''Face the Music'' is a British

panel Panel may refer to: Arts and media Visual arts * Panel (comics), a single image in a comic book, comic strip or cartoon; also, a comic strip containing one such image *Panel painting, in art, either one element of a multi-element piece of art ...

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

that originally aired on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

from 3 August 1967 to 2 January 1977 and then moved to

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

from 17 April 1983 to 16 December 1984 with Joseph Cooper hosting the entire run. The theme music for the show was the ''Popular Song'' from the ''

Façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

'' suite by Sir

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

(who was a guest on the programme in his 70th birthday year). During its most popular period the programme had a weekly audience of over 4 million.

Format

The programme, chaired by Joseph Cooper, took the form of a quiz, with a panel of three music-loving celebrities, but without scoring or any winner. Each week there would be a special guest, who would also have to answer questions – with the focus being on topics that related to the guest's life and career, so as to lead to amusing anecdotes. The questions to the panel were asked in a series of rounds, each with a theme, such as "The Face, The Music", where the panel would have to identify a composer from their picture, as well as the composer of the music played along with it. The most demanding round was the "Dummy Keyboard", where Cooper would play a famous piece on a dummy (soundless) instrument, requiring the panel to identify it from hand movements alone. For the benefit of the audience at home, the music in question – which Cooper was hearing through earphones for the purpose of synchronisation – would be slowly faded in as the piece progressed. Another round was "Hidden Melody" where Cooper would perform a popular tune in the style of a famous composer, while including extracts of works by that composer to help the listeners.

Robin Ray Robin Ray (17 September 1934 – 29 November 1998Roger T. Stearn, "Ray, Robin (1 ...

, if a member of that week's panel, would typically identify the

opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositio ...

of the quoted works. For opera lovers, the panel were shown a filmed performance of one opera with the soundtrack of a different one, and asked to identify both.

Transmissions

Series

Specials

References

External links

* * {{UKGameshow, Face_the_Music 1967 British television series debuts 1984 British television series endings 1960s British game shows 1970s British game shows 1980s British game shows British panel games Lost BBC episodes