A Tribute to BBC Composer Ronnie Hazlehurst
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ต.ค. 2024
- On 1st October 2007, Ronnie Hazlehurst sadly died. He was best known for writing many BBC Television theme tunes during his time as BBC Light Entertainment Director of Music in the 1970s 80s and 90s. Ronnie was also the Eurovision Song contest Musical Director for the occasions when the Song Contest was hosted in the UK.
What an extremely talented arranger,composer he was.
Listened to these and it took me back to being a kid when these themes were heard so often.
He left a real legacy with these.
Absolutely superb. This man defined a golden age of television where families would watch together. TV is awful now. I switched off in 2013 and don’t even own a TV.
Ronnie was one of the nicest and most unassuming of people you could ever wish to meet. Ronnie did a lot of great work outside the BBC too. His arrangements on Cilla Black's albums are lovely!
i think it's criminal BBC still haven't released a best of CD
As a kid I always wished that Are You Being Served and the Two Ronnies themes were longer, I loved them still do. But the sheer genius of the morse code notes spelling out theSome Mothers Do Ave Em theme takes some beating. Who CAN"T think of Frank when it plays>?
Ronnie Hazlehurst was a genius. His best music brings out elements in the shows that are otherwise unspoken; OK, the Blankety Blank music is hackwork but the Reggie Perrin music has a yearning quality that's just right for Reggie's existential angst, the Are You Being Served music anticipates Pink Floyd's 'Money' and is a lot wittier, and the Some Mothers Do Ave Em music spells the title in morse code while at the same time being an amazingly catchy tune. That is brilliance.
Two Ronnies and Are you Being Served? are the killer tunes here.
sorry?
no way man. it's Sorry. (:
Blankety blank theme tune takes me back and so does the last of the summer wine
In so many of his theme tunes the syllables of the show's title are built into the rhythm of the tune. Try singing "the-last-of, the-summer-wine" to that show's harmonica theme....fits perfectly......Again the flugelhorn/trumpet theme fits under "are, you, being-served" on that show's tune. Again "The rise, and fall-of re-gi-nald pe-rrin" fits that show's main french horn melody. Such a simple technique but genius results.
I love the early episodes of The Likely Lads which Ronnie did the theme for, later covered on a very rare single by Norman And The Invaders.
Great talent long overdue for a cd compilation, along with Johnny Pearson, Edwin Astley, Roger Webb.....to name a few.
Many thanks for this. Ronnie Hazlehurst (the third Ronnie) was one of the nicest people you could ever meet - he'll be sadly missed !
The track under "Two Ronnies" is utterly bad-ass! Sounds like some Woody Herman and the Thundering Herd!
Hi,What a great talent he had. No other words can do him justice..great mind and talent. P.
RIP Ronnie, unsung hero and all that. Some of us appreciated u.
I remember reading that they had no money left for the music for this show. Ronnie was only allowed to use two piccolos and was paid the princely sum of £30 for his trouble!
I remember him saying that on the radio a long time ago. He said they only had money for 1 instrument but he got them to push it to 2 so he could have harmony because 2 notes together sound a lot more, or something like that, he said and it always stuck in my mind. I think he was a genuius.
I agree with TheEqualizer1972, he was a hero, but not unsung, his legacy goes on, how could it not, thank you johnmartin1097 for posting this. I know a John Martin from Alness, doubt it's the same one though. x
Absolutely; and when he gets to the V in "'Ave" he quotes Beethoven's fifth!! Complete genius.
I guess you can say that Ronnie Hazelhurst was the Edd Kalehoff of the UK.
John. thank you so much.
There is something absolutely brilliant about Ronnie Hazlehurst's work. Unfortunately you missed out one of his best pieces of work, the theme tune to Sorry.
Are you being served still banging in 2020 oh yeah!
He's gone to that great orchestra in the sky, along with Goldsmith, Horner and Barrey.
someone posted a video on youtube of a slideshow of behind the scenes pics of the BBC in the 60s and 70s, and the soundtrack was a faster version of the "are you being served" theme, with no vocals. whoever uploaded it took it down out of nowhere. i wish to God i could find that...
@johnmartin1097 No, this is definitely a B.A. Robertson composition and arrangement as you can tell from the excessive use of Simmons electronic drums and the LinnDrum which he used in every track of this era (See the Saturday SuperStore theme as a prime example from 1982!). Robertson did two theme mixes - one for summer (with the Orange title cards and a drumless synth intro) and one for the winter (blue background titles and the familiar swing hi-hat pattern which is the one you have here).
He lived in Guernsey where I live.
@johnmartin1097 I think Ronnie Hazlehurst composed the theme from 1987 which was a big band / Hammond organ theme arranged by Harry Stoneham who was the show's musical director from that year until it finished. This is far more characteristic of Hazlehurst.
oh my god this guy sounds to be brilliant! :V
OK hands up if you've got matt berry's tv theme tunes album.
@culttelevision No he wrote the later theme from 1988 onwards which ditched the 80s synth sounds for jazzy big band, arranged and played by Harry Stoneham and his band.
Last of the Summer WIne Theme tune best theme ever written!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I seem to recall him doing "To the Manor Born"... and *maybe* "The Good Life" ?
where can i download the wogan music?
I think he also worked on Terry and June.
Are You Being Served?
To The Manor Born
Yes Minister
Last of the Summer Wine (Awesome Theme)
Some Mother Do 'Ave 'Em were his best not sure about the Good Life.
The Good Life was Burt Rhodes, also RIP.
I meant to say - I'm talking about Some Mothers do 'ave 'em!
Here's a clip crediting Ronnie as musical director. (Great interview with Vincent Price) but skip to about 9.16 for end credits: th-cam.com/video/hVGnWgxmHZk/w-d-xo.html&feature=related
Two ronnies theme
Ronnie Hazelhurst funky instrumental is it
He didn't compose Wogan. That first theme from 1985 was written by B.A. Robertson
You can safely skip the first minute of the vid
Never has pure genius been more annoying, or more annoyingly spot-on!
Are You Being Served? ripped off by Pink Floyd, of course.
That Wogan theme is a bit crap