TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune

Subject: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Edthefolkie
Date: 09 Oct 08 - 06:36 AM

I've recently been rewatching 6 old UK BBC Bristol TV programmes called "The Train Now Departing" from late 1988.

The opening sequence was a steam train going over a viaduct which morphed into the scene 20 years later minus the railway. The music over this is an absolutely magical piece, played on fiddle(s), acoustic guitar and maybe flute. It sounds rather Dave Swarbrick-y, but the fiddle is perhaps closer to Peter Knight or maybe Aly Bain and I don't recognise the guitarist. The music is credited to "Bare Necessities".

Please, does this jog anybody's memories as to who actually composed and/or performed this? Thanks Mudcatters!

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: Newport Boy
Date: 09 Oct 08 - 01:31 PM

A bit of a long shot - I don't remember the programmes, but the date and location would fit John Telfer on either fiddle or guitar. He is based in Bristol and was working with BBC and Bristol Old Vic at that time.

Can't help with "Bare Necessities" though.

Phil

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: Peter the Squeezer
Date: 09 Oct 08 - 02:48 PM

Can't help with the tune, but the viaduct was (maybe still is) on the branch line from Tebay towards Kikby Stephen.

Peter

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: Miskin Man
Date: 09 Oct 08 - 05:13 PM

Horses mouth here..
I was lucky enough to be the dubbing mixer on these grand little programmes. Each half hour programme took about a week to mix, replacing most of the train noises from 1/4 tape recordings, and of course making sure the chuffs matched the puffs, if you see what I mean. Remember this was in the days of real film and seperate 16mm magnetic sound tracks.
Yes the music was superb. I took great delight in fading it up slowly toward the end of the programme instead of down and away as would have been usual.
I have a feeling it was a well known band but my memory is worse than useless.

By the way, just a little moan..If you have the official video set the credits for dubbing are in the wrong order!!! I worked on five of the six and the chap who is named first only did one. A small point but credits mean a lot when you look back at your work.

Andy

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: CupOfTea
Date: 10 Oct 08 - 11:17 AM

Though it seems a tad unlikely, that an American band would be doing a theme for a BBC show, there is a very well regarded English Country Dance band in the US called Bare Necessities as well as a dance tune of the same name. Either, or both, could be what you're looking for. While almost ANYTHING played by Bare Necessites (the band) is magical, (the tune) Bare Necessites is awful purty.

The band has many fine recordings, and Peter Barnes has produced two spectacularly helpful books of sheet music (and notes, and indexes) of English Country Dance tunes.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Edthefolkie
Date: 14 Oct 08 - 06:50 PM

Thanks very much everybody, particularly Andy for your work on the programmes. What a splendid job you did on them - Peter Handford's sound presumably, just right to go with Ivo Peters' film. Wasn't it the protean Andrew Johnston produced some of the programmes?

I have to confess the recordings I have were done via the TV aerial into a Hitachi 8500 video recorder, not by walking into a shop. So I think the credits may be accurate! And I bet the picture quality's better too.   

CupofTea, you may just have a point there! Must investigate.

Peter, thanks for reminding me of the viaduct location. I actually travelled over that line behind Flying Scotsman in 1965 and still have a HORRIBLE Ilfochrome slide taken by leaning about 4 feet out of the carriage window. Why Ilfochrome for God's sake? Oh well, I was only eighteen....

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: IvanB
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 06:40 PM

I happened to find a link to a YouTube video of a small section of an opening clip from "The Train Now Departing" and the song is definitely "Bare Necessities" although I can't name the performers. The arrangement is very much like that of the band Bare Necessities cited above by CupofTea, but Bare Necessities (the band) uses the piano as the backup for this tune, very much like the bass note/chord strum pattern of the guitar used in the video on YouTube.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Cats
Date: 16 Oct 08 - 05:05 AM

Jon has the boxed set. Next time Miskin Man is down with us perhaps he should autograph them all. This will be a good excuse for him to watch them all again and see if it credits the musicians.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Paul, Worcs
Date: 19 Jun 09 - 03:46 PM

Sorry to contradict, but the viaduct is the one at Barmouth in Wales

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Paul, Worcs
Date: 19 Jun 09 - 03:56 PM

OOPS! sorry folks, got mixed up with another steam series!

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Guest John Peterborough
Date: 03 Nov 09 - 03:54 PM

Theme music is from the folk group Bare Necessities and the track is called Bare Necessities on the English Country Dances CD.

If you ownly want to buy this track you can download it from Napster it will cost you less than £1

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: Snuffy
Date: 04 Nov 09 - 04:05 AM

The viaduct was on the Ingleton branch, just after it left the West Coast main line at Lowgill (or Low Gill).

Enter postcode "LA8 0BN" on Google maps, to see where it is, or "Lowgill Viaduct" on Google images

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: Edthefolkie
Date: 04 Nov 09 - 11:33 AM

Thanks John, will go forth and get that CD.

Snuffy - yes, it's Low Gill viaduct. I've just scanned a shot from a train headed by "Flying Scotsman" in 1965. Isn't technology marvellous - finally corrected the drunken lean to the right after 44 years. I can't believe I once travelled over the Ingleton branch. Come to that, I can't believe I travelled behind 4472 - it's STILL in bits!

Slight thread creep.....If any railfans of a certain age want to collapse in a sobbing heap, just buy Julian Peters' 2 DVDs of his dad Ivo's 16mm films of the S & D J R. A lot of footage used in "The Train Now Departing" features and the dubbing is done to a very high standard.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: terrier
Date: 04 Nov 09 - 12:06 PM

The Tune is indeed 'Bare Necessities', written by Pat Shaw. The music can be found in the Pat Shaw Collection, book 1.The notes in the book say "Composed in 1974 for Gladys and Joe Muschamp who lived at Bare in Cheshire (UK). They run a hardware shop which Pat suggested should be called 'Bare Necessities', an idea that they readily accepted".
Just thought I'd give credit to the composer :)

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: Snuffy
Date: 04 Nov 09 - 07:40 PM

If I recall correctly from 20 years ago, the train in the opening sequence was a northbound goods headed by an Ivatt class 4 2-6-0. This would most likely be the pick-up goods returning to Tebay from its daily trip down to Clapham with trucks for the next day's onward working to Carlisle.

After the war, my uncle was a driver at Tebay, transferring to Carnforth with the demise of steam. In the early 1960s I once accompanied him on the footplate of a Mogul on the Clapham goods, shunting the yards at Sedbergh, Ingleton, Kirkby Lonsdale, etc. It is quite likely that my uncle Jim might actually have been on board the train in the title sequence, and I suppose it is even remotely possible that I was too.