Eric Spear (18 April 1908 – 3 November 1966), was an English composer best known for his

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

s and the theme of the ITV

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

''.

Early life and career

Spear was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

in 1908. He participated in the 1953 film '' Street of Shadows'', and his theme for the 1954 movie ''

Meet Mr. Callaghan ''Meet Mr. Callaghan'' is a 1954 British crime film, crime drama film directed by Charles Saunders (director), Charles Saunders and starring Derrick De Marney. Based on the 1938 novel ''The Urgent Hangman'' by Peter Cheyney, which Cheyney had t ...

'' was rendered as a best-selling record by

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

. He also wrote music and lyrics for the 1959 musical ''Kookaburra'', which played at the

Princes Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

. For a short time in the 1960s, Spear lived in

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

''Coronation Street'' theme tune

In 1954, Spear was commissioned to write the theme tune to ''

The Grove Family ''The Grove Family'' was a British television series soap opera, generally regarded as the first of its kind broadcast in the UK, made and broadcast by the BBC Television Service from 1954 to 1957. The series concerned the life of the family of ...

'', a BBC series that ran for three years, which is generally regarded as the UK's first real

. The series is now forgotten, but it led to another commission six years later by rival channel

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

. The theme, originally entitled "Lancashire Blues", was commissioned by Peter Taylor at

De Wolfe Music De Wolfe Limited (previously known as Music de Wolfe, often referred to as De Wolfe Music) is a British music production company, recognised as the originator of what has become known as library music. De Wolfe Music was established by Meyer de Wo ...

for a new television soap opera called ''Florizel Street''. Spear was paid £6; however, the name of the serial was changed to ''Coronation Street'', because cast member

William Roache William Patrick Roache (born 25 April 1932) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since it was first broadcast on 9 December 1960. He is listed in the ''Guinness World Records ...

( Ken Barlow) could not pronounce the title, and because it was felt that the name bore a resemblance to

Zoflora Thornton & Ross is a pharmaceutical company based in Linthwaite founded in 1922 by Nathan Thornton and Phillip Ross. It is the producer of Covonia cough medicine, Zoflora disinfectant, Hedrin head lice treatment and the Care range of medicines. ...

, a popular floral concentrated disinfectant. Although originally scheduled to run for just six weeks, ''

'' went on to become the world's longest-running television soap opera. The cornet player Ronnie Hunt (playing trumpet on the recording) found the recording session frustrating, as Spear insisted on many takes before obtaining the sound that he wanted. For most of the programme's run since 1960, the theme tune has only been modified by converting it to

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

. Since 31 May 2010, a new version has replaced the original arrangement, coinciding with the programme's shift to

HDTV High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...

with new opening titles. The new version has been criticised by many viewers as lacking the atmospheric quality of the original. The commercial break 'motif' to the 'End of Part 1' card was also replaced by a newer, less substantial version. The new version of the theme also differs by being less strident than the original, with less of an orchestral sound, and having a shorter closing section, which is often 'squashed' by the voice-over announcing the upcoming programme menu across ITV's channels. Until ITV celebrated forty years of broadcasting (in 1995), the original recording of the theme had never been issued commercially. It was released as the b-side to a double A-side single, "

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is a comedy song written by Monty Python member Eric Idle that was first featured in the Python film ''Life of Brian'' and has gone on to become a common singalong at public events such as football mat ...

" by the Coronation Street Cast, coupled with " Something Stupid" by

Amanda Barrie Amanda Barrie (born Shirley Anne Broadbent; 14 September 1935) is an English actress. She appeared in two of the '' Carry On'' films before being cast as Alma Halliwell in ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', which she played on and off for ...

and Johnny Briggs. The single reached the Top 40 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, making number 35. However, a faithful cover version by Geoff Love and his Orchestra was released as a single in April 1961, and reached No. 27 on the NME Singles Chart. A budget cover version by James Wright (a pseudonym for Gordon Franks) and his Orchestra was released on the

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

label in April 1962, which was also included on a 1965 LP, ''Top TV Themes''. EMI's release of the original recording in 2005 includes the theme's solo trumpet introductory bar, which has never been heard on the serial.

Personal life and death

Spear died in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, on 3 November 1966. He was 58 years old.

Selected filmography

* ''

Play Up the Band ''Play Up the Band'' is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Stanley Holloway, Betty Ann Davies and Leslie Bradley. The film was made at Ealing Studios by the independent company City Films.Perry p.175 The ...

'' (1935) * '' Joy Ride'' (1935) * '' Such Is Life'' (1936) * ''

The Improper Duchess ''The Improper Duchess'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Yvonne Arnaud, Hugh Wakefield and Wilfrid Caithness. The film is based on the 1931 play of the same name by J. B. Fagan in which Arnaud had starred. ...

'' (1936) * '' King of the Castle'' (1936) * '' No Way Back'' (1949) * ''

She Shall Have Murder ''She Shall Have Murder'' is a 1950 British drama film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Rosamund John, Derrick De Marney and Felix Aylmer. The screenplay concerns a law office clerk who becomes a detective. Premise A law office clerk who as ...

'' (1950) * '' Wide Boy'' (1952) * '' Men Against the Sun'' (1952) * '' Counterspy'' (1953) * '' Street of Shadows'' (1953) * '' Small Town Story'' (1953) * ''

Bang! You're Dead ''Bang! You're Dead'' is a 1954 British psychological drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Jack Warner, Anthony Richmond, Veronica Hurst, Derek Farr and Sean Barrett. The film takes as its subject the accidental killing of a ma ...

'' (1954) * ''

Stranger from Venus ''Stranger from Venus'' (also known as ''Immediate Disaster'' and ''The Venusian'' in the United States) is a 1954 independently made UK black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Burt Balaban (who also directed), Gene Martel, and Roy Ric ...

'' (1954) * '' The Switch'' (1963) * '' Stranglehold'' (1963) * '' The Vulture'' (1967)

References

External links