"Blue Peter" is a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

by musician

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

, released in 1979 on the

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

label. It is a rendition of the theme tune for the British children's television show '' Blue Peter'' and was used by the show between 1979 and 1989. It is a new version of the original theme tune "Barnacle Bill", written by Herbert Ashworth-Hope.

''Blue Peter''

The royalties from the single went to the

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

appeal launched by the children's show. It charted at number 19 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 ...

. Mike Oldfield's version of the ''Blue Peter'' theme was the first time the arrangement had changed since the programme began in 1958, and it had its genesis in his appearance on the programme in 1979 to demonstrate how modern pop music was created using multi-track recording techniques. The result was liked enough by both the viewers and programme producers to be retained as the permanent theme, and Oldfield additionally recorded a new version of the programme's closing music, which runs for just 20 seconds and has never been commercially released. The released version of the theme is actually a further re-recording, which incorporates many subtle changes compared to the TV version, in addition to eliminating the opening snare drum roll, extending the piece to a more suitable duration for commercial release, and being mixed in stereo. The TV version was mono-only (British television was not broadcasting in stereo at that time) and has never been made available for sale.

''Télétourisme''

The song was also used by the Belgian public TV broadcaster, RTBF, as the theme for ''Télétourisme'', a TV show that ran more than 34 years. The theme was dropped after 20 years of use but came back during the 25th anniversary of the show and remained to its conclusion.

Music video

The music video for "Blue Peter" shows Oldfield competing in a race with various kinds of vehicles. The intro is filmed in black and white and begins with a silent film style title card 'Episode 4 "The Race"'; there is a second card after a short sequence with Oldfield and another man, displaying 'Zhree, Two, vun Actshun!' (meaning 'Three, Two, One, Action!'). The race then begins, three of the competitors are Oldfield himself (filmed in different shots as a pilot, pirate and a man with a moustache) and some are not. The vehicles include hovercraft, a tricycle

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

, a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

, a three-wheeled ATV, a larger ATV and a

kite buggy A kite buggy is a light, purpose-built vehicle powered by a traction kite (power kite). It is single-seated and has one steerable front wheel and two fixed rear wheels. The driver sits in the seat located in the middle of the vehicle and accelera ...

. The end of the video appears to parody the

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

logo with a gramophone and a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

. The dog is 'Muffin' belonging to Lindsay Gatward who plays the 'Pirate' character driving the Union Jack hovercraft. Paul McCullom plays the 'Charlie Chaplin' character driving the yellow hovercraft. The video is available on the ''Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield'' video.

Track listing

# "Blue Peter" – 2:07 (comprising "Drums and Fife" (W. Burns) and "Barnacle Bill" (Herbert Ashworth-Hope)) # "Woodhenge" – 4:05

Charts

References