Chariots Of Fire

Chariots of Fire is a musical score by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis (credited as Vangelis Papathanassiou) for the British film Chariots of Fire, which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Original Music Score.

The album topped Billboard Top 200 for 4 weeks and the opening theme of the film (called “Titles” on the album track listing but widely known as “Chariots of Fire”) was released as a single in 1982 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for one week after climbing steadily for five months (it made #1 in its 21st week on the chart). “Titles” also reached #12 in Britain, where its parent album peaked at #5 and spent 107 weeks on the album chart. The single also peaked at #21 in Australian on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report).

The film’s director, Hugh Hudson, invited Vangelis after becoming impressed with his albums Opera Sauvage and China and having worked with Vangelis on commercials in Paris during the 1970s. Vangelis played all the instruments, including synthesizers, acoustic piano, battery and percussion, and recorded the score in his Nemo studio in London, UK which he had set up in 1975. The music that he came up with, entirely electronic for a period film, initiated a new style in film scoring. The use of synthesizers in film scores beyond mere textures, and their convenience in allowing directors, producers, and studios to hear preliminary versions of full scores found its roots in Chariots of Fire.