York-born composer John Barry should have a permanent memorial in the city, according to a friend of the Oscar-winning musician.

Peter Stanhope, who successfully nominated Mr Barry to receive the freedom of the city in 2002, said there was now plenty of thinking time for the city to come up with a suitable tribute.

One suggestion would be to re-name the Barbican Centre in honour of Mr Barry, for its planned re-opening in May as a performance venue.

He said: “I don’t think we should rush in to anything. The form of any permanent memorial should be a considered one.

“It would have been rather sad if we had named the Barbican after him at the time it opened only for it to become dilapidated over the years.

“It would have reflected very badly on John Barry.”

However, Mr Stanhope said the Barbican could well feature in a lasting memorial due to it’s proximity to the site of the old Rialto cinema, which Mr Barry’s father ran.

“His funeral will be in New York, but then there’s talk of a memorial service in York, which will hopefully be in the Minster,” he said.

Graham Bradbury, organiser of York’s annual Community Carol Concert, which is traditionally held in the Barbican, said he would support both the naming of the auditorium after John Barry, and also the staging of a concert there to celebrate his life and work.

While the Barbican’s new owners, SMG, said it was too early to consider changing the name of the auditorium, a spokesman said: “We know he was a much respected son of York and we hope there will be a permanent memorial to him somewhere in the city.”

Mr Barry died at the weekend following a heart attack at his New York home.

Tributes flooded in from the music world and beyond.

His death prompted a suggestion by fellow film-score composer David Arnold that people should download one of Barry’s best known songs We Have All the Time In The World, to get it to the number one spot this weekend.

Meanwhile, Shed Seven singer Rick Witter said the musician’s death was a sad day for music and backed a lasting memorial in the renaming of the Barbican.

“It’s certainly a good idea. It’s a fitting tribute to him,” he said. “Or you could put his name on one of the terraces at York City Football Club.”