim’s career started in the mid-70’s playing drums in the band Child. After a period with the band that included chart successes and numerous appearances on Top of the Pops, Tim left to focus on his own writing and music production. Having studied piano as a boy, Tim comfortably adapted to playing keyboards in the early 80s and embraced learning the art of programming and recording using midi—the new technology that was revolutionising music of the era.
Tim began writing songs and performing as THE DUEL in the late 80s, alongside his twin brother Keith. The band’s album releases led to recognition from other artists as keyboard player and guitarist, respectively, and the sought-after pair were booked for numerous tours and recording sessions. Keith became the guitarist for Bonnie Tyler, and Tim met the singer-songwriter DES’REE, starting a long-term collaboration with the artist.
Tim became DES’REE’s musical director and keyboard player in the 90s, also co-writing and producing several songs with her on her third album, Supernatural. Tim co-wrote the world-renowned ballad, I’m Kissing You with DES’REE, which was later featured in the Baz Luhrmann movie Romeo & Juliet, staring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Tim’s collaboration with DES’REE remains to this day.
The instrumental version of I’m Kissing You also featured as a main theme for the film, and its success shed a light on Tim’s talent for composition, leading to commissions scoring for film & TV. His first feature was Among Giants, starring Pete Postlethwaite and Rachel Griffiths (Fox/Searchlight), which led to further collaborations with director Sam Miller: Elephant Juice (Miramax), Quite Ugly One Morning (ITV), and a live improvised score for Miller’s production of The Quatermass Experiment (BBC).
Tim went on to score two movies for Ricky Gervais: The Invention of Lying and Cemetery Junction (directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant). In 2013, he scored the much-loved film The Christmas Candle, directed by John Stephenson, starring Hans Matheson, Samantha Barks, and Susan Boyle.
Tim is a long-time collaborator of the award-winning director, Daniel Gordon, with over 10 years of award-winning feature documentaries and series together, including The Trials of Oscar Pistorius, Hillsborough, and in 2022, FIFA: Uncovered (Netflix). Tim also worked with Daniel on Strike: An Uncivil War, which premiered at Sheffield DocFest 2024 and is set to release on Netflix. This collaboration has also cemented close working relationships with production companies such as Passion Pictures and Ventureland.
Another of Tim’s regular collaborators is director John Dower. In 2020, Tim teamed up with composer Lindsay Wright to compose and produce the score on John’s feature documentary The Mystery of DB Cooper for HBO. In 2023, Tim worked with John on the Sky documentary Lockerbie, which won the 2024 BAFTA award for Best Factual Series.
In 2023, Tim scored Chris Smith’s feature, WHAM! (Netflix) with Ventureland. The film premiered at the Sheffield Documentary Festival and was watched by 4.4 million people globally in its first 4 days of digital release.
Tim Atack est un homme de renaissance, dont la carrière musicale a commencé dans les années 70 en tant que membre fondateur du groupe pop Child. Depuis lors, il a travaillé en tant que directeur musical pour des artistes à succès tels que Oleta Adams et Des’ree, avec qui Tim a co-composé le hit international Kissing You, et a composé la musique pour de nombreux films long métrage (The Invention Of Lying, Cemetery Junction, The Christmas Candle), des long-métrage documentaires (9.79, The Fall, Match 64) et téléséries documentaires (Tough Young Teachers, Famous, Rich and Homeless).
En 2016, Tim a composé la musique pour trois long-métrage documentaires pour le directeur Dan Gordon ; Hillsborough, un compte-rendu définitif des événements tragiques à Hillsborough le 15 avril 1989 ; Don’t Look Down, un biopic sur Sir Richard Branson centré sur ses tentatives de battre des records du monde dans le vol en montgolfière ; et George Best : All by Himself, un compte-rendu poignant de la disgrâce d’un des joueurs de football les plus naturellement talentueux de tous les temps.
En matière de télévision, Tim a fourni la musique pour deux séries documentaires en 2017 : la controversée Muslims Like Us pour BBC2 et Women Who Kill, un documentaire en 2 parties pour C4 sur les femmes en prison à vie pour le meurtre de leurs maris aux USA, réalisé par Matt Kelly.
Jusqu’à présent en 2018, Tim a fourni la musique pour trois séries de C4; Paul Hollywood: A Baker’s Life, The Biggest Little Railway In The World, et Battle of Britain: Model Squadron.