BBC Fifties Radio Themes - (pt.2 of 2) - plus the "Ovaltineys Song"

[SuperArchie777]

Brilliant memories of those wonderful days gone by

LEONARD WORRALL

[SuperArchie777]

Brilliant superb memories come flooding back

LEONARD WORRALL

[SuperArchie777]

A brilliant compilation of wonderful music from days gone by

LEONARD WORRALL

[MANFROMMARS46]

What lovely memories this brings back particularly the version of With A Song in My Heart, theme tune from Two Way Family Favourites with Cliff Michelmore. It reminds me of lazy Sunday mornings.

[TheAnn2shoes]

OMG - With A Song in my Heart - Sunday lunchtime, roast dinner, Dad smoking his pipe, Mum in the kitchen, windows steamed up - happy days..........Children's favourites with Uncle Mac........I remember it well, where does the time go? thank you so much for posting this.

[MANFROMMARS46]

@TheAnn2shoes How true, it reminds me of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and my late parents and of course Cliff Michelmore. They were less cynical days and people were satisfied with far less and probably happier too.

[TheAnn2shoes]

OMG - With A Song in my Heart - Sunday lunchtime, roast dinner, Dad smoking his pipe, Mum in the kitchen, windows steamed up - happy days..........

[flammasherman]

1.Ovaltinys, Radio Normandy, ( pre-war ), 2.With A song In My Heart, Andre Kostelanetz & His Orchestra, 1947, theme for Family Favourites, 3. The Television March by Eric Coates, one of his less well known pieces to herald the new high defintion TV service, 4. Puffing Billy,introducing Childrens Favourites, Derek McCulloch,Uncle Mac,5. Typewriter by Leroy Anderson, c 1950, but not plaved by his Orchestra.Hope this helps !.Roger.

[filcharlee]

@charade97. Further to my last comment :-' Imperial Echoes' was the theme music to Radio Newsreel and not Television Newsreel as I stated. The theme music to the early Television Newsreel programmes when the mast at Alexandra Palace was shown with TV waves was 'Girls in Grey' and was written by Charles Williams. I think he was right about the tune at No 3 being the introduction music at the start-up of each evening's TV.

[morpheusatloppers]

@filcharlee -Charles Williams was also responsible for the Dick Barton theme. He was also a talented scorer of films - his most famous being "While I Live" - with its centrepiece: "The Dream Of Olwen" - which an alter-ego of mine just uploaded!

[filcharlee]

@charade97. I think you will find that when the Alexandra Palace tower was shown with TV waves encircling, the programme was 'Television Newsreel' and the music was a march called 'Imperial Echoes' played by the band of the RAF

[Bakuninmeow]

In the US, between the 1960's to late 1970's, "Puffin' Billy" the fourth theme in this assortment, was used as the opening and closing theme to the "Captain Kangaroo" children's programme. Hadn't known it was also used in the UK for a similar purpose until viewing this. Thanks for posting.

[m222rjr]

Surely No. 3 is composed by Eric Coates. its too much like his other marches. I think it was used to introduce Television Newsreel which was on about 6pm in 1947 ish.  No 4 was the Intro to "Children's Choice" which occupied the "Housewives Choice" slot on BBC Light Programme at 9.05 am but on a Saturday

[JanetteHeffernan]

Radio Luxemberg used to fade.

[lyubichi]

The fourth piece is "Puffing Billy" by Edward White - it was included on several BBC radio and other programmes including "Uncle Mac".

The fifth piece is "the Typewriter Song" written by Leroy Anderson (might have been performed by David Rose). Recently I had to explain to a class of ten-year-olds what all the clacking and dinging was about - boy, I feel old.

Third piece - I'm sorry, I haven't a clue!

[Rubbermaskman]

1. Ovaltinies, 2. With a song in My Heart (Two Way Family Favorites (Jean Metcalf/ Cliff Michelmore and then BillCrozier 3. I think on rare occasions PART of this was used DURING rather that at the beginning of In Town Tonight 4. Childrens Favourite (Uncle Mac) 5. Typewriter Song - used for various comedy shows over the years

[Mancunian6]

(continued) It was used for such things as the intermission (The Potter's Wheel) and currently is being used on Radio4 as the introduction to the News Quiz.

[Mancunian6]

The Ovaltineys was great - I used to have a 45rmp record with 4 songs on it and used to play it in my amateur Dj days. :) Yes morpeus, the 2nd one you are correct, it was With A Song in my Heart. I've no idea about the 3rd one either. Number 4 was actually Children's Favourites (Puffin' Billy) and 5 is actually called The Typewriter composed by Leroy Anderson who also composed such classics as Sleigh Ride and Old McDonald had a Farm. :)

[malgray2]

@Mancunian6 thanks for the info about The Typewriter and Leroy Anderson, but isn't Sleigh Ride actually from Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé?

[Mancunian6]

@malgray2 You're very welcome. As to whether Sleigh Ride came from Prokofiev, here's what Wiki has to say - "Sleigh Ride" is a popular light orchestral piece composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946; he finished the work in February 1948. Lyrics, about a person who would like to ride in a sleigh on a winter's day with another person, were written by Mitchell Parish in 1950.

[Mancunian6]

(Continued) The orchestral version was first recorded in 1949 by Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops Orchestra. Whether or not Prokofiev used it too, I've no idea.

[malgray2]

@Mancunian6 You're quite right. Prokofiev wrote a piece called Troika which depicts Lt Kijé driving through the snow in a sleigh pulled by three horses. There are parallels but the Prokofiev piece has more tonal variation.

[soundnicetome]

God,close your eyes and you are transported back 50 years or so,when life was not going at 100 mph !! Thanks for posting,brings back happy times.

[discotecaotonal]

I want to know the title and orchestra the theme begins minute 3, second 46.

This melody remember me radio news program in Santiago de Chile, in the fifties.

Thank you.

[morpheusatloppers]

@discotecaotonal - Sadly, soon after acquiring these two sets of themes, I lost the crib sheet! Most I know, but not this one. I THINK it is by Eric Coates - as it is VERY similar to his "Knightsbridge March" (which the BBC used for "In Town Tonight") - but it is a RECORD. The BBC often used records (which they paid royalties on) rather than spend the extra money to COMMISSION an original piece. Thus, ANYONE could use them - and a lot of foreign stations who wanted to copy the BBC's style DID!

[flammasherman]

@discotecaotonal You may have found out by now but the music you refer to is ' Television March ' by one of the greatest British Composers of ' light classical music ', Eric Coates.It was commisioned to herald the introduction of the world's first high-definition TV service in 1936.Hope this helps !.Roger.

[powerspade]

I loved radio Luxeburge Dan Dare

[sturdle]

@powerspade Kirt Massey and Martha Tilton, Pete Murray.........

[unclewickneat]

Anyone got "Saturday Club"?

[morpheusatloppers]

Okay, in case "cam6617" wants to know what THESE ones are... (1) The Ovaltinys (nowadays known as Ovalteenies, but this was the late FORTIES!) Song. It was actually Radio Luxembourg (2) oh dear... I THINK it was Two-Way Family Favourites and was called "With A Song In My Heart"(?) (3) ...has me BEAT (4) I'm pretty sure this is Housewives' Choice (5) The TUNE is David Rose's "Typewriter (something)" but I can't recall what Auntie used it for! DAMN! I really AM getting old!!!

[charade97]

@morpheusatloppers Spot on!-that was Rodgers and Hart's ' With a Song In My Heart' and this famous arrangement was by Andre Kostalanetz and was used by the BBC for the Sunday 'Family Favourites'

[morpheusatloppers]

@charade97 - When I get to my 12" 78s - I must put a couple of early, lush, Andre Kostelanetz pieces up!

[charade97]

@morpheusatloppers I can tell you exactly where this piece-3minutes 46 seconds- was played on the BBC. It was played just before evening TV started at 6 o'clock and featured the Television tower at Alexandra Palace. You will no doubt recall that the tower appeared on its own and when the theme started the radio or TV waves would circle round the tower. I think it was written by Robert Farnon.

[charade97]

@charade97 I forgot to mention the year which was about 1950-52

[conniff44]

This has to be the worse vid on Youtube. 

Along with Part 1, you have just knocked over 50 years off my life as I remember them all - especially Luxy, never went to bed without luxy - 208.

A big 5 stars and a raspberry.

[morpheusatloppers]

I got fed up with the phasing! I remember a tranny (not the van or a transsexual) which had a WHOLE BAND devoted to the half-dozen metres surrounding Luxy. Of course, it didn't help - pinpoint tuning wasn't the prblem - the phasing was caused by what radio-nerds call the E-layer...

[conniff44]

I think we spent half of our listening life trying to tune luxy in, not realising then what the cause of it was.

We kids did have our own music channel and the BBC didn't like that, they even tried to get it closed down. What a lot of stuffed shirts in those days.