The Lady & The Highwayman (Original Score)

Laurie Johnson’s The Lady & the Highwayman (Original Score) accompanies John Hough’s 1988 television film, a romantic adventure based on Barbara Cartland’s novel Cupid Rides Pillion and set during the Restoration of King Charles II. Composed and conducted by Johnson, the music draws on the orchestral traditions of Hollywood’s Golden Age, with influences including Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, and William Walton. Its defining character is swashbuckling, balancing courtly ceremony, romantic encounters, and action within a period setting. The soundtrack’s 18-track, approximately 46-minute program was available digitally in April 2025, while the edition marketed as Original Score is listed for August 7, 2026.

The sequence follows the drama through contrasting character portraits and extended action cues. “Chasing Lucius” leads into “Lady Panthea Vyne,” before the nearly six-minute “Silver Blade Appears and the Duel” gives a major confrontation more room to unfold. “Fanfares for the King” and “Court Intrigue” establish the royal setting, while “Panthea and Lucius” and “This Is My Home” bring the focus back to the central relationship and its personal stakes. The closing stretch moves from “The Verdict and Attempted Escape” to “Awaiting Execution,” culminating in the seven-minute “Battle at the Gallows and the Wedding (Finale).” By joining rescue and romance in that final cue, the album brings the story’s two principal strands together before the closing credits.