TV themes are certainly nostalgic. It might be the soap you followed religiously, never missing an episode; that Sunday evening classic that gave you the back-to-school blues, or the must-see series you couldn’t help but binge-watch. Everyone will have their favourites, but here’s a rundown of ten of the best…
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10 of the best TV theme tunes
The Simpsons
Composed by Danny Elfman
Is there a more colourful, rambunctious theme tune than this? And it’s still going strong after almost 37 years on our screens. It’s a throwback to the world of The Flintstones (another great American TV opener…) and The Jetsons, with a busy, brilliant title sequence to match.
Replete with bold brass and bonkers bongos it’s typical of composer Danny Elfman, whose own musical quirks and kookiness made him the perfect choice for this animated classic.
Grandstand
Composed by Keith Mansfield
Saturday afternoons in the UK were all about Grandstand, the BBC’s flagship sports programme, with this tune by composer Keith Mansfield first being introduced in 1975 (the show started in 1958).
Originally penned for the KPM Music library – where the BBC often found production music – its upbeat rhythm and colourful orchestration, including the famous ‘BOING’ on the tympani, made it a favourite with viewers. It remained in use until the programme ended in 2007.
Dallas
Composed by Jerrold Immel
Running for 13 years (1978-91), Dallas was the last word in big-budget American soap. As the years wound on the show only got bigger, and sillier, with the Ewing family’s feuds and infidelities at the heart of the action.
Jerrold Immel’s most famous theme tune (resurrected for the 2012-14 reboot) has a swaggering, country gait, just right for taking the weight of the big hats, big money and even bigger shoulder pads seen on screen.
EastEnders
Composed by Simon May
The comings, goings, births, deaths and disputes of the fictional East End borough of Walford have kept audiences hooked for over 40 years. While faces have changed in four decades, Simon May’s iconic theme music for the BBC soap has remained, alongside the now familiar aerial view of the River Thames.
The melody’s relative simplicity is part of its winning formula, not to mention its drumbeat intro (aka ‘Doof Doofs’), perfect for dramatic cliffhanger endings.
Ski Sunday
Composed by Sam Fonteyn
Another sporting favourite, the BBC’s winter sports programme Ski Sunday recently made a comeback and with it this now legendary piece of music. Like Grandstand, it began life in a music library (this time Boosey & Hawkes) and was composed by Sam Fonteyn in 1970.
The piece, called ‘Pop Looks Bach’, is a nod to a Bach Toccata, brought to life with Hammond organ, strings, brass and percussion… perfect for the downhill or slalom race!
Game of Thrones
Composed by Ramin Djawadi
As title sequences go, this is one of the most iconic: a birds-eye view of Westeros reveals the gears of power turning at the heart of its realms and houses. Ramin Djawadi’s vital musical accompaniment is just as memorable, with its strong solo cello riding a battery of battle drums.
Emerging from Hans Zimmer’s studio, Djawadi – like his mentor – has a knack for merging acoustic and synthetic sound worlds and does so here to great effect.
Downton Abbey
Composed by John Lunn
The sight of a Labrador Retriever walking up to a large country house (Highclere Castle) has become as inextricably linked with Downton Abbey as the music which accompanies it.
Imbued with both grandeur and beauty, John Lunn’s lush orchestral main theme has a sparkling sweep and rhythmic urgency that is perfectly pitched for the for the decades-spanning, upstairs-downstairs drama. Viewers the world over would hang on every note during the show’s original six-season run (2010-15).
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Wolf Hall
Composed by Debbie Wiseman
Peter Kosminsky’s small-screen adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s prize-winning novels was must-see viewing in 2015 (and again in 2024 when the sequel, The Mirror and The Light aired). In terms of Wolf Hall’s music, Tudor treachery never sounded so good.
Debbie Wiseman worked her magic, pitting rhythmic chamber strings against lilting solo cor anglais in the show’s main title theme (aka ‘Cromwell’s Theme’). It has a stripped-down, visceral quality; the drama, and danger, laid bare.
The Archers
Composed by Arthur Wood
Okay, so not a TV theme, but BBC Radio 4’s The Archers surely wins the prize for the longest running theme tune? For 75 years now, Arthur Wood’s jolly ditty ‘Barwick Green’ has opened and closed episodes of the beloved British radio drama set in fictional Ambridge.
A maypole dance tune, the piece forms part of Wood’s 1924 suite My Native Heath, and the original 1950s recording was used until 1992, when it was re-recorded.
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Countryfile
Composed by David Lowe
It would be remiss not to include this. Countryfile is the sound of Sunday evenings on British TV.
Originally composed by David Lowe for a refresh of the show in 2007 (he had written the previous theme tunes as well), Lowe was tasked with maturing it somewhat in 2009 when Countryfile moved from Sunday mornings to Sunday evenings. It’s light and airy nature works beautifully with the title’s aerial fly-through of the British countryside.
Top image: Dallas cast members. Credit: CBS via Getty
