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Name That Tune

BLESSED WITH THE MOST exciting opening title sequence in history, with flashing lights, blaring music and over a minute of non-stop applause, this was great fun. Two members of the public, “selected in advance for their knowledge of popular music” and everything, would be challenged by TOM O’CONNOR to identify songs performed by THE ALAN BRADEN ORCHESTRA, the lovely MAGGIE MOONE and Eurovision flops SHEEBA. The bit everyone remembers was the opening round where the amount of cash to be won was determined by a spinning wheel, making a somewhat unsettling nee-naw noise, with another wheel spinning around it to decide if it would be doubled (“Double, double!”). Later came the “I’ll name that tune in four… three… two!” business, although this was often less thrilling as the contestants would normally already have worked out the answer from Tom’s clues. Eventually the winner would be holed up in a soundproof booth and have to identify a tune played by a pianist off some sheet music with the title covered up with masking tape. The usual tellies, fitted kitchens and Mini Metros were on offer. Originally played as part of variety miscellany WEDNESDAY AT EIGHT, its host came with it when it span off into a show in its own right, but when he left for the Beeb, LIONEL BLAIR took over and it was never quite the same. But it was still better than the JOOLS HOLLAND-fronted revival on Channel Five in 1997, which nobody liked and ended up in the middle of the night.

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. goodpudding

    October 4, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    And thanks to AntnDec… Yes, that’s how they should be referred to… They have done a deal to bring it back on FIVE next year…

    Surely the time is right for Lionel Blair introducing Laurie Holloway and his orchestra playing The Prodigy’s ‘Smack My Bitch Up’… Wee-wow noise as the wheel goes round a requirement as always!

  2. gman

    June 16, 2010 at 11:26 pm

    It was always Maggie Moone one week, then either Sheeba or Shakatak the next, which just got a bit samey for me.
    But rooting for the wheel to land on DOUBLE made up for that

  3. Nick Gates

    August 8, 2010 at 11:06 am

    I believe the Ant and Dec one has transformed into The Beat Goes On and will be fronted by Dave Berry. Must watch TV!!!

  4. fl3m

    August 8, 2010 at 11:17 pm

    The noise when the wheel went round was disturbing… it could have easily been from a Protect And Survive advert.

  5. Five-Centres

    August 9, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    More often than not the answer was Swedish Rhapsody. To this day I’ve never heard this tune.

    Maggie Moone alternated with cruise ship combo Kaluki, I think.

    Isn’t this about to be revived by Channel Five?

    • Joanne Gray

      February 20, 2017 at 8:41 pm

      Swedish Rhapsody is a tune covered a lot on You Tube as it is used as part of a “listening station” on long wave radio giving out coded messages to spies. The recordings have a rather eery quality to them, but if you want to know what the tune sounds like as a scary sounding ice cream van tune like recording, followed by an even more scary sounding child’s voice reading out a series of numbers, search on You Tube.

  6. Glenn A

    April 12, 2011 at 11:11 pm

    Is this the same Alan Braden whose band appeared at the end of Harry Corbett era Sooty Shows with the puppets playing at being members of the band?

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