"Devil's Galop" is a piece of light music composed by Charles Williams. It became famous as the theme tune to the radio serial ''

Dick Barton – Special Agent ''Dick Barton – Special Agent'' is a radio thriller serial that was broadcast in the BBC Light Programme between 7 October 1946 and 30 March 1951. Produced and directed by Raymond Raikes, Neil Tuson, and Charles Lefaux, it was aired in 15-mi ...

''. The word "galop" in the title refers to the

galop In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (see Gallop), a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and pop ...

dance (which, in turn, refers to a horse's gallop).

In popular culture

It has since been used in a number of productions, often to give a sense of dramatic urgency to a chase scene. As well as being the theme for the BBC Light Programme's serial ''Dick Barton'' and its 1979

Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was co ...

revival, its other appearances include ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'', ''

Danger Mouse Danger Mouse may refer (or appear in) to: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series * Danger Mouse (musician) (born ...

'', ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their The Goodies (TV series), ep ...

'', and the ''

Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 1 ...

'' (the original theme music for which is called "Goons Gallop" and is reminiscent of "Devil's Galop"). ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became know ...

'' used this theme throughout its run on television, including in the famous " The Spanish Inquisition" sketch. Excerpts from the piece form part of the opening theme to the video game '' Monty on the Run''. The music has featured more recently in

Mitchell and Webb Mitchell and Webb are a British comedy double act, composed of David Mitchell and Robert Webb. They are best known for starring in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Peep Show'' and their radio and TV sketch shows ''That Mitchell and Webb Sound'' and ''Th ...

's " The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken Caesar" sketches,Sir Digby Chicken Caesar Tune
/ref> and the ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', ta ...

'' episode "

Tracy Does Conan "Tracy Does Conan" is the seventh episode of NBC's first season of ''30 Rock''. It was written by the series' creator and executive producer, Tina Fey and it was directed by one of the season's supervising producers, Adam Bernstein. It first air ...

". It was also used in the CITV children's show '' ZZZap!'' and was the theme tune of the character Tricky Dicky.

References

External links

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar Tune - Full MP3 file

30 Second MP3 preview
{{Authority control Radio theme songs Light music compositions Compositions by Charles Williams Galops