I covered Sunday Breakfast today on 106.9 SFM in which I came up with a list of my 20 favourite TV Themes and asked people to guess which of the themes made it onto said list. The response was very good with a surprising number of people picking off songs from my list – with one chap evening correctly guessing the theme at the top of my list.
So, I love TV themes – always have. I can sit on the train, as I did just the other day, and just listen to them. Good themes have been crafted like a painting that means they are instantly enjoyable, always recognisable and forever to be cherished. There is definitely an art to writing a good theme – and sometimes they are just as memorable as the programme itself. Or in some cases – because the theme tune was good- people forget that actually – the programme which accompanied it – didn’t quite live up to those opening bars.
Here is my list. And yes – I could tweak here – shunt there – add or subtract at will – a process which could even out last our sun. Even as I wrote in this page – I question why I had put some themes above others. It’s not a science – it’s all personal taste- and as I have discovered my taste changes all the time!
Remember this is about the music – not the quality of the show!
How does it match with a list you’d do?
My Favourite Top 20 TV Themes
Number Artist Title
20 Joe Scarbury Believe It Or Not
FROM: The Greatest American Hero
19 Ron Grainer The Prisoner
FROM: The Prisoner
18 Alan Hawkshaw Grange Hill
FROM: Grange Hill
17 Tony Hatch Emmerdale
FROM: Emmerdale
16 Johnny Pearson All Creatures Great And Small
FROM: All Creatures Great And Small
15 Ron Grainer Tales Of The Unexpected
FROM: Tales Of The Unexpected
14 Ron Grainer Dr. Who
FROM: Dr. Who
13 May Osbourne Howard’s Way
FROM: Howard’s Way
12 David Croft ‘Allo ‘Allo
FROM: ‘Allo ‘Allo
11 Stu Phillips Knight Rider
FROM: Knight Rider
10 Ian Freebairn-Smith Magnum P.I
FROM: Magnum P.I
09 Terry Bush The Littlest Hobo
FROM: The Littlest Hobo
08 Dennis Waterman I Could Be So Good for You
FROM: Minder
07 Jerrold Immel Dallas
FROM: Dallas
06 Denis King The Adventures ofBlack Beauty
FROM: The Adventures of Black Beauty
05 Laurie Johnson The Professionals
FROM: The Professionals
04 Bill Conti Cagney & Lacey
FROM: Cagney & Lacey
03 Joe Fagin Auf Weidersehen Pet (That’s Livin’ Alright)
FROM: Auf Weidersehen Pet
02 Jim Diamond Hi Ho Silver
FROM: Boon
01 Juliet Bravo Juliet Bravo
FROM: Juliet Bravo
