Composer born free to roam the globe

DON BLACK

The pages of Don Black's passport are covered by stamps saying "US Immigration", "Los Angeles" and "New York". He fell in love with the States in 1967 when he went to California to receive an Oscar for the song Born Free, which he wrote for the film of the same name.

After that he began jetting back and forth to the US where he was in demand to write for movies, including a trio of James Bond title songs - Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever and The Man with the Golden Gun. His first foray into the world of musicals came when he collaborated with John Barry on Billy. It was a West End success and went on to be a big hit in America, so Don uprooted his family and moved across the Atlantic for a year in 1976.

During the Eighties Don began to work with Andrew Lloyd Webber on musicals like Song and Dance, Aspects of Love and Sunset Boulevard. He found himself increasingly in New York overseeing the productions when they transferred to Broadway. Even when he didn't have to go on business, he was drawn there. He explains: "I love New York and look for any excuse to get there - I love seeing shows, and I've fallen in love with the Carlyle Hotel which is on 76th and Madison, where the shops are. It's sort of Bond Street with heart, and just heaven."

Don's work has also taken him to Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and all over Europe.

Other stamps reveal Don's love for Barbados. "In the last three or four years I've gone for New Year with my wife Shirley," he says. "We stay at Treasure Beach, which is a quiet little haven. You do see showbiz people - last year Alan Rickman was there and the ubiquitous Michael Winner is always there - but that's not the attraction. The attraction is the water, the restaurants and atmosphere." Don's one gripe is that he has to come home via Gatwick airport. He says, "Gatwick is a soulless, uninviting place. When you come back from the Caribbean you land very early in the morning. You've had a lovely holiday but you've been up all night and there's no one ever there to get your cases on to the train to Victoria."

He thinks back to his travels in the States. "Travel is so easy there," he sighs. "You go to Grand Central Station, everyone's got a smile. They say, 'Hi, can we get you a cab? Can we do this? Can we do that?'"

But, despite his love for the US, Don has never wanted to settle there permanently. "When we lived in America in 1976," he says, "it was a wonderful adventure, but I just love Britain. John Major was right when he said, 'Think of a better country to live in.' I don't think there is one."

Don Black's latest musical, 'The Goodbye Girl', has just opened at the Albery Theatre in London.

Rosanna Greenstreet