'Where i find my heaven ' was also used in the film Dumb and Dumber of course.


What about 'i'll be there for you'?
(proceeds to kills himself)

I was just going to say that...

regardless of how much canned laughter you can dub onto a tape when one of the leads says "hello" or "I'm home" or something, the tune is good.

hmm... oddly enough, i was just singing the theme tune from the High Life...

Who could forget 'songs of love' on father ted, by the divine comedy? The series also included contributions from neil hannon with 'my lovely horse' nin hooghan and the hooghan notes, and of course, the name 'father neil hannon'.
Just thought i'd mention it.

The Big One - 'I close my eyes and count to ten' Just a great song anyhow.

Also, not a sitcom, and I hate it at the moment for having taken the place of Bergerac (which has a great theme anyhow!), but Quincy has a cracking opening theme.

I agree with Joe about the 'father Ted' theme - the music just became an intergral part of the myth of this classic creation.. (reams off some more hyperbolic statements with no basis in fact)..so, in conclusion i think this is..


What was the question again?

Not to forget 'In Pursuit Of Happiness' which ended up on Tomorrow's World. And I *think* the string opening from 'Bath' ended up on an advert. I forget which.

But yes. Where were we?

Not a sitcom, but hey we can broaden this out...

The Mary Whitehouse Experience ("Jack To The Sound Of The Underground" by Hithouse), just because it helped Steve Bendelack's opening titles look like one of the best I've ever seen on a comedy series. (Quite funny when they start playing their computer keyboards like they're playing Italian house piano riffs.)

Mind you, you could read it the other way - what about those synthesised slap bass interludes that are the only downers on Seinfeld?

>Not to forget 'In Pursuit Of Happiness' which ended up on Tomorrow's World. And I *think* the string opening from 'Bath' ended up on an advert. I forget which.

Don't forget the instrumental version of 'the certainty of chance' used in some advert or other. Selling out at it's finest though

>>Not to forget 'In Pursuit Of Happiness' which ended up on Tomorrow's World. And I *think* the string opening from 'Bath' ended up on an advert. I forget which.
>
>Don't forget the instrumental version of 'the certainty of chance' used in some advert or other. Selling out at it's finest though
>
> And of course 'the summerhouse' used on either a BBC ad or a car ad, i forget which.

Again not a sitcom (and not comedy in any way either)...but hearing "Unsquare Dance" by Dave Brubeck on some ad (can't remember the product, so that campaign worked didn't it?) reminds me that it was the theme to Thompson. Thankfully, it was also the theme to the radio version of People Like Us, so that's alright then.

> And of course 'the summerhouse' used on either a BBC ad or a car ad, i forget which.

Is there any commercial pie Hannon doesn't have his sticky fingers in?

thought not.

>> And of course 'the summerhouse' used on either a BBC ad or a car ad, i forget which.
>
>Is there any commercial pie Hannon doesn't have his sticky fingers in?
>
>thought not.

That's unfair. It's not like the Divine Comedy are The Lightning Seeds, a band that could quite feasibly stop releasing records and just live off their advertising royalties.

how about (bit more trad, this) burt rhodes' wicked theme for 'the good life'? or the totally inspired choice of shostakovich for 'ever decreasing circles'?

j xxx

Hows about the theme tune form Ever Decreasing Circles... oh sorry, i thought this was worst theme tunes for a second, honestly were did they get it from?

>how about (bit more trad, this) burt rhodes' wicked theme for 'the good life'? or the totally inspired choice of shostakovich for 'ever decreasing circles'?
>
>j xxx

Top man in both cases - Prelude #15 in the latter case - sth like that! (Go around humming it, for some reason...)

Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? - what a top theme tune. And it was a hit (in about 1973).

Incidentally, The Monkees is a fairly obvious selection, as long as you just hear the 40-second TV edit. The full 2.25 version contains one of the limpest instrumental breaks I have ever heard in my life.

>Hows about the theme tune form Ever Decreasing Circles... oh sorry, i thought this was worst theme tunes for a second, honestly were did they get it from?


Oh stop it! It's brilliant - Jason rightly said it was Shostakovich, but I'm not sure of the exact piece title, Nocturne no. 15 or something.

No, sorry, i still don't see the appeal of EDC tune - it's seemingly random piano runs are too close to the Aleatory music of a composer like Stockhausen to be musically intereasting to me. Still, each to their own i suppose (Shostakovich was around about the same time 1906-1975)

Perhaps this best theme tune vote should have two seperate sections - one for original, specially written pieces, and other non-origional performances.

my vote goes for the Last of the summer wine tune, especially the classy vocal version - makes you proud to be from Yorkshire (wipes tear from his eye)

"Classy vocal version"?? I've never heard that. What did they do, just sing the words "Last of the Summer Wine" along to the tune, Fantasy Football-style? <tries singing it> That would be quite amusing...unlike the programme itself.

It was done specially for Compo's funeral - cue fawning song about how great he was. I hope they didn't mean Bill Owen was a great man though - everyone, including his son, knows what 'difficult' man he was to get along with in real life

it's shostakovich's prelude no.15 from '24 preludes for piano' and it's not remotely aleatory, by any academic measure, and it's a terrific piece of music and as a sitcome theme, with the title sequence they used, it worked brilliantly.

wait 'til the shostakovich chat room hears about this dissent...

j xxx

the theme from Corbett vehicle 'Sorry' which played over a neon decapitated Corbett bouncing about an animated pinball introductory sequence gets my vote.

'father neil hannon'.

Was this mentioned in the series? Explain!

>'father neil hannon'.
>
>Was this mentioned in the series? Explain!

There was a cameo by a father. called neil hannon.

and also, to whoever replied to my hannon-pies comment (Pnk Moon, was it? i forget and the topic list isnae up there any more), thanks for pointing that out. Ahh, yes, a life of tunes stolen for Renault adverts.
Though I'm an avid collector of Divvie C cds and not Lightning Seeds ones.

And The High Life was on BBC America yesterday.

Sticking with the Divine Comedy connection, what about the theme tune to The League OF Gentleman?

I saw Joby Talbot discussing it on a BBC Young Musician show. He was much more intereasting then the others.

>'father neil hannon'.
>
>Was this mentioned in the series? Explain!

Wasn't it just one of Mrs. Doyle's many guesses as to the name of the priest on the Christmas '96 special?
(Can't remember what his actual name was now - ah well)...

Todd Unctious- from the christmas special

>Todd Unctious- from the christmas special

Of course on this note - another guess was 'father ken sweeney' ken, whose band is called brian had his demo tape funded by graham linehan, (£300, the price of a racing bicycle). Useless but interesting fact.

The closing theme from the first (two?) series of A Bit of Fry & Laurie was quite nice. Some classical-type piano thing that I should probably know the name/composer of but don't.

Oh, that's not a sitcom is it? Bugger...

I'm prepared to admit to rather liking the various versions of the Red Dwarf theme.

The theme tune which served its purpose and fitted the programme best would have to be The Day Today. Er, that's not really a sitcom either, is it?

Blackadder was good too.

As for worst:
Bread (obviously)
On The Up (Dennis Waterman - excruciating)
The Royle Family

I'd go for Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads? any day.

And to bring things full circle The Lightning Seeds covered it. And did it quite well.

Are we talking best tunes or are we talking tunes that best fit their sitcom. I think that the theme of Steptoe and Son falls into the latter.

>Are we talking best tunes or are we talking tunes that best fit their sitcom.

A bit of both, I think.

>I think that the theme of Steptoe and Son falls into the latter.

Certainly does. Oddly, the Rising Damp tune does the same for me, though that could be just years of association making it difficult to seperate the music from the programme.

Of course, the theme for Bread fitted the programme nicely by being shit (see also Birds of a Feather, You Rang M'Lordy and others that it's too early in the morning to think of)

>The closing theme from the first (two?) series of A Bit of Fry & Laurie was quite nice. Some classical-type piano thing that I should probably know the name/composer of but don't.

It's the finale from Carnival Of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens, who also wrote Danse Macabre (which introduces Jonathan Creek).

>>The closing theme from the first (two?) series of A Bit of Fry & Laurie ....
>
>It's the finale from Carnival Of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens, who also wrote Danse Macabre (which introduces Jonathan Creek).

Ahh, thanks! I knew it was something familiar from my childhood. I had a similar rush of nostalgia when I heard the KLF track that sampled CotA.

Theme from Brushstrokes anyone?

Dex's Midnight Runners, wasn't it?

(sorry for lowering the tone)

>Theme from Brushstrokes anyone?
>
>Dex's Midnight Runners, wasn't it?

Oh christ, yes. That was bad. I actually rather liked Dexy's Midnight Runners until that happened. I remember it coming out as a single (obligatory re-recording with extra vocal bits not heard on the tv show) and being "performed" on TOTP. Although it was credited to "Kevin Rowland & Dexy's Midnight Runners", I'm sure only Rowland turned up on the Pops; rest of the band too ashamed? At least he didn't have his nipples out and his nadgers protruding menacingly towards the audience.

Sing the theme to Yes, Minister in your head.
Now do the same for To the Manor Born.
Is there a difference?

>Sticking with the Divine Comedy connection, what about the theme tune to The League of Gentlemen?

I love that tune! If I had a cell phone I would probably... Then again, I would not.. It's a bit sad isn't it? :)
I'm new to this forum btw. Any more League if Gents fans out there?

Is it safe to come in here? Phew...

Ah yes, Dexy's. Not their finest moment, but they had plenty of others. If it was TVOD who pointed out Yes Minister and To The Manor Born's similarities, spot on.

Obviously terrible programme but surprisingly good theme department: Mind Your Language. I have been humming it all day (well ba-ba-ba-ing it all day anyway). However, it has been tarnished forever through grotty association with ITV's most successful sitcom ever (true: 21 million viewers at its peak).

Another case of bad programme/brilliant theme - Father Dear Father. Especially Patrick Cargill's vocal version, which is excrutiatingly bad.

And what about that song from the end of Cannon And Ball ("laugh me a laugh, grin me a grin" etc), which appears to be what the Manic Street Preachers are now aspiring to sound like???