Finally I got a complete Yes Minister / Yes Prime Minster box-set for christmas. A political animal as I am, I binge-watched the series the last couple of days. Of course I laughed my ass of. Too bad I had to go out for groceries and... meeting friends. otherwise I would have stayed in my jammies and watched it non-stop. This series can't bore me.
What also can't bore me, is Ronnie Hazlehurst wonderful theme he wrote for the series. With binge-watching the show, I've heard it 74 times in the last couple of days. (76, actually, I now have a rip of it on my iPhone, which made me listen to it two extra times.)
Digging in this composer's work, I found he's awfully underrepresented in stores. Even on TV-theme compilations there's no Are You Being Served?, To The Manor Born or Last of the Summer Wine. Which I think all deserve a release.
Any fans (even unknowingly) of Hazlehurst's themes here? Are there recordings I'm unaware of? Anyone else think a compilation is overdue?
And for anyone who doesn't know Ronnie Hazlehurst:
Yes Minister
And the marvelously creative and energetic Are You Being Served?
Trivia fact: according to IMDB, he once forgot his baton. So he conducted the orchestra with his umbrella instead
Nowt wrong with old Ronnie. We in the UK have grown up with his music accompanying many of our favourite shows. He also gave us two albums of Laurel and hardy music when no one else was doing it. It's true to say his interpretations were a little off, but he was the only source for ages. If they sound a little too like his work for shows like The Generation Game it's because he used to use the old Leroy Shield themes in the background for such shows. In that sense they're wonderful.
But you're right. It's rather sad that he devoted two vinyl LPs to someone else's work, but we don't have a decent representation of his own! Don't you just hate it when things like that happen?
You can never have enough threads mentioning Ronnie Hazelhurst's theme for 'SORRY!' in my opinion, which is surely one of the greatest TV themes ever. The opening sequence is pretty damn nifty, too...
Thanks for posting these video's Timothy! Especially the interview. Lovely tribute. Berry puts it into words rather well. With Hazlehurst's themes your in the right mood immediately, either it be the stately yet droll mood for Yes Minister or the energetic, buzzy rush of a shopping spree.
I didn't know Sorry! (I'm sorry). That's brilliant! I can see why it is a favourite for some of you.
(Hey, now this is NOT meant to be a dig at old Ronnie, but I just thought it needed airing somewhere here.)
Funny enough. Nice to see them take a dig at a composer. Proves his importance.
The irony of course is that the composers responsible for Ronnie's Requim, Philip Pope and Keith Strachan, with Who's Line Is It Anyway? and Who Wants To Become A Miljionaire? respectively, are now themselves well-established tv theme composers for shows with question marks in the title. The theme for Millionaire used to be the most performed tv theme in the world, earning Strachan and his son quite a penny!
Funny enough. Nice to see them take a dig at a composer. Proves his importance.
The irony of course is that the composers responsible for Ronnie's Requim, Philip Pope and Keith Strachan, with Who's Line Is It Anyway? and Who Wants To Become A Miljionaire? respectively, are now themselves well-established tv theme composers for shows with question marks in the title. The theme for Millionaire used to be the most performed tv theme in the world, earning Strachan and his son quite a penny!
They're not really having a go at Ronnie, or at least having an affectionate dig at him. Ronnie of course never did write a Requiem! The sketch appeared the week following Andrew Lloyd-Webber's premiere of his Requiem, and he was the real target.
