Following the overwhelming success of my blog ‘Guilty Pleasures‘, where I wrote about some of the music I really liked but often kept to myself for street cred reasons, I’ve decided to take it a step further, or flog a dead horse, depending on your point of view. In this blog, I share with my loyal reader some of my favourite TV themes. I thought this would be rather easy, given that many are virtually unlistenable, but it wasn’t. By the time I’d compiled my list it became a matter of which ones to leave out.
Some are driven by pure nostalgia but others are, I think, great songs and manage to recreate the image in one’s mind and feeling of the shows themselves. I hope that makes some kind of sense.
Most of the songs in this list were composed specifically for the programme concerned, others were selected by the producers themselves because they appeared to fit in with the type of show they had created. Some, I suspect, will meet with near universal approval, some may elicit a response along the lines of WTAF? Who cares? It’s only a but of fun.
As with my weekly music shuffle, you can listen to the music by simply clicking on the song title in the blog. I hope you enjoy it. Let’s see if nostalgia is what it used to be!
- Luther. The show that sent the wonderful Sir Idris Elba on the road to acting superstardom and what a theme tune. It’s Paradise Circus by Massive Attack from their 2010 long player Heligoland. Luther started in 2010, too, and I think the show licensed the song rather than the song being written for the show. It’s great though, isn’t it, especially the atmospheric vocal from Hope Sandoval.
- Howard’s Way. What? Howard’s Way, the everyday story of rich yachting folk committing dastardly deeds along the banks of the River Solent? Yes, that Howard’s Way. I cannot explain why I like it but I just do, from the slow start to the bouncing along the waves middle section which closed each show.
- The Rockford Files. Movie star James Garner took to the role of trailer-dwelling private investigator Jim Rockford like a duck to water. Mostly light-hearted, packed with excellent one-liners and an essential watch. And the theme tune, Mike Post and Pete Carpenter’s The Rockford Files Theme, was an essential listen.
- Department S. One for the teenagers, here. Running for one season only, from 1969 to 1970, Department S was a division of Interpol, branded as spy-fi at the time. It starred super suave Peter Wyngarde, Joel Fabiani, Rosemary Nicols and the wonderful Gambian actor Dennis Alaba Peters. Totally far-fetched, but listen to that theme song. It was written by the prolific Edwin Astley, who also wrote numerous other themes and performed by Cyril Stapleton.
- Arena. The best TV theme of the lot? Many say it is and who am I to argue? Arena is/was a BBC arts programme which was a bit highfalutin for my liking, but Brian Eno’s Another Green World intro, with the floating bottle, is heavenly.
- World In Action. ITV’s answer to BBC’s Panorama was a hard-hitting investigative show and it showed it meant business with its theme tune. This is the full version by Mike Weaver.
- Take Three Girls. To be honest, I don’t remember this BBC show from 1969, but I adore the theme tune, Pentangle’s Light Flight, particularly its quirky time signatures. I read that a young Liza Goddard starred in the show.
- Top Gear. In 1973, the Allman Brothers Band released a brilliant album called Brothers and Sisters. It’s one of my favourite albums by anyone. The instrumental Jessica was written by guitar player Richard Betts, all about the way his infant daughter bounced along to the rhythm of the song when he played it. It worked on Top Gear, too, with its band of three blokey blokes driving cars around.
- Grandstand. Every Saturday morning, my lone parent mum dropped the infant and later junior me off at my grandparents’ house while she went to work in town. During the morning I read my comics and after lunch – a portion of chips from the local chippy – grandad and me settled down for an afternoon of sport on their tiny, crackling black and white TV. The BBC sports show was Grandstand, the ITV alternative was World Of Sport. Both held their merits – Grandstand had rugby league, ITV the wrestling – but we always started with Grandstand. I will never forget the theme tune as it kicked in. It was the soundtrack of my Saturday afternoons. Theme songs come and go but Grandstand, the original theme, will always be with me.
- Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads? The greatest TV sequel of them all? I reckon it could be. The two working class lads, Bob Ferris and Terry Collier, from Newcastle in the original Likely Lads show in the 1960s, brought back to life in the 1970s. The show was, and remains, extremely funny but the nostalgia also has a part, with some touching and poignant moments, too. And the theme song Whatever Happened To You? captures the story in its lyrics.
There are plenty more – Hill Street Blues, House (Massive Attack, again), The X Files, Twin Peaks, Happy Days to name but five – and they all deserve a place on this list. Some, like Twin Peaks, only came to mind once I had made my selections. Oh well. It’s just a bit of fun, right?
Any favourites of yours here? Any I’ve forgotten? I enjoyed that.
