Versions of the theme music made (by the public) to introduce the Upshares, Downshares
business segment of Radio 4 afternoon programme PM. Extraordinary thanks to Eric Olson, who downloaded all these
for the site! | Download (right-click save) |
Play in this page |
ZIP archive of all the versions below (except the full Elvis one, which was added here later). |
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PM Alexander Faris interview. |
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Reggae version – Jeremy Bentliff. |
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Banjo version – Dr Martin Johnson. |
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Jazz waltz version – Oliver Sheen. |
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Spaghetti-western version – Jeremy Bentliff. |
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Classical guitar version – Emma Vinyard. |
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Stylophone version – Caroline Jackson.
"Incarcerated as I am, with a badly broken arm, I wanted to contribute to the Upshares theme ... but what
can I do (musically speaking, you understand) being one handed? And it came to me ... the trusty Stylophone – a present
from my somewhat wry but ever-thoughtful other half." |
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Organ version – the 1802 (George Pike England) organ in St George Colegate, Norwich – Anne Duart. |
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Virtual Wurlitzer version – Richard Mack. |
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Heavy-metal version – Nick Roesen. |
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Vibraphone version – Janet Fulton. |
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Version in the style of George Shearing – Simon Whiteside. |
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Hurdy-gurdy version – Matt Williams. |
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Bossa-nova version – Frances Butt. |
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Sung version – Ralph Woodward and the Fairhaven Singers. |
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Musical Saw (accompanied by the pin-barrel harp) version – Henry Dagg. |
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Steel-band version – John Clemow. |
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Punk jazz version – Led Bib. |
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Bee Gees-style version – Francis de Pellette. |
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Xylophone version – Maurice Cheetham. |
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Electric disco version – Foxymoron. |
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Accordion version – Andrew Giddings. |
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Computerised morris-dance version – Mark Iliff. |
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Fugue version – Paul Spanton. |
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Crumhorn trio version – David Force, Ruth Force and Michael Withers of the early music group Faronel. |
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Version in the style of Stockhausen's Electronic Study II – Ed Stefaniuk.
"Five tones of 200ms duration put in a loop then through a reverberation chamber, to give a sound block, or dominant
with quieter overtones." |
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Guitar version – Matt Garrad. |
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Accordion version #2 – Sue Coppard. |
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Harp version – Annasee, Gossipmistress and Miss Pooh Bear. |
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Ukelele version – Michael Jennings. |
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Accordion version #3 – Anthony Calnan. |
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Marimba version – Janet Fulton. |
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Ukelele version #2 – Al Wood, Woodshed. |
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Barbershop quartet version – Hullabaloo (Anne, Anne, Geraldine and Susan).
"This version was recorded for Barbershop Awareness Week." |
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Acid-house version – Chris Miller. |
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Version in the style of Russ Conway – John Tavner. |
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Organ version #2 – Nicholas Scott-Burt. |
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Tango version played in Hispanic style, to the rhythm of a tango in the minor key – Graham Davies. |
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Swing version – David Wright of Jazzmatazz. |
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A melancholy version – Andy Williamson. |
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Theremin version – Nic Bradford. |
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Morris-dance version #2 – Rob Kearsley Bullen.
"The Morris side is New St George Morris from the Vale of Belvoir, and I play the melodeon (a variety of button accordion)
for them on the track. The dance is Balance The Straw from the Fieldtown tradition." |
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Flamenco version – Kit Morgan. |
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Addams Family-style version – Richard Mack. |
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Morris-dance version #3 – Wickham Morris and Cath Watkins. |
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A heavy rock version – Kit Morgan.
"Just to scare the listeners. Ha haaa!" |
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Retro arcade-game version – Ivan Baines. |
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Delta blues version – Kit Morgan. |
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Version for recorder – Alice, Stephanie, Claudia, Joseph, Renee, Nadine, Luis, Grace and Ewan of
the St Joseph's Junior School Recorder Club. |
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Theremin and mini-Moog version – Symon White. |
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Hillbilly version on banjo and guitar – John Shield. |
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Rag version – John Hartley. |
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Dance version – Parker. |
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Awesome version – Dr Well Awesome and the Blue Murderers. |
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Handbell version – rung on 100-year-old English handbells, by the Laurie Turner Ringers, of Wimborne
Minster, in Dorset. |
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A Christmas version – Neil Meredith. |
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Theremin version in the style of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop – Kit Morgan. |
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A toe-tapping version – Dave Bosanquet. |
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Version in the style of Bach – David Thorne. |
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A New Orleans brass-band version – Roy Hudson and Joel Moors. |
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Irish bouzouki version – Mike Addelman. |
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Zorba the Greek-styled Mediterranean version – Tom Miles. |
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Gypsy-style version – Dan Baker.
"I'm playing all the instruments on it, and I have used a telephone mouthpiece as a microphone, to obtain the sound
of a gypsy outfit on a 78rpm record." |
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A "genteel retro" arrangement in the style of JS Bach – Richard Hibbs. |
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Piano version. Sandy Faris – the composer of the original theme tune – performs his composition
on piano. |
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An alternative rendition on the piano – Sandy Faris. |
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The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra version – Sandy Faris, conducting the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. |
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Carillon version – John Ridgeway-Wood.
"Recording has to be done on the nave roof, about 160 feet above street level! We have to contend with pigeons, traffic,
and the minster clock bells. The minster carillon is unique as is it the only one in a UK cathedral. It was installed
in June/July 2008 and has been acclaimed as a very fine instrument by some of the world's top carillonneurs. It is played
every day for half an hour before evensong, and there are regular recitals, usually on Saturday afternoons. On the run
up to Christmas, it is also being played before the many carol services which are held at York Minster." |
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The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra's extended version – BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sandy
Faris. |
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Version played on blown bottles, mallets, shakuhachi, kalimba, penny whistle and a koto – Simon
Parker. |
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A "tribute to Henry Mancini" version – Kit Morgan. |
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Electro-dance interpretation – Timothy Brook. |
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Tchaikovsky ballet-style version – Dominic Leitner. |
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A version to commemorate Elvis' 75th birthday – Personym. |
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Full version of the Elvis' 75th birthday theme, above, by Personym.
"Being septuagenarians ourselves, the timing of a vocal version for PM to coincide with his birthday seemed
appropriate. We were of course inspired by that lovely Pauline Collins vocal version and used as much of the Benny Green
lyric as possible. We used the Acoustic Guitar MIDI track from Bunty Pritchard Jones' MIDI file (which I downloaded from
your site), fiddled with it a bit, and added a simple bass line. The instrumental and vocal backings were based on the
structure of Elvis' Are You Lonesome Tonight. We were aiming at an Elvis/Jordanaires 'feel' ... it was not intended
as an Elvis impersonation! It was of course too long to be broadcast in full on PM." |
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Loony Tunes version – Kit Morgan. |
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The Godfather version – Caroline Devine.
"... sampled a musical box that plays the Godfather love theme with the idea of manipulating the fragments
to create a new piece for the 'meta-musical box' to play." |
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News-pips version – Nicholas Webb. |
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"Upsitars, Downsitars" – a raga-influenced version – Michael Godfrey. |
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An a-cappella version – Sputnik Weasel.
"The Upshares theme slot is fast becoming the aural equivalent of Gormley's Plynth." |
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Country version – Kit Morgan. |
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Mediterranean version – Tom Miles. |
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Latin-American version – Juan Escudo Y Su Orquesta. |
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For wind trio in the style of a classical minuet – Dominic Gannon. |
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Circus version – Nigel Middleton. |
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Spanish guitar and tabla version – Jon Leadbetter and Owain Clarke. |
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