Sunday 1 November 2015

Teatime minstrel

Just for a moment, please forget all preconceptions about what makes good pop, and spare 38 seconds to listen to this and then ask yourself - is it not good?!



As many children growing up in ‘70s Britain would have known at the time, this was the end theme from ‘The Adventures Of Sir Prancelot’, an animated TV series which was first aired in 1971 around the teatime slot.  It had a distinctive look: graphic shapes and layered cut-out characters with open/shut mouths like ventriloquists’ dummies.  Its creator, John Ryan, was also responsible for the similarly styled ‘Captain Pugwash’ which for some reason sticks in my adult memory more, perhaps partly because there is an apocryphal tale that it included seafaring characters with the names Master Bates, Roger the Cabin Boy and Seaman Staines; however this has since been dismissed as mere urban legend.  In reality it was all perfectly innocent of course, although Captain Pugwash’s arch enemy did have the rather scary name of Cut Throat Jake, which was very appealing to bloodthirsty eight-year-olds.

But back to Sir Prancelot. The series followed the adventures of the eponymous heroic knight, who was also a bit of a would-be inventor, and his family and entourage (with great names such as his wife Lady Histeria, Duke Uglio and serfs Bert and Harry - although the Michael Caine soundalike minstrel, who brings us this catchy theme as well as some cool little musical interludes, remains nameless).  I don’t think they got to do all that much crusading in any holy lands but they did prance about a lot - and with a neat tune like this one it's no surprise.

8 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this tribute to an oft neglected TV great. I'd forgotten how the closing theme went but it really was quite groovy, wasn't it? I have an abiding memory of having the flu and being flat out on the settee watching Sir Prancelot. Take me back but skip the flu.

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    1. Pleasure, SB. I first posted this on SDS a long time ago, before we became acquainted - so I'm glad I dug it out again and that you enjoyed the memory. I know just what you mean about 'flu recollections - any time I've been flat out and feverish with the telly (or radio) on, everything I saw or heard seems lodged in that moment forever.

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  2. Very groovy indeed, how has this remained unsampled ? Perhaps it hasn't. The series is vaguely recognisable, but just out of reach of my fading memory. Captain Pugwash is very vivid though.

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    1. It is SO groovy, isn't it? I don't think it's been sampled but it should be...

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  3. If you hadn't told us, C, I would have guessed it was performed by an obscure '60s garage band. The show's characters sound adorable!

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    1. I agree - it could've been a freakbeat treat!

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  4. I'm with The Swede - don't really remember the series but great tune

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    1. From memory the series was cute but I did prefer Captain Pugwash. However, it didn't have as good a theme as this.

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