BBC I Player is currently showing the first series of Ronnie Corbett’s Eighties sitcom SORRY, which spawned the catchphrase “Language, Timothy.” What struck me about this sitcom was how catchy its theme tune was – it’s a slice of electro-synth-pop, with some saxophone-playing that Fleur East would be very proud of. So, inspired by SORRY, here are my ….. Top Theme Tunes.
1) LUTHER – Paradise Circus by Massive Attack
Any excuse to include LUTHER in yet another of my polls. But I just can’t get enough of this one. With haunting vocals by Mazzy Star singer Hope Sandoval, this theme tune sets the tone superbly for the searing tension that will unfold before your very own eyes. I’ve been known to listen to this on repeat on Youtube, and, yes, I do join in with the hand claps.
2) TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED
Continuing with another haunting theme, TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, by Ron Grainer, used to scare the heebie-jeebies out of me when I was younger, as did the series it accompanied. The jaunty, clarinet theme played over images of a silhouetted, dancing woman, was strangely hypnotic – like taking a ride on a demonic merry-go-round.
3) BLUE PETER
That jolly, sea-shanty sound coming from their telly at tea-time meant only one thing for many youngsters: BLUE PETER.
A simple tune that gets your head nodding and your shoulders shuffling, BLUE PETER has been updated for every new generation of viewers. It’s current version has such a club-friendly beat, I wonder if superstar DJ Calvin Harris is behind it?
4) KNIGHTRIDER
So you’re lead character Michael Knight, which is a cool name; and you’re played by David ‘Don’t Hassle The Hoff’ Hasselhoff, which is kinda cool; and you’re driving down the highway in a sleek black car called KITT, that can actually talk back to you – cool overload. Then you need a theme tune that is so cool, that leading hip hop artist Busta Rhymes can’t help but sample.
5) HAPPY DAYS
Speaking of cool, when you have a character as cool as the Fonz, you need a theme tune to match. HAPPY DAYS’ retro sound perfectly captures the youthful spirit of the Fifties and Sixties, in which the eleven series were set. Starting off with the image of a jukebox, followed by footage of cadillacs and jiving down at the hop, this sing-a-long-a-ditty makes you want to put on your dancing shoes and get yourself down to the nearest high-school prom.
6) GOLDEN GIRLS – Thank You For Being A Friend recorded by Cynthia Fee
If Carole King wrote theme tunes, then she’d surely pen Thank You For Being A Friend. It’s a piano-led song sung by Carole King-soundalike Cynthia Fee, with lyrics as sweet and sugary as the cheesecake the Golden Girls used to chow down on.
7) GAME ON – Where I Find My Heaven by Gigolo Aunts
GAME ON was a so-so Nineties sitcom with a great theme tune by the Gigolo Aunts – whatever happened to them, I wonder? With its guitar-heavy, instrumental opening, and chorus-based harmonising, Where I Find My Heaven is The Lemonheads-meets-Weezer-meets almost every other Nineties grunge-lite band rolled into one. I bought the CD single of this one – imagine that. True story – GAME ON’s Samantha Janus (pre Eastenders’ fame) once sat near me on a train and looks EXACTLY the same in real life as she does on the telly.
8) THIS LIFE – performed by The Way Out
One of my favourites UK TV series – certainly of the Nineties, if not of all time, THIS LIFE’s theme tune would’ve slipped seamlessly onto the set-list of any indie band around at the time. It’s Stone Roses-meets-The Happy Mondays: Bez could certainly shake his maracas at this one.
9) DEMPSEY AND MAKEPEACE
I’m showing my age here, but I used to watch this as a kid. I wanted to be Makepeace and marry Dempsey. Things didn’t quite work out on that front – but this is the perfect tune to be played over an Eighties action montage of your choice.
10) Everything by Mike Post
A special mention must be given to Mike Post – profilic theme-tune composer extraordinaire, and winner of numerous Grammy and Emmy awards. Post composed everything from THE A TEAM to HILL STREET BLUES (which my mum owns on 7″ vinyl – how cool is that?)
Other tunes composed by Post are CHiPs, DOOGIE HOWSER M.D., QUANTUM LEAP and LAW & ORDER. As we speak, I’m trying to type, but the urge to play air-guitar along to MAGNUM P.I. is too great.
And apologies to all those other great theme tunes I’ve left out this time round. Share your favourites below!
