The best theme tune/intro Blue Peter ever had has to be (in my opinion) the one from 1979 - 1990 by Mike Oldfield. I vaguely remember watching the episode where Simon Groom and Mike Oldfield recorded it all. I must've been only been eight years old at the time and I didn't realise it was to become the new intro for the next eleven years. Great work from Mike who was only 25/26 at the time!
1999 is my one, I listened to see if I could recognise it over the others after over 10 years and I could, instantly. So nostalgic. So glad it's still going so the kids of today, and hopefully tomorrow, get to enjoy it like I did.
I loved Blue Peter when I was a kid, but at some point in late childhood I had a massive epiphany. One day it hit me like a laser between the eyes: Blue Peter is total bollocks. I never watched it again after that. Did anyone else have this epiphany?
Today (Tuesday 16th October 2018) marks 60 years since Blue Peter first went on air. And listening to some of these themes really bring back memories, especially the 1999 theme onwards, because I think that's when I first got into the show, in 2004, when I was about six. Brings back memories of a simpler time.
I agree with all the good comments about the 1999 theme - it's definitely the best of all the re-recordings. I love how it cleverly mixes the sound of the original orchestral theme from 1958 with some extra 'carnival' noises, while the opening bars are reminiscent of the 90s electronic versions of the theme. And then it all builds up to an exciting and dramatic climax! Love it!! They should go back to that one as it still sounds very modern, even though it's mainly an orchestral arrangement.
Viz the Great Theme Tunes Vandalism of 1977, when the still well-remembered classic themes to 3 shows, Top of the Pops, Animal Magic, Nationwide, were all pointlessly dropped. Lost to us suddenly without any notice or expecting. BP was lucky to keep its tune recognisable.
I grew up on the 1996 one and I had no idea what the actual melody was supposed to sound like until much later. It was a very confusing experience that has left me alienated from the rest of humanity to this day
Yup same, I was a teenager by that point but I absolutely hated the 1996 theme and I remember thinking younger kids are going to grow up not having a clue what the theme is. (It only really works if you already know the theme and you can attibute it to the noises, otherwise it just sounds like a mess of noise). I can't believe some idiot allowed it to last for a staggering 4 years. The 1999 theme was a welcome and long overdue relief.
I'll always love the Mike Oldfield version, as I was born in 1977 and forever connected Blue Peter with the Excorcist as I was of that era. But I do like the Stomp version and the 1995 era version is nice too!
I remember the creation of 1996 theme. They had a steel drum band on who played the theme song at the end of the show and obviously decided to keep it as the official opening tune.
I remember that too. What a dumb decision. It was a fun one-off rendition of the theme for sure but absolutely did not work as the main theme to be used for years and years.... what were they thinking?
While it's kind of horrible, it's the first one to get the shuffle right. The tune is a hornpipe and is meant to be played with a certain amount of shuffle which the arranger, conductor and orchestra completely missed in the original version. Most of the subsequent versions miss it too because they were presumably based off the '58 recording.
@@applemask It's kind of almost there if you listen closely. There are pitched percussion instruments playing the melody, they're just not very strongly pitched. A shame as it's pretty much the only one to get the rhythm right.
The '1996' one is actually from 1994, and although a bit of a mess is nostalgic for me because it's the first one I remember! For years I didn't even think it had anything to do with the older themes and thought it was a completely new tune :p 1999's pretty nostalgic for me too though, amazing stuff!
1979 for me - although I remember the 1990 one the most and its the most nostalgic version for me - followed closely by the '92 version. The '96 version must have been mixed by some crack ed. I do remember the '99 version but I wasn't watching Blue Peter then, I was at college and working at Burger King.
What a sad, sad story. The original was a flawless theme for its time. Mike Oldfield did a fairly good job of a new interpretation for the 70s, and then the wings caught fire and the nosedive began. For Shep's sake, bring back the original or write a new, bloody tune!
I'm a little confused when it says that the 1958 theme stayed the same until Mike Oldfield's version in 1979 as I certainly remember quite clearly a 1976 version that was actually played with a flute, but maybe that was just for the outro., that was my favourite anyway
The version I remember is the original one. Peter Purves, Lesley Judd (whatever happened to her?) and the inimitable John Noakes presenting, ably assisted by Petra, Shep and Jason the Siamese cat. I was most upset when it was replaced by the Mike Oldfield recording. Oh dear, never thought I was so susceptible to nostalgia.
Excellent idea! Absolutely love this vid. I was a guest on Blue Peter once, I tried to figure out the year by recognizing the tune but it+s just impossible, somewhere before 1996 I think :)
I wrote off to Blue Peter, can't remember how old I was the first time but it was around 2001-2003 and the second time around I was 17 so in 2005, but due to my age I received green badge stickers and a Blue Peter sew on badge
Well i don't blame the person who made this video, He didn't know they might change it in late 2008,He done this in early 2008 I like the 1999 and original
1999 is a timeless masterpiece the grand daddy of them all.
1979 is the classic and best by far.
The best one by far
Mike Oldfield is a treasure
fuck 1999 went all out didn't they? that's like some international orchestra
+Dizzy Blu 1999 theme got stuck in my head.
1999 is the one I remember, I was 9 then so it was when I started watching it. So glad I never heard the previous one to that, it was AWFUL.
Yeah, but it was classic mid 1990s.
It's the one I remember 🤗
I love all of the blue Peter theme songs and I love blue Peter
The best theme tune/intro Blue Peter ever had has to be (in my opinion) the one from 1979 - 1990 by Mike Oldfield. I vaguely remember watching the episode where Simon Groom and Mike Oldfield recorded it all. I must've been only been eight years old at the time and I didn't realise it was to become the new intro for the next eleven years. Great work from Mike who was only 25/26 at the time!
1958 - Good - 0:12
1979 - OK - 1:03
1990 - Good - 1:36
1992 - Very good - 2:06
1996 - WTF - 2:36
1999 - Outstanding - 3:26
2005 - Good - 3:56
2007a - OK - 4:28
2007b - Shite - 4:54
anicetune XD
anicetune I agree with this list
anicetune Same
Nah. The 79 one is the best. The 92 one is a shiter
I also agree with this list
I loved both 1996 and the 1999. Being born in 1990, I saw the transformation and grew up on it.
1999 is my one, I listened to see if I could recognise it over the others after over 10 years and I could, instantly. So nostalgic. So glad it's still going so the kids of today, and hopefully tomorrow, get to enjoy it like I did.
Same! Best one too Imo
@@imafa9ryi remember the 1999 one as well. (Pardon the joke my eye colour is blue and first name is Peter)
I loved Blue Peter when I was a kid, but at some point in late childhood I had a massive epiphany. One day it hit me like a laser between the eyes: Blue Peter is total bollocks. I never watched it again after that. Did anyone else have this epiphany?
I know this is an old comment, but please can you elaborate? What do you mean by “Blue Peter is total Bollocks”?
the 1958 and 1979 version for me are the best, the good old days of britain.
Today (Tuesday 16th October 2018) marks 60 years since Blue Peter first went on air. And listening to some of these themes really bring back memories, especially the 1999 theme onwards, because I think that's when I first got into the show, in 2004, when I was about six. Brings back memories of a simpler time.
I agree with all the good comments about the 1999 theme - it's definitely the best of all the re-recordings. I love how it cleverly mixes the sound of the original orchestral theme from 1958 with some extra 'carnival' noises, while the opening bars are reminiscent of the 90s electronic versions of the theme. And then it all builds up to an exciting and dramatic climax! Love it!! They should go back to that one as it still sounds very modern, even though it's mainly an orchestral arrangement.
Proof that the BBC can never leave well enough alone and the quality of their music has to go down the more they try to innovate.
Viz the Great Theme Tunes Vandalism of 1977, when the still well-remembered classic themes to 3 shows, Top of the Pops, Animal Magic, Nationwide, were all pointlessly dropped. Lost to us suddenly without any notice or expecting. BP was lucky to keep its tune recognisable.
The 1999 version is the best. My childhood right there.
Lucy Browett I agree nothing beats that theme
You'll never beat the 1979 Oldfield version. Class.
1999 is definitely the best.
love the 1979 version of blue peter, its the one i remember, but there is something lovely and comforting about the 1950's version as well.
1990 tunnnneeee ouch no the old tunnnneeee yea you never forget these tunnnneeees as a kid
I grew up on the 1996 one and I had no idea what the actual melody was supposed to sound like until much later. It was a very confusing experience that has left me alienated from the rest of humanity to this day
Yup same, I was a teenager by that point but I absolutely hated the 1996 theme and I remember thinking younger kids are going to grow up not having a clue what the theme is. (It only really works if you already know the theme and you can attibute it to the noises, otherwise it just sounds like a mess of noise). I can't believe some idiot allowed it to last for a staggering 4 years. The 1999 theme was a welcome and long overdue relief.
I'll always love the Mike Oldfield version, as I was born in 1977 and forever connected Blue Peter with the Excorcist as I was of that era. But I do like the Stomp version and the 1995 era version is nice too!
I listened to this video just now whilst getting changed after work. Bangin!
Love being a 90's kid
1996 is the best should be a ringtone 👍
Omg I love blue peter. I never knew it was around for this long.
Count me in from the late 1980s... Mark Curry, Yvette Fielding and Caron Keating were the first presenters I watched.
1999 is my one ^___^ ahh happy childhood memories
Happy 60th Birthday Blue Peter
i was born in 1968 but would love to return to britain in 1958 because that is when life was ''proper'' and respectable here.
1999 to 2005 is the best one in my opinion
The Mike Oldfield one stands out a mile. Still sounds cool!!
God. What happened in 1996
i know right 😆
Stomp Happened.
windsoord I saw that
blame stomp
Oh, I'd forgotten them. Just like everyone else has!
When the programme began in 1958 playing with train sets and dressing up dolls was as good as it got but the programme was only once a week back then
Mike Oldfield knows his shit.
I remember the creation of 1996 theme. They had a steel drum band on who played the theme song at the end of the show and obviously decided to keep it as the official opening tune.
I remember that too. What a dumb decision. It was a fun one-off rendition of the theme for sure but absolutely did not work as the main theme to be used for years and years.... what were they thinking?
I grew up with the 1999 and 2005 theme tunes, so I would have to say, those ones were the best. :)
Awm it's not that bad!
It's the one i was raised on, and it grew on you.
1996 ALL THE WAY!
1996 and 1999 are the two I remember most and they are the worst and best in my opinion!
The 1999 one went back to the original and the 2005 sounds a lot like the Mike Oldfield version.
+Sam E (Seirius) Moreso, the second one in this video was actually arranged and recorded by Mike Oldfield.
I agree - it was nostalgically similar to the original whilst putting a slight modern twist on too - I only really like this and the original :)
Just gone to bed and this tune pops into my head. Damn my brain. I'll be up all night now.
Tony Hart who designed the Blue Peter ship logo died January 2009.
I grew up with the 90's songs but I still think the very first one is the best
Oh yeah! My sister used to watch it all the time. Drove me mad!
1999 is the best and the person who did it now dose strictly come dancing
I agree
Not quite. David Arnold did that theme. Dave Arch (who did GMTV) is on Strictly.
Nothing comes close to the great grand orchestra of 1999.
Also, we used to work together 😬
1996; you messed up big time.
While it's kind of horrible, it's the first one to get the shuffle right. The tune is a hornpipe and is meant to be played with a certain amount of shuffle which the arranger, conductor and orchestra completely missed in the original version. Most of the subsequent versions miss it too because they were presumably based off the '58 recording.
its my favourite ! 😂
@@eyeball226 Shame they left out the melody.
@@applemask It's kind of almost there if you listen closely. There are pitched percussion instruments playing the melody, they're just not very strongly pitched. A shame as it's pretty much the only one to get the rhythm right.
Mike Oldfield had the best one.
1999! So many good memories.
1999 version is best. Period.
+ZondaFRoadster fact.
+ZondaFRoadster Agreed
This is a British show what the hell is an American doing here
ZondaFRoadster jk
1979 is better.
My personal favs 1980's 1999.
The 1999 one is by far the most superior version - over 10 years and it hasn't dated a day, unlike the most recent ones.
And now it’s over twenty years since the 1999 version and you’re still right - it hasn’t dated :)
The 1996 one just sounds like a group of people banging on dustbins! Now, the 1999 one, there WAS a classic! That was "my" version of the theme!
Think it was, think it was the band "Stomp" that recorded it
I was born in 1991 and watch the show from 1999-2007
1999 was the blue peter i remember
1999 version is what comes to mind when I think of the shows theme
Am i the only watching this just for the nostalgia
Probably not ;)
Keep thinking the guy on the 1990 photo is chris Evans, but it's probably mark curry, but I wasn't around in 1990
The 1996 theme song is the best :D
1999 is the best:)
2005 will always be the one I think of
Classical Of Blue Peter In Black And White In Early 50s
The first one and 1999 ones are the best!
The '1996' one is actually from 1994, and although a bit of a mess is nostalgic for me because it's the first one I remember! For years I didn't even think it had anything to do with the older themes and thought it was a completely new tune :p
1999's pretty nostalgic for me too though, amazing stuff!
Happy memories! Happy days!
1979 for me - although I remember the 1990 one the most and its the most nostalgic version for me - followed closely by the '92 version. The '96 version must have been mixed by some crack ed. I do remember the '99 version but I wasn't watching Blue Peter then, I was at college and working at Burger King.
2007a was my childhood
Im 14 now but I remember sitting infront of the tele before school with a bowl of porridge listening to the 1999 version of the theme
This is a really good song
The team tune is good
im 17 now and i remember them all from 1999 onwards.
Best one from Mike Oldfield 1979. :)
I like the 1958, 1979 and 1999 themes.
1990,1999,2005 are obviously the BEST!
Loved the show
1996 and 1999 FTW! 96 Sounds so different yet cool while the 99 one sounds amazing!
Thank you for posting this. I was child in the Noakes/Singleton/Purves era!
the 1996 one Rocks!
I think the '79 one is really cool,, even though I wasn't alive then...
1999 is mine as well i like that one especially
2007 was when I first started watching:P
What a sad, sad story. The original was a flawless theme for its time. Mike Oldfield did a fairly good job of a new interpretation for the 70s, and then the wings caught fire and the nosedive began. For Shep's sake, bring back the original or write a new, bloody tune!
The Original is always the best xx
I'm a little confused when it says that the 1958 theme stayed the same until Mike Oldfield's version in 1979 as I certainly remember quite clearly a 1976 version that was actually played with a flute, but maybe that was just for the outro., that was my favourite anyway
The version I remember is the original one. Peter Purves, Lesley Judd (whatever happened to her?) and the inimitable John Noakes presenting, ably assisted by Petra, Shep and Jason the Siamese cat. I was most upset when it was replaced by the Mike Oldfield recording.
Oh dear, never thought I was so susceptible to nostalgia.
Hello and welcome to blue peter.
The 1958 is great, the 79 is a good update, but I can't see how anything improves on 1999. Outstanding.
oh BY FAR the best.
The '96 one was by some street performers they had on banged bin lids to produce their "music". I remember when they were on announcing the new theme.
I think the current one is the best......
1996 was one of my favourites
Excellent idea! Absolutely love this vid. I was a guest on Blue Peter once, I tried to figure out the year by recognizing the tune but it+s just impossible, somewhere before 1996 I think :)
1999 like a boss
Ah, '96 and '99 are the best ones imo! :) I rather like the '79 tune also, it's like a pirate tune. ['86 baby]
I think the 1999 version is really good :p it is basically the sound of my childhood
My little sister was one of the music makers that did the new one
I like them all
Even the 96 although it sounds bit different I still like it as it is still the blue peter theme and it doesn’t help having not very good audio
Mike Oldfield :)
Dude, cancer is a sad sad story...this is a childrens theme tune changing through the years
Mike Oldfield's version is the best!
I wrote off to Blue Peter, can't remember how old I was the first time but it was around 2001-2003 and the second time around I was 17 so in 2005, but due to my age I received green badge stickers and a Blue Peter sew on badge
my favourite theme tune was used between 1999-2004.
I think bbc should own the blue peter theme as their national anthem!!! XD
Well i don't blame the person who made this video,
He didn't know they might change it in late 2008,He done this in early 2008
I like the 1999 and original