About Tim Atack

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 bands 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 a touring and session guitarist 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 andRachel 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 Hillsboroughand in 2022, FIFA: Uncovered (Netflix). This collaboration has also cemented close working relationships with production companies such as Passion Pictures and Ventureland.

In 2023, Tim scored Chris Smith’s feature, WHAM! (Netflix) with Ventureland. The film premiered at Sheffield Documentary Festival, and was watched by 4.4 million peopleglobally in its first 4 days of digital release.

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.Tim has now just completed LOCKERBIE which goes to air on Sky documentaries and Now TV from Sat 25th NOV 2023

CREDITS INCLUDE

Features                                                                                                                                                              

 THE INVENTION OF LYING (Warner Bros) producer Lynda Obst, directors Ricky Gervais & Matthew Robinson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           CEMETERY JUNCTION (Sony Pictures) producer Sue Baden-Powell directors Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 RE-UNITING THE RUBINS (Balagan Productions) producer Jonathan Weissler director Yoav Factor  

St GEORGE'S DAY (Produced by Elstree studio productons, Nick Hamson) Written and directed by Frank Harper.    

DEAD CERT ( Raw Film/Black & Blue Films) producers Steve Lawson, Jonathan Sothcott & Billy Murray director Steve  Lawson .

THE CHRISTMAS CANDLE (directed by John Stephenson)
AMONG GIANTS (Kudos Films/Fox Searchlight) producer Stephen Garrett, director Sam Miller
ELEPHANT JUICE (Hal Films/Miramax) producer Sheila Fraser Milne, director Sam Miller
ROMEO & JULIET (Bazmark Productions) producers Gabriella Martinelli & Baz Luhrmann, director Baz Luhramann credit: the song ‘Kissing You’ and the main theme based upon it in the Balcony Scene                                                       

Television            

                                                                                                                                                                                                           HILLSBOROUGH (BBC 2/ESPN/PASSION PICTURES/VERYMUCHSO)                                                                        

  MUSLIMS LIKE US (LOVE PRODUCTIONS/ CHANNEL 4)                                                                                                                                                                         

BRADLEY WIGGINS A YEAR IN YELLOW
GRAFFITI WARS:  (Twofour Broadcast/Channel 4) director Jane Preston
ROMAN’S EMPIRE (Tiger Aspect/BBC2) director Elliot Heggarty.Producer Ben Cavey 
KRAKATOA – THE LAST DAYS (BBC1) director Sam Miller
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (BBC) producer Diederick Santer, director Brian Percival
QUITE UGLY ONE MORNING (Clerkenwell Films/ITV) producer Murray Ferguson, director Sam Miller
THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT (BBC) producer Alison Willett, director Sam Miller                                      

OTHER PEOPLE (Company Productions) Producer Emma Burge.Director William Sinclair