I am compelled to bore the bejeezus out of you and drone on about some of my favourite TV themes of yester-year. This is just part one, there’s more to come! In no particular order let’s get cracking…
Tales of the Unexpected, composed by Ron Grainer, the maestro behind other classics such as Dr Who and The Prisoner themes, this theme has inspired virtually all of Mister Fusty’s “instrumental years” work. I remember loving this show as a kid and the title sequence, featuring the naked silhouetted dancer, made a young Fusty feel ‘a bit funny’. I still can’t figure out what instrument(s) the main melody is played with.
The Avengers. My two favourite things about this theme tune are the ethereal strings that seems to float around the main theme and the “ding ding ding ding ding” bit, know which bit I mean? It’s at 0.37 in the video, you’ll know it when you hear it. Wonderful.
Are You Being Served? A classic from the late great Ronnie Hazlehurst, a titan in the world of TV themes, this is a classic piece of 70′s kitsch with cash register sounds possibly inspired by Pink Floyd (or was it the other way around?).
Grandstand. I’m not a big sports fan but this classic theme from the BBC sports show ran for many years. I’m not entirely sure why this particular video features a picture of a cake…Composed by Keith Mansfield, a library & production music giant, I found a great video of Alan Hawkshaw, another library music great, with Keith and the KPM Allstars playing this live at the Jazz Cafe, wish I’d seen that!
Dave Allen At Large. Speaking of Alan Hawkshaw let’s have one of his finest, “Blarney’s Stoned”, the theme to comedian Dave Allen’s long-running show. You can find a compilation of Hawkshaw’s genius on CD called Mo’hawk which is highly recommended. Strike up the Hammond!
More to come soon…
