World In Action 1970 Titles

[AdeBamforth]

War! Famine! Wasps! Though I do wonder why there's a coiled snake at 0:13 - perhaps there just wasn't enough trauma that week?

[Kelly14UK]

@AdeBamforth Lol war- famine - wasps genius humor : )

[townheadfury]

Who's the bloke in the black glasses?

[ashleyyakeley]

Endlessly descending melody FTW!

[Gary190tube]

The best theme tune ever???

[Zongooo]

I remember seeing this programme as a kid in the 70s. This tune means a guaranteed half-hour of death, destruction and despair. Very depressing.

[Cool2BCeltic]

@Zongooo Yes, it was the most downbeat of all current affairs programmes.

[fredo1070]

This TV show was always about heart attacks or cancer.

[Friedkin01]

@fredo1070 Whom can forget the episode of WiA where they alleged that microwave ovens were going toi kill us. Turned out the story was a dud.

[hottestbabe1000]

diskchimp Thanks for agreeing with me!!!

[caxtonman]

The most frightening opening title music ....EVER!

[pufferfishish]

Both this and the Juliet Bravo theme used to really scare me as a child

[pinball1970]

@pufferfishish

juliette bravo!!

I will have to check that out

for scary opening music nothing compares with "Children of the Stones" and the Tomorrow people

a bit before your time though

[pufferfishish]

@pinball1970 I remember The Tomorrow People's opening titles and theme tune; I know the visuals were mainly shots in black and white. But yeah, never heard of Children of the Stones though. What also scared me about Juliet Bravo was the police badge revolving and disappearing at the end. It terrified me. I have no idea why. It's funny what scares us as kids.

[cazasaurusrex1]

this music is called

"JAM FOR WORLD IN ACTION FINAL"

BY SHAWN PHILLIPS 3mins 14seconds long

both the intro and outro of the tv programme are edited from it.

it is also here on you tube, if you look for it.

it brings the 1970's to mind

genius on the Hammond organ ...ENJOY

[john111257]

i wonder who recorded this..classic

[GNeuman]

Hammond organ still sounds awesome

[hottestbabe1000]

Shit this brings back time......Where the fuck have the years gone.....!!!

[diskochimp]

@hottestbabe1000 That's exactly what I was thinking!

[Glenn1967ful]

In its place now is yet another episode of Coronation St, I suppose a case of one Granada institution giving way to another.

[Noodles37UK]

@Glenn1967ful Dumbing down.

[quentinlargcoie]

I suspect you'll need a big time machine - and there'll be quite a queue for tickets!

[71ibanez]

can anyone remember the name of a similar program to weekend world/world in action with a really cool theme? ive got the tune in my head but cannot remember the program?

[seonidh]

@71ibanez I had to think about that one and think its the world around us with its flute theme?

/watch?v=vGTnZ0mAhMY

[lillabethsmum]

@71ibanez This Week or Brass Tacks maybe? I have some theme tunes in my head but can't find them on here

[frustrab]

the music is nantucket sleighride by a rock band called mountain. great stuff.takes me back.

[atrainhxdotcom]

@frustrab

No, nantucket sleighride was the theme to 'Weekend World' but they do have similarities.

BTW, thanks for turning me onto nantucket sleighride - brilliant song and fascinating background story.

[KRAMNOSTRIBOR]

Ah memories are made of this: wildcat strikes, three day week, bodies left uncollected, piles of rubbish stagnating the streets. God bless the seventies, misty coloured memories harking back to an altogether happier time!

[Glamagal20091]

It reminds me of the all the world's troubles around that time (1970), particularly Vietnam.

[sirtinycreep]

Great theme tune.

[thedrownedinsound2]

This deep haunting theme, has been embeded in my mind since my childhood, in the 70`s. I love it. Happy daze...!!!!

[fretbevel]

What a pity the sound was cut off at the end. I recall loving the sound of the sustained finishing chord with that Leslie speaker growl.

[courtney359]

brings back memories as a wee kid tucked up in bed.Listening to this music from down stairs.

[PhilJonesIII]

Echoes of Philip Glass music in Koyaanisqatsi there......anyone agree?

[dobsondale]

@PhilJonesIII interesting comparison !!!!!

[john111257]

loved the theme...who did it...help please

[kawasaki5187]

Great opening, made by Granada in Manchester and now they've even taken the sign down

[animatetime]

Rape in a borstal, brutal conditions in factories, early days of global terror. Quite a contrast after the magic roundabout....

[salvadormarley]

Have you ever noticed that when something this brilliant appears on youtbe that no one ever argues with each other - we're all on the same side.

[19bootsy68]

Class, Class, Class...i want this as my ringtone for my iPhone killer...The Samsung Galaxy S.

[ollie705]

The year I was born.... I didn't know it was going then. I loved it in the early 80s when I could understand, and was allowed to watch, them.

[pooka1967]

Wow!! hearing that music again give me a sick feeling in my stomach. Brings back memories of dark Monday school nights.

[salvadormarley]

@pooka1967

Exactly correct - monday nights and knowing that a whole week of horror school was just around the corner.

[Pusllab1]

Brings back memories of Mondays at eight-thirty. What's on in place of this now? Bloody 'Coronation Street', that's what!

[duxberry1958]

this tune as brought back so many memories . this tune is my fav theme tune of all time . i just can not believe the memories it as brought back .

[duxberry1958]

no your only working three days this week

[duxberry1958]

i always try ed never too miss this tv programme and i fort the tune was done THE NICE which latter became E.L.P

[spencer19731]

The man at 0.06 has a VERY long neck.

[darrowby1972]

@spencer19731 - he certainly has!

[mecotterill]

This title sequence used to scare me a lot when I was a kid.

[creeball]

@mecotterill: haha! fro years i thought it was just me! but yeah, this and that friggin tales of the unexpected. to title sequences guaranteed to scare the shit out of me as a kid. (still dont like to watch the tales on my own!)

[dannidog]

i totally agree BONDFAN 1974

[gilsenar]

as a little boy in the 70s this music and openin screen shots used to scare the shit out of me back then . now it just reminds me of just how far the world has been fucked up

[DjDeanB]

@gilsenar

I caught the last series of this and when i was a kid i used to filly my pants to this music haha so your not on your own it was horrifying!! lol

[doubledeckers]

@DjDeanB Granada programmes had some of the most depressing and scary theme music if you were a kid, what with this and Coronation Street. But I wish World In Action was still around now to investigate what the government is up to.

[uklandman]

Race Riots, Hippies, Vietnam, Corrupt Politics, Drugs and really great theme tune that f*cks with your head. Nice one.

[ianwr000]

If you're in your 30's you'll share my feeling of dread as soon as you hear the opening bars of this hellish tune-signalling it's time for bed! I'm 38 and almost plodded up the stairs like I'd been hypnotised!

[tiasarahellielorna]

i fuckin hated this show , im sure it was on monday bedtime ish when i was a little kid the music just used to really piss me off

[Emerald007007]

@tiasarahellielorna

Me too I always remember getting the shit kicked out of me by the woman looking after me. Being dragged across the room by my hair. Man this tune sure is a journey into the darkness.

[MrMeefos]

get some candles in quick, there's going to be a power cut

[Kelly14UK]

@MrMeefos God my Mum and Dad used to make us use that same Two Shilling Ten Pence Piece for months in the electricity meter lol.

[steve371970]

Im looking for an elusive episode from 1968 called "Ward F.13" which documents abuse to patients in a mental asylum in Powick, Worcestershire, hard hitting stuff, but difficult to source nowadays.

[984rtgh]

Jonathan of Arabia... another classic World In Action expose about Jonathan Aitken...

[Stygosi]

Because Andrew Marr is trying to be your friennnnnnd trust him the media is your friend with modern poppy title sequences and tunes. World In Action told the truth and so had to be cancelled for more editorial controlled lesser programming?

Thanks for this clip!

[booksearch]

I always remember the sense of a country sinking into the mire from the titles - I mean they were GRIM really, weren't they? Good music though!

[sunderlandgent]

I remember watching this current affairs documentary throughout the Seventies . Being an impressionable child it always made me feel down at the end of it as if the world or the U.K. anyway was going to be no more and something bad was gonna happen.That aside it was a brilliant, hard hitting piece of t.v. Without a doubt the best documentary prog. ever.

[matt004474]

Nevermind the political stuff, that music is amazing! Brings back flashback memories.

[BONDFAN1974]

This was very hard hitting stuff, 1970's television at it's best unrecognisable compared to the rubbish that passes for television these days

[wildenfree]

Oh Yes...investigative journalism at its best. Something you also struggle to find in newspapers these days.

[16881873]

I loved this programme as a kid growing up, alongside Man Alive, The World About Us, Horizon, etc. I don't know about anyone else but I just cannot watch television anymore as it has become so silly and pointless with endless "celebrity culture". I'm no Einstein either, far from it, but I certainly feel like it in the company of under 30's. lol

[DavyTom71]

Popular culture has dumbed down a hell of a lot.  People under 30 have grown up watching television shows and films that have been of a much lower quality than we used to watch. The result is that they have lower standards of quality, and makes it easier for film and tv companies to meet their expectations. But it seems to have lowered their intelligence levels too.

[16881873]

You're spot on with your comments. I don't think the under 30's could intellectually cope with 1970's documentary programmes. No Jordan or Peter Andre involved.

[DavyTom71]

LOL! No Jordan or Peter Andre. How did we cope in the 70s without them? LOL

[16881873]

I could certainly cope without Jordan, Peter Andre and the million other no-marks that now pollute our television and newspapers. Good comments also on " modern" television comedy,btw. !

[Cool2BCeltic]

Does this happen with anyone else? Every time I see Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man I hear a chord being struck on an electric organ inside my head, largely because of World in Action.

[DodgeDriverFFS]

yes I hear it EVERY time I see the figure, automatically

[DavyTom71]

I wish television would go back to making shows like these. Smart, intelligent news and current affairs shows that were sensible, informative and educated us about the important things happening in the world. Now it is all horrible soap operas, reality shows and pointless celebrity gossip. Crap that keeps the masses dumb and compliant

[bluesugarmonkeys]

I agree 100% & it's the reason I don't watch television any more. Have you noticed that most people who comment on these videos, can spell? I think we we're the last generation to be taught English.

[DodgeDriverFFS]

yes! REAL english is suffering BADLY, my aunt said over the phone she`d give me a rain check, I paused and asked so is it raining? her son in usa now she had adopted such idiotic terms

[DavyTom71]

You are absolutely right. There is a very poor standard of spelling, punctuation and grammar used by people on here. The Americans are the worst offenders but many British are just as inept when it comes to reading and writing. It is all about 'keep them dumb, and keep them down'. And the media is a great place to start with this process. Orwell wrote about this in '1984'.

[bluebus270]

Perhaps the one programme which has caused greatest\ damage to the English vocabulary is Friends. Apart from ruining our language, it simply is not funny either.

[DavyTom71]

American culture has done untold damage to this country and our language. I never got all the fuss about Friends too. I think it was a case of emperor's new clothes: a few people in the media said it was great, so the more gullible members of the public said it was great too.

[bluebus270]

Although ironically British comedy has gone the other way. Programmes like Doctor In Charge, Bless Me Father and The Lovers were truly dire.

[DavyTom71]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you there. British TV does not seem capable of making family comedies like Steptoe and Son, The Likely Lads, Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Father Ted (I could go on). Little Britain USA was awful; The Catherine Tate show replayed the same juvenile jokes every week. With the exception of Early Doors and The IT Crowd, I think most of todays comedy is very poor.

[DodgeDriverFFS]

of course, it is SUPPOSED to, like advertising, BLAST the viewer/listener REGARDLESS of the reality, with Trash, if thats ALL thats available Most will ..albeit reluctantly "believe" the lies, I mean Saddam was evil right? Weapons of mass destruction and brother Bush LOVED us all right? Welcome to the new age of distortion on a Global scale ! World in action and Allan Whicker brought Reality to us then...sadly much missed..cheers!

[DavyTom71]

The older and more educated members of the public can spot propaganda. Younger and less intelligent people tend to believe what they are told, or are just plain apathetic about everything. The younger generation have been conditioned to find TRUTH and the REAL WORLD boring but to worship loud, brash and flashy lies...so long as there is loud music, computer graphics and beautiful celebrities to adore.

[royalresidence]

It's nice to see YouTube comments by people who are able to string a sentence together!

I couldn't agree more with DavyTom71. I see a dumbed-down, brain-washed, illiterate population, without enough vocabulary to even express their own thoughts properly. The sad truth is that this is no accident but is exactly what is required by those who see us as nothing more than 'consumers' and 'Human resources' in a world where everyone is dependant on everyone else, even for their own child's education.

[ProductionalVideos]

You are absolutely right, RoyalResidence. For decades the media has been dumbing down more and more; education has been correspondingly dumbed down; at the same time, governments have trashed traditional morality, fatherhood, and marriage. Why did this happen? To make us selfish consumers who are more interested in spending money than looking after our families, communities and our country.

[Stratman78]

Jammin' to the distorted Hammond!

[pump35]

Probally played thru a Marshall instead of a Leslie speaker! Jon Lord from Deep Purple came up with the idea in the late 60's/early 70's

[bluebus270]

World In Action did a fantastic two parter in the very early eighties called 'there's no place like Hulme' about Manchester.

[chatham43]

...trouble is if brought back now it would probably be investigating something "important" like the size of Jordans tits....

[RICSHAI]

World in Action theme music was called Jam for the World in Action and if we still had WIA investigating things this country wouldnt be in the mess it is today with corrupt businesses politician and the rest....

[burns1961]

I agree i wish someone would try and bring it back.

[zepromz]

No, you are confusing this with "Weekend World" which featured a section of "Nantucket Sleigh Ride" as the theme tune. I don't know what tune they used for World In Action, but its a similarly cool distorted Hammond organ. Mmmmm :)

[Shropshire67]

Do we know who did this song originally for the show?

[crazyclive]

"Jam For World In Action" by Jonathan Weston. The master copy was destroyed in an EMI studio fire in the mid-1970s.

[soboneidol]

isn't this a tune called 'nantucket sleigh ride' by a band called Mountain? they had a guitarist called Leslie West. does this ring any (sleigh)bells then? Well it is Christmas...

[SozLikeAudio]

That was the theme to Weekend World.

[Benzi75]

Has anyone got the episode where they go after the late Reggie Maudling, ex-Chancellor, Home Secretary and Tory MP for Barnet? I read a book about him, and it appears the programme caused the man no end of trouble!

[Tiger20001]

From a time when ITV actually had programmes worth watching, not just the contioious X-Factor type shite that they produce now.

[bigbreadeaterellis]

i agree with your comments Tiger...itv has really changed...but for the worst from my point of view...it's Too money motivated...everyone needs money to get by but do we really want to be up at night gambling on itv?

that is where itv stumble in that they want to entice us to gamble day and night...what we want is good programmes again like world in action, but all we get is x factor because itv can link it to premium rate numbers to ensure the money keeps rolling in.

we can't win

[davidgbarron]

You cannot imagine this being on ITV now.

[soundzok]

Yes, Grace5295, I have a similar memory. It was all so terribly serious. But sometimes I was allowed to stay up late; watching the titles and listening to the tune made me feel terribly grown up. I wish this posted recording didn't cut off at the end. Is there a full 1970s version of the theme around I wonder?

[Grace5295]

I remember hearing this tune layed in bed trying to get to sleep as a young boy and it making me feel depressed.

[0FindGlory]

Why did Granada t.v. have some many HAIRS on their titles?

[cartoonfan1920s]

I guess since Granada did not take great care of their films, either that or they had monkeys telecining them! lol, But a few of their great TV shows have been restored and reissued on DVD, the quality of the new transfers is SUPERB!

[cielobuio]

A classic, I've been looking for this theme for ages, but only ever found crappy remakes. This is incredibly nostalgic.

Check out the simple but effective use of graphics in this clip. The most state of the art modern computer graphics couldn't make something as poignant.

All musical credit to Shawn Phillips !!!

[steve02045]

when itv wasnt the crap it is now and when politicians were given hard time unlike the namby bampy newscasters now

[ATVmidlands5581]

completely agree. this was when ITV had integrity. not what it has sadly become - tv for profits and the viewer comes way down the list of priorities. a shambles.

cheers

ATV midlands

[Voxac100b]

I use it for my mobile ring tone!

[EuroAlien]

Do you really? Top man!!

[dstuart82]

where did you get the mobile ringtone for this? great idea!

[Voxac100b]

Using modern technology to remove audio from video

[dstuart82]

aren't we a clever boy!

[zaftra]

not to mention one of the best tv programmes ever

[blade0954]

probably the greatest tv theme of all time

[zaftra]

totally agree

[jamiebridges]

Love that music ! Thanks for posting it.

[Barbara2012]

Thanks for this memory