TVTHEMES by µ-Ziq

KPM All Stars: Grandstand

I witnessed of the greatest gigs in my gig going career this summer, all the way up there with Ennio Morricone at The Barbican, Man or Astroman? at the Highbury Garage, or AC/DC at Castle Donnington. This clip is part of the encore, with Keith Mansfield, Alan Hawkshaw, John Cameron, James Clarke, Duncan Lamont and Brian Bennett all on stage together. So much love in the room. Thanks to Funky Frolic for spotting the clip and to Herr Döktor for grabbing our tickets.

Super Space Detective Captain Zep

Theme From The BBC TV Series Captain Zep - Space Detective by The Spacewalkers (1983). I have no recollection of watching this at all, guess there must have been something better on "the other side".

Captain Zep looks like it was a pretty awful show but it's a great pop theme tune all the same. Side B "A Race Against Time" very much sounds like an instrumental by Rush or Marillion if they were on a tight budget. Fans of anal retentiveness may also be pleased to note that I have added a bonus 'side C', being "Zep One Interior" by Dick Mills as taken from BBC Essential Hi Tech Sound Effects. 

The Spacewalkers (Paul Aitken and David Owen Smith) also made music for other BBC children's favourites Take Hart, Hartbeat with Tony Hart and Knowhow with Johnny Ball, under their own publishing company Catslick Music.

Whilst throwing this post together I was both surprised and extremely pleased to discover that two albums by Paul Aitken and David Owen Smith (The Catslick Gallery 1 & 2), featuring music taken from both of the Tony Hart shows, are currently available as legit downloads from all the usual legit mp3 vendors. If you've enjoyed the music of Richard Denton and Martin Cook I've already posted on Ripping Yarns, or if your simply after more "Programmes For Schools and Colleges" nostalgia, I highly recommend searching them out and giving them a listen.

Captain Zep patronising two dimensional aliens with ropey accents, earlier.

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Studio 2 Stereo

Two classic "Sound Gallery" lps by library legends Alan Hawkshaw & Brian Fahey. Not much else to say other than this seems to be quite the rare and sought after double CD set these days.

Best listened to on the hi-fi with friends, Martini and lemonades all round. Ice and a slice? Cheers and good health!

Alan Hawkshaw – 27 Top T.V. Themes & Commercials:

01 The Ironside Theme/Theme From The Persuaders/Main Theme From The Saint

02 The Right One - Martini/Come Into The Warm - Cadbury's Drinking Chocolate/A Matter Of Pride - Blue Band

03 Theme From Cade's County/The Virginian Theme

04 The Night Rider - Cadbury's Milk Tray

05 Theme From The W.Somerset Maugham TV Series/Theme From Upstairs Downstairs (The Edwardians)

06 Bird's Eye Country

07 Yes I Understand - Esso

08 The Odd Couple

09 Theme From The Baron/Man In A Suitcase/Theme From Z Cars

10 Faraway Music - Heinz Spaghetti/The Girl With The Sun In Her Hair - Sunsilk/Crossroads

11 I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)/Poppochoc - Milky Way/ It's All At The Co-Op Now

12 Blarney's Stoned From The Dave Allen Show/By George! - It's The David Frost Theme/Braden's Beat

13 Theme From Shaft

Brian Fahey And His Orchestra – Time For TV:

01 Theme From "The Power Game"

02 Main Theme From "The Saint"

03 Batman Theme

04 At The Sign Of The Swingin' Cymbal

05 High Wire (Theme From "Danger Man")

06 The Rat Catchers

07 Thunderbirds

08 The Avengers

09 Seaway

10 Inspector Rose Theme From "Mr. Rose"

11 The Clanger

12 Theme From "The Baron"

13 Theme From "The Man From The U.N.C.L.E."

14 The Troubleshooters

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Brian Bennett - Voyage 7"

I vaguely remember reading an article one time (in the Idler maybe or the now long defunct Easy Magazine) about the joys of charity shop vinyl digging. It was there I learned the diggers golden rule that you should never pass over anything with a spaceship on the cover. I never have and I've rarely been disappointed with what I took home with me. The album this particular 45 is taken from is the library music classic, Brian Bennett's - Fantasia (Bruton BRI 10), which is actually a re-package of the Voyage album proper with all the tracks given new titles. Well worth tracking down if you can find it. 

In the meantime why not go ahead and programme your Ro-Butler 3000 to mix you that second pan galactic gargle blaster, turn off the artificial gravity and enjoy this exciting, luxurious, if brief trip into discoid funk. You've earned it space cadet.

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Denton & Cook - Jigsaw

Richard Denton & Martin Cook's theme tune for the Children's BBC programme Jigsaw (1979-84) was never released officially, a great pity that as it was always a favourite 'round our house. To be honest Jigsaw was one of those shows I watched because there was nothing else on the telly. The puzzle based content flew right over my tiny brain and that Mr. Noseybonk... well he was a bit disturbing.

In the spirit of make-do-and-mend I've grabbed some audio from the youtubes cleaned it up a bit, edited it looping around the dialogue as best I could and here are the results:

There are also a few Real Media files on some ancient fan sites that date back to the World Wide Web's Triassic era here and here. In addition to those, you can also hear library music featured on Jigsaw on this compilation courtesy of the excellent Retro-Teque blog.

Don't have nightmares!

Stone Fox Chase

Top BBC TV Themes (1978). The usual mixed bag of tunes. Highlights naturally include Denton & Cook's The Hong Beat, also any beat hunters out there should dig Area Code 615's  The Old Grey Whistle Test (Stone Fox Chase) and Alan Parker's funky theme to Angels, I know I do.

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Stereo Test Record mix

This superb mix comes from 2007 (I assume) but is new to me and comes courtesy of The Horse Drawn Zeppelin. I know nothing of God's Boyfriend and Go Away Records seems to have gone away for good, but they left this sonic gem behind for us all to enjoy. I'm not going to list all the 150 odd tracks included in this mix, instead, please peruse the image below:

"STEREO TEST RECORD provides a means for the demanding listener to check audio reproduction equipment without the need for expensive and complicated instruments. The sounds on this record are the final products of years of research and development of stereophonic recording techniques by 73 artists contributing over 150 compositions. 

# Test your stereo band levels with John Carpenter

# Check the channel orientation with Giorgio Moroder and BBC Radiophonic Workshop alumni

# Perform a phasing test with Eddie Warner, Klaus Schulze and Alan Hawkshaw 

# Envelope yourself in the sound of Raymond Scott's newly designed and manufactured electronic music devices and systems

All of the tests within are inter-dependent, and it is therefore suggested that it be played through once completely before attempting to interpret the results which may be obtained from it. 

This record is sponsored by Dübreq, makers of the Stylophone, a revolution in electronic music performance, introduced here by Rolf Harris.

These DYNAMIC DIRECTIONAL STEREO recordings are capable of bringing to you the most realistic width and depth plus the altogether thrilling addition of the actual movement of musical sounds in space - DIRECTIONAL STEREO EFFECTS.

Please download responsibly.

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No.36 - African Images: Suspense

Africa (1993). Library tracks and stings with an African flavour, made for documentaries and nature shows from the Radiophonic Workshop in it's final decade. Composers featured include Peter Howell, Roger Limb and Malcolm Clarke.

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Autumn Cycles

That's all the creepy sounds I have... for now. Back to posts of a more musical vein for a bit. By way of a palette cleanser, may I recommend this rather fine mixcloud courtesy of The Advisory Circle?

The Advisory Circle present 'Autumn Cycles' by Cafekaput on Mixcloud

01. Pye Corner Audio - Transmission Four Crooked Hill 

02. Holy Other - Touch

03. 69 - Microlovr

04. Keith Mansfield - Microchip Revolution

05. Hatchback - Everything Is Neu

06. Pussy - Come Back June

07. Dana Gillespie - You Just Gotta Know My Mind

08. Darkel - Pearl

09. The Association - Funny Kind Of Song

10. Jim O’Rourke - Something Big

11. Jackie Lee - The Town I Live In

12. Matti Oiling - Baron's Beat

13. Conrad Schnitzler - Coca

14. Alden Tyrell Feat. Fred Ventura - Memories

15. Chanjarit Singh - Raga Bairagi

16. Bernard Fevre - Central Way

17. Teenage Engineering - Slow Fm 4t

18. The Resource Centre - Circle Time

19. Marion - I Go To Sleep

"Lido Fashion Parade"

Busy activity, Entertainment, Light activity, Teenage, Fashion.

[JW Theme Music] Vintage Newsreel Vol.1 (JW2041) Light classical library ranging through to early rock & roll sound-alike instrumentals. First published between 1956 and 1965, remastered from the original 78s on the JW Theme Music, Impress and Audio labels. Artists include Ronald Binge, Ivor Slaney, Ernest Tomlinson and Syd Dale.

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"The Good Word"

Upbeat, groovy pop/jazz themes from 1969 to 1975

[Bruton] Easy Listening TV Tunes (BRO14): A mighty fine compilation of tunes from Peer International Library Limited recordings like "No Waiting", "Pace-Setter" and "Confrontation". Artists include British jazz musician/composers John Scott, and Tony Kinsey. Great stuff.

Fab

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"Micro-Structures"

Themes and atmospheres reflecting the many aspects of the natural world.

[Themes International] Nature + Wildlife (TIM29CD):  Paddy Kingsland returns with an album from 1998 of nature documentary type ambience.

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Surreal Suspended Underscores

[Music House] Atmosphere 22 (MHA-22) Here's another one from 1995 that I think goes well with the Paddy Kingsland CD. It does get a bit new-agey in places, so consider yourself warned.

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"Marshscape"

[BTW103] The Synthesisers of David Hewson create Mood & Mode (1979). The charity shop prog rock fan thought this sounded like Eno too. Very synthy, very atmospheric, very 1979. 

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"Space Vampire"

Dramatics suitable for futuristic or unusual nature study application.

[Bruton - BRI25] Explorer - Mid '80s spacey and spooky synths on the Bruton label from John Cameron of Kes and Psychomania fame. I picked this up some years ago when one of my local charity shop haunts used to employ an old prog rocker who took it upon himself to grade all the vinyl and tapes. He used to leave post-it note comments stuck to the sleeves and reckoned Cameron's work here owes something to Brian Eno and Harold Budd. Not sure about that but it has a lovely Look Around You vibe in places and shades of early '80s Dr Who in others.

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"Tales Of Unease (Eary-Feary)"

Top T.V. Soundtrack Themes - A smashing collection of library tracks that became theme tunes on London Weekend Television circa 1970. I'd love to see Tales Of Unease and The Adventures Of Don Quick some day, if anyone can unearth them. Artists on this lp include such greats as George Martin, Alan Tew, Mike Vickers,  Max Harris & Laurie Holloway.

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Jingle Machine [KPM 1301]

Side A: A varied collection of light-hearted cues recorded to jingle specifications.
Side B: Programme cues, logos and electronic sound effects.

A 1983 KPM library lp from Paddy Kingsland.  I feel the cues on side B compliment Kingsland's work on the second Hitch Hikers radio series. Others are very much in keeping with Radiophonic Workshop signature tune work of the period. A couple of tracks do sound rather cheesy, but you have to take the rough with the smooth with these library recordings.

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Radiophonic Jazz

This just popped up on my playlist this morning courtesy of Paris DJs . Nicely assembled and very listenable in a psychedelic Radiophonic/library type way.

Tracklisting : 

01. The Jimmy Haskell Orchestra - Blast Off!
02. Silver Apples - Lovefingers
03. John Matthews - Banshee Boogie
04. Ennio Morricone - Placcaggio
05. Raymond Scott - Limbo: The Organised Mind
06. Tony McPhee - The Hunt (Jung Collective Edit)
07. The Black Cat - Numbers feat. Rare Moods & Dom Farkas
08. Francois de Roubaix - Les Pirates
09. Tongues Of Fire - Pathway
10. Sven Libaek - In The Wave
11. The Advisory Circle - Seasons Change
12. Enrico Simonetti with Goblin - Drugs Theme
13. Jon Kennedy - Live Test
14. Raymond Scott - General Motors: Futurama 
15. Roger Roger - Rhythm 1
16. Douglas Wood - Romantic Sway
17. Miles Davis - Inamorata & Narration by Conrad Roberts
18. Ron Geesin - Syncopot
19. Johnny Hawksworth - Roobarb & Custard
20. Jung Collective - Just For John
21. Goblin - Death Dies
22. Raymond Scott - Auto Lite: Wheels
23. Superspirit - We Are The Stars
24. Wavemaker - Tunnel Of Love
25. The Sounds Of Tomorrow - The Diamond
26. John Baker - COI Technology Pavilion
27. Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery (7" edit)
28. Thomas Dissevelt - Ignition
29. Jean Francis Engel - Knitting
30. Lab Rat - Ha! Why E (Jung Collective Rehash)
31. John Baker - Vendetta: The Sugar Man
32. Belbury Poly & Moon Wiring Club - Portals & Parallels
33. John Baker - The Caves Of Steel
34. Jung Collective - The Wicker Man (Rampant Rabbit Mix)

Action Replay

It's been said before but you just don't get great theme tunes any more. My current favourite here and deliverer of the greatest Proustian rush whilst I was ripping this one - Van McCoy's The Shuffle. Instantly back to childhood Saturday mornings with Sport On Four coming out of the kitchen radio. 

Take it away Music Mike!

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Into The Music Library

On your Big British Castle iPlayer now and for a further 7 days. Do not miss.

Trunk Records