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: Andy Jackson
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.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Andrew Johnston
Date: 09 Apr 14 - 08:36 AM

A footnote to this long-extinct thread. I directed three parts of this series back in 1988, when the future for railways looked pretty grim under Thatcher (remember the Serpell report, which would have taken up where Beeching left off?) and the Settle - Carlisle line was due to be closed. How times have changed!

The music was indeed Bare Necessities, by the New England group of the same name and a personal favourite of mine. When I proposed using it, I was told by the BBC Copyright Department that it could not possibly be cleared, as it was an American recording (Varrick CD VR-013). Determined to use it whatever they said, I made a single Transatlantic call to Varick Records and got their instant agreement!

I still think Pat Shaw's wistful and stately composition and the beautiful playing of Peter Barnes, Earl Gaddis, Mary Lea and Jacqueline Schwab, provide the perfect match to that long opening shot by the great Ivo Peters. You certainly wouldn't be allowed to start a television programme like that these days!   

Andrew

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 09 Apr 14 - 10:25 AM

Is it this?

dancing "Bare Necessities"

If so, it's beautiful. I'd be willing to actually pay for the music to that!

===============
Thanks all for the information.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 09 Apr 14 - 10:29 AM

seek, and ye shall find

http://www.folktunefinder.com/tune/3645/

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 10 Apr 14 - 07:15 AM

Yes it is the tune. What a haunting piece of music to start such an excellent TV series. I have them all on video still.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 10 Apr 14 - 08:54 AM

Thanks for the confirmation, Eric. I'm playing the tune on piano already, using music from my second link above. The F# had to go, however.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: Jack Campin
Date: 11 Apr 14 - 06:53 AM

I'm with leeneia on that. I'd prefer it to stay in the dorian for the last phrase rather than that weird major modulation.

Searching for the tune using Google is quite an experience. You first get hundreds of women in their underwear, then you try black and white only and get fetish drawings, then umpteen versions of a Disney song about bears.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 Apr 14 - 10:01 AM

Hello, Jack. I'm glad to hear you are playing the tune too.

About that jarring F# at the end: Did you read the post above from Andrew Johnston, about somebody at the BBC saying that getting permission to use the song was impossible?

I bet the same (or similar) person declared that if you have C#, you MUST have F#, because everybody knows that's the key of D. But in early music we sometimes encounter a tune where only C's are sharp. It's not common, but it happens.
========
In searching, I didn't get the underwear, but I did get the Disney stuff. I don't do Disney.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Geoff Emerson
Date: 23 Mar 20 - 08:56 AM

Hello Everyone, another resurrection of an ancient thread!

For anyone still looking for the tune, it's also available on iTunes. Search for "English Country Dances" and scroll through the albums until you find the one by Bare Necessities (the cover art is mainly pink). The track in its entirety is a gem, as is the album

Cheers.

Geoff

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 23 Mar 20 - 06:41 PM

Geoff, thanks to your post I located it on YT, the whole cut,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDLNmnwMu2Y

and indeed the track is a gem.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 24 Mar 20 - 05:08 AM

The modulation to the major at the end does sound weird, but I’ve always liked the sweep back to the minor so much so that once you start playing this tune, it’s hard not to keep repeating it (especially on fiddle). Bare Necessities were a great band too; are they still going?

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 24 Mar 20 - 10:04 AM

GUEST,Jerry,

If it is the same group, they have a FB page at

https://www.facebook.com/Bare-Necessities-183265758390140/

so it would seem the answer`s yes.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 24 Mar 20 - 02:48 PM

Thanks, yes, that’s the same band.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 29 Mar 20 - 07:17 AM

& Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/track/4H5TREIcnYVkaB4jjOSejC?si=aerl1-roSYW18MSvNLYBJQ

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Sep 20 - 12:34 AM

I was 5 years old when this program was on TV. My dad recorded it for me and I watched it soo many times. That opening sequence with that song and the train fading to a closed line. It still send shiver down my spine. To everyone here who helped me track this beautiful song down, I can't thank you enough.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: GUEST,Gary
Date: 29 Nov 20 - 03:12 PM

I’d love to know the names of the folk tunes used in the episode about The West Highland Line. Beautiful.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Nov 20 - 03:23 PM

The West Highlander episode on IMDb. There aren't many details but it is possible to set up an account and add to it as you learn more.

The Train Now Departing program starting point.

Subject: RE: TV 'The Train now Departing' theme tune
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Nov 20 - 03:30 PM

Leeneia, your YouTube link still works (unlike references to places such as Napster - how time flies!) but I do wish they'd used a tripod when filming. The camera bobbing around can make one a little seasick!