I got into a bit of a YouTube spiral the other day and there’s a whole lot of '70s library music, of which some made its way to Australian TV
Division 4:
YouTube: Johnny Pearson - Topic
The dud soapie Hotel Story, but possibly also a Channel 9 cricket theme at one point?
YouTube: Brian Bennett - Topic
I think this might have been Ford Superquiz with Bert and Patti?
YouTube: John Scott - Topic
This one was a Channel 9 cricket theme… and also the theme from Bluey (the '70s cop show not the kids show )
YouTube: Brian Bennett - Topic
Graham & The Colonel on The Late Show:
YouTube: Keith Mansfield - Topic
Number 96
YouTube: Stephen Gray - Topic
But this one has stumped me… and hence why it’s in the “Questions” thread… it is familiar but I can’t figure what it is from. I don’t know if it’s from an ad, or whether it was a backing track used on something like Hey Hey It’s Saturday like for Chooklotto or something. @NewsWeary, you’re of a similar vintage to me you might recall this?
Yeah. I remember it as a piece of production music used during one of the Hey Hey game show segments- Ad Nauseam, Lost for Words or Celebrity Head. It certainly sounds like '70s game show music or it might even have been used as a sport show theme here given the title of the track. Had a look at John Scott’s IMDb filmography but nothing stands out during the 1970s that it may have been used for. It appears a lot of his work was used for docos and sports shows. Interesting to note he was responsible for the production music in Prisoner. Always loved the use of dramatic music to build tension in that series.
Nice to know I’m not the only one getting sucked into YouTube spirals. Watched a heap of stuff on Hall and Oates last week for no particular reason.
I think you might be right. On further thought, I think Chooklotto actually used the original Tattslotto theme tune from the '70s. I’d say it was also a piece of library music, probably another KPM track somewhere as well
I always wondered why Nine chose that piece of music just a year after Seven/Crawfords had been using it as a theme for a cop drama. It seems they were influenced by its use in sports programming in the US where it also became somewhat iconic.
There’s a brief history in this clip and some interesting comments below it on YT:
The themes for Neighbours, Home & Away and the ABC Kids shows (Play School, Bananas in Pyjamas back in the 1990s/2000s, probably the Bluey theme now if that show has a catchy tune) would also be considered iconic in Australian TV.
Well I’ve never watched a single episode of Bluey so barely know anything about the show other than the fact it exists and the kids of today seem to rather like it.
Of course a large part of that may be due to the facts I’m not in the target demographic (I’d no doubt be much more familiar with Bluey had it come out 20 years earlier), don’t really know anyone amongst my regular contacts who is and only ever really feel a need to tune into ABC Kids when a major channel rebrand takes place…which generally only happens about once every five years.
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