ABC frontman Martin Fry reveals he turned down the chance to write Top Gun soundtrack because he didn’t think the film would be a big hit
ABC frontman Martin Fry has revealed he turned down the chance to write Top Gun soundtrack.
The 80s pop star, 65, said he wasn’t interested when approached about the job because he didn’t think the film starring Tom Cruise would ‘take off’.
He was at the height of his fame when asked to work on the movie in 1986 but after seeing a special screening of the director’s rough cut he said no.
During the 80s, Martin and ABC produced five hit albums including Beauty Stab, Alphabet City and, their biggest hit, The Lexicon of Love in 1982 which reached No. 1 in the UK.
He told The Mirror of turning it down: ‘We were invited to see a movie in LA that they were looking for music for.
Oh no! ABC frontman Martin Fry has revealed he turned down the chance to write Top Gun soundtrack
Shock: The 80s pop star, 65, said he wasn’t interested when approached about the job because he didn’t think the film starring Tom Cruise would ‘take off’
‘I remember saying, ‘It’s a film about planes, it’s so jingoistic, it’s never going to take off’.
‘Six months later the film was out and I was sitting in the cinema thinking, ‘S**t, this is that film’. It was Top Gun. Rank stupidity is a big part of being in a band.’
The film went on to win an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the song Take My Breath Away by Berlin and the album went on to become the best-selling soundtrack of 1986.
After the original film, Top Gun: Maverick was released in 2022 – again starring Tom Cruise.
Last summer it surpassed $600 million at the international box office.
The tally brought the Tom Cruise sequel to more than $1.2 billion worldwide, solidifying it as Paramount Pictures’ ‘highest grossing film ever globally,’ as reported by Deadline.
It is only the 12th film to ever cross the $600 million mark at the domestic box office.
Internationally, Top Gun: Maverick holds the number three spot for the production company’s highest titles ever.
Past: He was at the height of his fame when asked to work on the movie in 1986 but after seeing a special screening of the director’s rough cut he said no (Martin pictured in 1982)
Success: The film went on to win an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the song Take My Breath Away by Berlin and the album went on to become the best-selling soundtrack of 1986
Moving on: After the original film (pictured Tom and Kelly McGillis), Top Gun: Maverick was released in 2022 – again starring Tom Cruise
Meanwhile, in 28 overseas markets — including France, Australia, and the UK — the flick is the biggest Paramount live action movie ever.
Notably, this is the first film in Tom Cruise’s decades-long career to earn $1 billion.
Also notable is that Maverick outshined Titanic as Paramount’s number one domestic grossing film of all time.
The film was originally supposed to be released in June 2020, but Paramount held off on the release until more fans were able to return following the pandemic lockdowns.
The latest iteration of the project — which follows Cruise as he reprises his role as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell from the 1986 classic — also earned the star his first $100 million opening weekend.
Top Gun: Maverick zeroes in on the relationship between Maverick and the son of his dead best friend Goose.
Fans gave it a rare A+ grade on CinemaScore.
