Roy Budd, born in South Norwood, South London, began playing piano by ear at age two and demonstrated perfect pitch by six. He made his public debut in 1953 at the London Coliseum and appeared on radio and TV throughout his youth. As a teenager, he played Jerry Lee Lewis covers in a local band and formed the Roy Budd Trio before leaving school to pursue jazz professionally. In the mid-1960s, Budd signed to Pye Records, releasing Pick Yourself Up!! This Is Roy Budd in 1967. He entered film scoring in 1970 with Soldier Blue and gained acclaim in 1971 with his minimal yet iconic score for Get Carter. Over the 1970s, he composed for Flight of the Doves, Kidnapped, and The Wild Geese, often collaborating with producer Euan Lloyd. Through the 1980s, he scored international films like The Sea Wolves and Mama Dracula while continuing to perform jazz and arrange for artists such as Bob Hope and Charles Aznavour. He recorded orchestral tributes to major film themes and wrote his final score for The Phantom of the Opera in 1993. Married twice, Roy Budd died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage on 7 August 1993 at age 46.