New score for Anthony Asquith’s Underground

Following the huge success of Blackmail in October 2010, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Barbican commissioned Neil composed a new full-orchestral score for Anthony Asquith’s 1928 silent ‘Underground’, which premiered on October 5th 2011.

Set in the London Underground and dealing with a love triangle that descends into madness and murder, this film is a wonderful mix of gritty thriller, warm romance and quirky magical realist drama – Virtually unseen for decades because of technical problems with the print, the gorgeous new restoration by the BFI National Film Archive places the film firmly amongst the greatest British silent films and, to my mind, even gives Hitchcock a run for his money.

The Big Broadcast – BBC Radio – June 2011

Neil live-recorded his new afternoon musical The Big Broadcast (set in a 30s Chicago radio station) in front of a packed BBC Radio Theatre – the stars were Josie Lawrence and Nigel Harman and the piece was broadcast on June 1st 2011.

Neil’s music on Radio 4

Neil scored the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of ‘Showboat’ and ‘Paul Merton’s The Birth of Hollywood’ series for BBC4.

Afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4

For 2010, Neil was commissioned with long-term writing colleague Michael Eaton to write ‘Waves Breaking on a Shore’, two afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4 dealing with the beginnings of cinema in the East End of London and the impact on the Music Hall of the day and London’s multiracial community.

Neil’s score for Hitchcock’s Blackmail

Neil’s score for Hitchcock’s ‘Blackmail’ received its UK premiere at the Barbican Concert Hall on Oct 31st, 2010, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
– see Reviews. There are plans in progress for a new score for October 2011.

Radio play – Double Dip

Neil was selected as writer for an episode of Radio 4’s ‘Fact to Fiction’ season in which a radio play is written and broadcast within a week, dealing with a current news story. His comedy ‘Double Dip’ dealt with the Greek debt crisis.

European performances

Neil is being asked to perform regularly at the Cinematheque Francaise in Paris, as well as the Babylon Cinema, Berlin.

Pandora’s Box, Paris – Metropolis, Berlin

Neil has had two highly-acclaimed performances playing Loulou (Pandora’s Box) for the Cinematheque Francaise in Paris and the new restoration of Metropolis at the Babylon Cinema in Berlin.

Neil’s live performances and film scores at London Film Festival

Neil had great success performing twice at 2009’s London Film Festival, once in Trafalgar Square with transport films showing London through the cinema’s eyes, and the following night at the Queen Elizabeth Hall with the Prima Vista Social Club (Gunter Buchwald, Romano Todesco, Denis Biason and Frank Bockius) for a gala Archive premiere of the BFI’s new restoration of Anthony Asquith’s UNDERGROUND (1928). The score was semi-improvised on themes written by Neil to great critical acclaim.

Neil on Radio 4’s Film Programme – 2009/2010

Following his appearances in 2009, discussing silent film music and the score to ‘Vertigo’, Neil has been broadcasting regularly on R4’s ‘Film Programme’ during 2009, analysing famous film scores including Casablanca, Jaws and The Pink Panther. In 2010 he looked back at the work of specific film composers.