Today’s edition of The Guardian carried a very interesting article, examining the use of music in British children’s TV. In particular, the writer compares the soundtracks for the late Oliver Postgate’s shows from the 1950s to the 1970s (“The Clangers“, “Bagpuss“, “Ivor The Engine“, amongst others) with those of 2000s programmes, mostly on the BBC’s “CBeebies” pre-school channel.
Perhaps due to the event which has apparently spurred its publication—a forthcoming live performance of some of “Clangers” composer Vernon Elliott’s scores for the programme, in London’s Union Chapel—the article concentrates for most of its “past” coverage on Elliott’s soundtracks for Postgate’s programmes. Whilst richly-deserved, this focus sadly leaves no room for the other musical jewel in the crown of Postgate’s TV work: the delightful English and Irish folk-influenced soundtrack to “Bagpuss”, contributed by Sandra Kerr and John Faulkner (who also voiced Madeleine the rag doll and Gabriel the toad respectively).
Furthermore, whilst I thought the article took a pretty comprehensive look at its subject in the space allowed, I felt mildly disappointed at the omission of one of the key figures in British children’s TV music of the last fifty years: Freddie Phillips, whose multilayered classical guitar-and-percussion creations formed the soundtrack (and set much of the mood) for Gordon Murray’s 1960s animated shows, including “Trumpton”, “Camberwick Green” and “Chigley”.
In my view, Phillips is long overdue wider recognition for his role as a pioneer of home multitrack recording in the UK, overdubbing multiple instruments himself in his home studio at a time when such facilities were the preserve of electronics buffs and tinkerers (such as Joe Meek). Actor Brian Cant—the narrator of Murray’s programmes above—has painted a picture in interviews of Phillips setting up microphones in cupboards and bathrooms, and using all manner of ingenious techniques to achieve the sounds and effects he was aiming for. The end result was a charming and highly-evocative series of songs and incidental music, which have lingered in the minds of the children who have watched the series since the 1960s, and which still stand up to listening over forty years later.
When the article moves onto the present day, the writer thankfully avoids the temptation to dismiss all current children’s TV music as bland, production-line and unworthy in comparison to its forbears (although there is unfortunately some truth to the charge). Liz Kitchen is justly praised for her Stéphane Grappelli/Django Reinhardt-influenced music for “Harry and Toto“, as are John Greswell and collaborators for the soundtrack to “Charlie and Lola” (the latter being one of the few true highlights of CBeebies’ schedule, for both my daughter and myself!).
A central thrust of the article which I would debate, however, seems to be that “live” music—with “real” instruments, preferably played live—is invariably preferable to computers and electronics. Being a musician who employs acoustic, electric and electronic instrumentation (and enjoys all of them), I have sympathy with this view, but I feel it is just too “binary” or “black-and-white” an opinion. Yes, even some modern electronic instruments can have a cold, inorganic feel to them, but there are times when that is the desired effect, or when it doesn’t particularly matter.
There’s also nothing to prevent the composer from blending the “organic” with the “machine”; not to mention, too, that on the average composer’s budget, sometimes a synth or sampler is the only way to attain the sound(s) which are needed (certainly if one is working on a “demo”). Moreover, a creative enough composer can generate warmth from even an almost entirely synthetic soundtrack—witness Andrew Davenport’s gently cosy music for CBeebies’ bedtime series “In The Night Garden“.
After all this analysis: frankly, I would jump—no, make that fly—at the opportunity to produce music for children’s TV. My ideal approach (notwithstanding my comments above) would be to avoid using a software DAW (in my case, Logic), unless the piece called for something only possible through electronic means, and stick to acoustic (and if appropriate, electric) instruments.
If given “free rein”, I’d like to create music which nods to the children’s TV music I always responded to—Freddie Phillips (“Trumpton”, etc.), Kerr/Faulkner (“Bagpuss”)—whilst feeding in other musical influences of mine which I think would work, such as the Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s less “classical” pieces (think “Bean Fields“, and other PCO tracks with lots of ukuleles, percussion, etc.). There’d be lots of fretted strings (6- and 12-string guitars, ukulele, dulcimer, mandolin and the like), percussion, glockenspiel, recorders, whistles, melodica… in fact, I feel suddenly inspired, and think I’ll try cooking up some demos in the coming days!
At the very least, it’ll give me a good reason to (finally) put together the “music” page on this blog, that I’ve been promising for weeks 
), and also played the same instruments to begin work on what I hope will be one of the centrepieces of the album (but don’t mind if I keep that under my proverbial hat a bit longer). Finally, to round off the afternoon, I fired up 
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