THE theme tune to Coronation Street has remained almost unchanged since the very first episode on Friday Dec 9 1960.
Written by Eric Spear, it’s been calling viewers to their sofas for almost 47 years.
But there were once plans to release a re-worked version with lyrics. It was called Sing Me A Memory.
The eagle-eyed people over at Corrieblog spotted the story at Mobius News.
Click on the YouTube link below to hear the song, with Neil Sean on vocals.
The track was produced by Mike Stock and Matt Aitken, two thirds of the Stock, Aitken, Waterman music team, who also wrote the words.
But plans to release the song as a single to accompany Coronation Street’s 1997 video spin-off Viva Las Vegas were later shelved.
Author: ianwylie
THE parked burgundy Mark 2 Jaguar attracted quite a crowd outside the Royal Albert Hall in London last night.
It was used in all 33 episodes of Inspector Morse, which starred Manchester-born and raised John Thaw.
Inside the concert hall, a sold out audience of 5,000 remembered Morse – and the remarkable actor who played him.
It’s just over 20 years since the first episode of Inspector Morse was screened.
The anniversary will be celebrated in a special weekend of programmes on ITV3 on April 28 & 29.
More about that in next week’s MEN.
The weekend will reach its climax with Morse At The Royal Albert Hall, recorded last night.
The music of Morse was brought to us by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with the Crouch End Festival Chorus.
THE announcement that Jonathan Kerrigan has quit Heartbeat came as no surprise.
He’s never made any secret of the fact that he usually likes to stay no longer than three series, and has done the same for the role of Pc Rob Walker.
The real news is the departure of Mark Jordon, who has played Pc Phil Bellamy (pictured) from the very start of the ITV1 drama in 1992.
He’s been part of the fixtures and fittings of the Sunday night favourite.
Series 16, which began last October, was – as usual – broken into two halves, with the second section back on screen next month.
By the time that finishes, Heartbeat will have completed 324 episodes.
Mark has been in almost all of them, with viewers hooked over the years by the on-off romance between Phil and Aidensfield Arms barmaid Gina Ward.
AND talking of the 1980s…
I had a call yesterday from the people at Unique Television, the company founded by Noel Edmonds.
They were behind It Started With Swap Shop, the nostalgia-fest screened on BBC2 last Christmas.
Now Unique is producing That’s What I Call Television, a series of three shows for ITV1 looking back at iconic TV programmes and ads from 1979 to 1989.
The series, to be recorded in May and June, will be presented by Fern Britton with guest co-hosts – former Coronation Street star Bradley Walsh is the first.
One of the items to be featured will be the Saturday teatime wrestling from World Of Sport.
The call brought back memories of a story I wrote for the MEN back in the 1980s, involving a trip to a draughty town hall somewhere near London.
I’ll try and dig out the cutting at some stage but it featured an interview with the legend who was Kent Walton.
IF you were around at the time, it’s a TV moment you will never forget.
Bank Holiday Monday May 5 1980.
Millions of us are watching Cliff Thorburn playing Alex Higgins in the World Snooker Final in Sheffield.
Suddenly, the programme is interrupted and we’re transported from The Crucible Theatre to drama of a very different kind.
It’s the sixth day of the Iranian Embassy Siege in London. And the green baize has been replaced by black clad figures with guns.
Their “explosive entry” into the building and the incredible rescue which followed was a TV first.
At the time, all we could see was smoke, flames and figures on the balconies at the front of the embassy.
The full story of the SAS raid – hailed as a stunning success – emerged later.
IT’S out today with some great extras for fans.
Many will head straight for disc 4 and behind the scenes film: The End of Life on Mars.
Here are just a few extracts:
Matthew Graham on Sam’s return to 1973: “He chooses to go back to that world where he feels more alive than he’s ever felt.”
He adds: “We wanted him back in ’73, but it was how he got there. I think that was where the suicide thing really kicks in.
“Should he commit suicide. Is it suicide? I don’t think it’s suicide in his mind. It’s not suicide at all.
“He’s not running away from responsibility and from his life. He’s actually running towards responsibility. He’s running towards doing the right thing. He promised Annie he’d be there for her and he’s going back.”
“YOU can never be sure how it’s going to go down,” said Life On Mars co-creator Matthew Graham.
“You always know that with this show, there’s such a high level of expectation as to what it should be.
“Everyone has their own theories.”
We were talking just a few days before Tuesday night’s BBC1 screening of the last ever episode.
As it goes, the final 60 minutes has provoked a reaction, I suspect, beyond even the wildest dreams of Matthew and the rest of the TV team.
And it has sparked its own legacy – an explosion of debate which looks set to go on for weeks, months and even years to come.
Over at The Railway Arms, a poll shows that more than 81 per cent of fans have given the farewell episode a maximum rating, voting it one of the best.
And a further 11.8 per cent said it was very good.
A Digital Spy poll has some 61 per cent of people voting the episode “excellent” with 20 per cent rating it as “very good” and six per cent “good”.
WAS he mad, in a coma, back in time, or all three?
Millions of viewers saw the stunning finale to Life On Mars last night at the end of a two year TV rollercoaster ride.
In an exclusive first interview, lead writer and co-creator Matthew Graham spoke to me about both the conclusion of the BBC1 drama and the new spin-off series Ashes To Ashes.
And he revealed that – at its heart – Life On Mars was all about Sam In Wonderland.
There’s a feature in today’s MEN, but I thought fans of the show, including the regulars at The Railway Arms, would appreciate the long version, plus a few extras..
After all, there are things that people just need to know about LoM, nominated today as Best Drama Series in next month’s BAFTA TV Awards, with John Simm winning a hugely deserved Best Actor nomination.
The series is also nominated for the Pioneer Audience Award, voted for by the public.
So with apologies for a very unusual blog entry today, below are some of the secrets of the Life On Mars universe.
First, more good news, as I revealed here last night.
THE final credits rolled a few minutes ago on the last ever episode of Life On Mars.
Now here’s the news that has had to be held back to avoid spoiling the end of the best British TV drama of the 21st century – so far.
It’s also time to disclose the secrets of the Life On Mars universe, and a conclusion which has earned itself a place in television history.
Fans already know that London filmed and set spin-off Ashes To Ashes will be set in 1981 and star Philip Glenister in the return of DCI Gene Hunt.
It was also known that John Simm – simply stunning in tonight’s finale – would not be reprising his role of Sam Tyler in the new series.
Now it can be revealed that Gene will be joined in the new BBC1 drama by DS Ray Carling (Dean Andrews) and DC Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster).
Filming begins this summer, with all three officers transferred from North West District CID to the Metropolitan Police.
THERE are many reasons why Coronation Street is Britain’s No 1 soap.
One of them is Simon Gregson.
He’s put in thousands of screen hours over the years as Steve McDonald.
And yet his on screen performance remains as fresh as the day he started.
In the week of the high profile Tracy trial verdict, Friday’s episode – written by Jan McVerry – featured some classic lines.
Steve had already come up with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it quip about the late, great Cozy Powell at Vernon’s expense.
But the best was still to come.
First came the entrance of grandma Liz into the Rovers with Steve and Tracy’s young daughter Amy (Amber Chadwick), who was clutching a double sherbet dip.
Life of Wylie 