I wish I was a spaceman, the fastest guy alive
April 25, 2017 12:58 PM   Subscribe

Barry Gray composed all the music for Gerry Anderson productions up through the second season of Space: 1999. Nothing he wrote has resonated through the ages like a simple little tune based on 'ice cream changes': the closing theme for Anderson's second SF-based supermarionation television series -- Fireball Xl-5.

The closing theme -- extended with a third verse and sung by Don Spencer -- was a minor UK hit, reaching #32 on the UK Singles Charts in 1963. It was Spencer's first single, and only hit, although he eked out a career opening for the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Four Seasons, The Hollies and Marianne Faithfull.

In the finale to a late series episode, "Space City Special", Steve Zodiac and the rest of the cast mime their way through the closing theme and something very bad happens to the piano.

This gets pretty meta -- Puppets miming to a hit record from the real world on a teevy show they're putting on within the world of the show. Puppet Steve Zodiac lip-syncs Don Spencer, even though his lips hardly move under the best circumstances. Puppet Matt Matic 'doesn't actually know how to play the piano'; but that's okay, he's an engineer, so he cooks up some very fragile AI to make the piano play itself. Which is rather odd, since there's no piano on the original recording. So for the purposes of the "B" plot -- the engineer wanting to get on teevy with everyone else despite lack of musical talent -- somebody in the real world had to go back and dub the prominent piano part over the original record.

Watch, too, for Robert the transparent-headed robot on drums -- the original drum machine?


Since they had just played the closing theme inside the show, they created a special one-time only instrumental version for this one episode.

Later, Barry Gray released his own recording(s):
Vocal version, sung by Gerry Grant
Instrumental flipside credited to Barry Gray and his Space-makers

Joe Meek's Tornados recorded it an instrumental somewhat in the style of their one hit: "Telstar".

Joe Meek tries again with the Fabulous Fleerekkers / Fleerakkers .

Much later . . .

Dominic Halpin & the Honey B's "the UK's Number One Swing Band" released an extended SF music video with surprisingly high production values. Long but worth the wait. Also demonstrates why real astronauts don't smoke.

From the 2000 film Love Honour and Obey, the karaoke scene featuring Sean Pertwee and Trevor Laird.

Craig Ferguson show opener on 21jul2009 (40th anniversary of Apollo 11 moon landing). Puppets, copious acreage of precarious aluminium foil, and huge balls of gas.

Neil Gaiman joins Amanda Palmer & Grand Theft Orchestra -- 31dec2012
There are a lot of cell-phone recordings of this performance from various angles -- I just had to pick one. Gaiman is no singer. But he explains the importance of Fireball XL-5 in his life, marks the death of Gerry Anderson, and recites a nice New Years Wish.

Neil Gaiman 'singing' again, this time with the FourPlay String Quartet in Sydney 25Jan2013

Here it is done in the style of XTC but with German lyrics
As performed by The Kadettes in 1982
As performed by Lev's Lounge Band, 18may2009
As performed by The Trashtones
As performed by Pinkietessa
Closing with a wistful solo instrumental version.

I was originally determined to avoid any ukulele renditions, but was shocked to find this one that was -- nice. Ukedoug says: "I'm a child of the 60's - that glossy, technicolour wonderland where the future promised technological wizardry, economic prosperity and the exploration of space. In our imaginations we were all boldly going where no man had gone before... boy have we all been disappointed . . . "


It's all imagination, I'll never reach the stars . . .
 
posted by Herodios (22 comments total) 26 users marked this as a favorite
 
No particular reason why or why now, except that over in the Movie Shootout thread, I mentioned the Shootout Scene in Love Honour and Obey, which reminded me of the Karaoke Scene and then . . .
 
posted by Herodios at 1:01 PM on April 25, 2017


We didn't have a color TV until 1973 and I had no idea Fireball XL5 was in black & white.
posted by tommasz at 1:27 PM on April 25, 2017


This is the best post ever on MeFi and we may as well shut down now
posted by fallingbadgers at 1:30 PM on April 25, 2017 [3 favorites]


Fireball XL-5.

::drowning in a sea of nostalgia::
posted by Splunge at 1:48 PM on April 25, 2017


'ice cream changes'

I-vi-IV-V. TIL! I have never heard them called that before. The Wikipedia page calls this the '50's progression'. Judging by the local radio station oldies show that runs on Saturdays, that is not an exaggeration: song after song, using those 4 chords, until it's time for The Funk Show.
posted by thelonius at 2:00 PM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]


Just a little reminder that Gray's Space: 1999 theme is pretty James Bond-tastic.
posted by valkane at 2:26 PM on April 25, 2017 [4 favorites]


Just a little reminder that Gray's Space: 1999 theme is pretty James Bond-tastic.

Starring Martin Landau as SHAFT
posted by thelonius at 2:31 PM on April 25, 2017 [4 favorites]


The closing theme -- extended with a third verse and sung by Don Spencer -- was a minor UK hit, reaching #32 on the UK Singles Charts in 1963

I assume that the UFO theme song was #1 for a few months. If there has ever been justice.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:39 PM on April 25, 2017


Why settle for the style of XTC when you can have XTC?
posted by Mr. Yuck at 2:54 PM on April 25, 2017 [4 favorites]


Starring Martin Landau as SHAFT

If you like that, you might enjoy the theme from The Professionals.
posted by biffa at 3:14 PM on April 25, 2017 [3 favorites]


They say this cat John Koenig is a baaaaaad mother-
Shut your mouth
But I'm talkin' 'bout John Koenig
Then we can dig it
posted by valkane at 4:12 PM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]


I was always partial to Barry Gray's outro to Stingray.
posted by Ashwagandha at 4:59 PM on April 25, 2017 [2 favorites]


Shout out for the theme music for UFO

The show is wiggy and awesome - the set design and some of the story lines are pure whack.
posted by parki at 5:00 PM on April 25, 2017 [4 favorites]


I go back to the very first Gerry Anderson "Supermarianation" show, "SUPERCAR" (or as pronounced in the theme song, "SUPERCAHHH". And dang, that Mike Mercury was the butt-ugliest puppet of his generation.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:38 PM on April 25, 2017


Do you remember the episode where armored cars were disappearing? On steep windy mountain roads? Supercar saves the day by flying off the mountain road, but did no one ever thing to just look down that ravine? Bunch'a cracked open armored trucks. Gerry Anderson's plots were... just right for puppets.
posted by sammyo at 6:26 PM on April 25, 2017


Where have you people been? Gerry Anderson also wrote and produced one of the great scifi movies of the '60s... Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun (also known as Doppelganger). So, maybe not great. The Andersons' strong suit was always the miniature space hardware, and there's plenty of it on display in this movie (along with its spectacular and comprehensive destruction).

I was a big fan of UFO when it was on, but unlike Neil Gaiman, I'm old enough to remember Fireball XL-5 from when it was first on American TV (1963, the year after it premiered in the UK). It was certainly the first science fiction eight year old me ever saw. I forgot the stories, but when I saw a small model of he XL-5 in an antique shop a few years ago, I snatched it up immediately. It now sits on my desk at work.
posted by lhauser at 8:19 PM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]


What? No love for Superthunderstingcar?
posted by Zedcaster at 9:00 PM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]


Before Supercar there was another marionette sci-fi show called Planet Patrol. But I don't think the Anderson's had anything to do with it. Does anyone know the details on this show?
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 10:39 PM on April 25, 2017


Great post, but I don't want anyone to think of Don Spencer as just a one-hit wonder. For some of us he was also part of our childhood as a presenter on Play School.

He's also, I see from Wikipedia, Russell Crowe's father-in-law, but that isn't as significant as being a friend of Little Ted.
posted by YoungStencil at 11:55 AM on April 26, 2017


Nothing he wrote has resonated through the ages like a simple little tune...

I mean, Fireball is awesome, but I feel we have to acknowledge that the Thunderbirds theme is the proper national anthem of the human race.
posted by Segundus at 1:23 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


The Mike Sammes Singers performed on the Supercar and Stingray themes. But they also showed up in some other interesting places:

The Beatles -- I Am The Walrus
There doesn't appear to be any good audio of this online, but it's in your record collection, yeah? Anyway, that's the "Stingraaaaaay, STINGray!" people singing "got one got one everybody got one, etc." along with John Lennon.

Here's some info about the I Am The Walrus recording sessions along with quotes from participants.

Lagniappe: Here's Spooky Tooth's take and a nice duo performance by Roger Gascon (vocals, guitar) & Ester Umbert (cello).

Meanwhile back to Mike Sammes and his singers: Mike Sammes himself had an impressive basso voice. Here are some other familiar contributions: * Actually they sing OH-high-OH instead of oh-HIGH-oh

And returning to Supermarionation-related music:
It dives under the sea into the world below
Where beauty and mystery can always be found
It dives fearless and free, chasing the strangest foe
But against all adversity, sails homeward bound . . .
Jeez, put a ring on it already whydoncha?

Marina, Aqua-Marina,
What are these strange enchantments that start
Whenever you're near

Marina, Aqua-Marina,
Why can't you whisper the words
That I'm longing to hear

You're magic to me,
A beautiful mystery
I'm certain to fall, I know ,
Because you enthrall me so

Marina, Aqua-Marina,
Why don't you say that you'll always stay
Close to my heart
posted by Herodios at 10:56 AM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


I mean, Fireball is awesome, but I feel we have to acknowledge that the Thunderbirds theme is the proper national anthem of the human race.

Show me the covers.
 
posted by Herodios at 10:56 AM on April 27, 2017


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