The Avengers International Fan Forum

What do you think about the backround music in "The Avengers"? Do you like it? And which opening theme do you like/which not?
Are there any songs which remind you of "The Avengers" - you connect with different scenes?

I always think of "The Avengers" when I hear "The Birds and the Bees" - I see Steed singing this song
There is one part about "big brown eyes" and this reminds me of Emma

From the Steed/Keel/Gale/etc. series, I found the background music a bit irritating at times. It didn't always jive with what was happening, but I'll put that down partly to the live taping situation and budget. The theme was not bad.
For the Steed/Peel series, the theme is inspired! Laurie Johnson got what 'The Avengers' was about! His background music enhanced the moments on screen. The music here is timeless!
The alteration to the theme for Steed/Tara seems appropriate, but I don't care for it quite so much. There were a few instances where the background for this series seems overdone and tired.
'The New Avengers', well, the theme wasn't bad. The Chick a bow-wow backgrounds were hideous! The music for this series definately aids in dating it, along with the stunning fashions!

As for songs that inspire images of, in my case, Emma & Steed I would first choose a song of the time period - 'A Groovy Kind Of Love' by the Mindbenders. Another song that suits my SEDDI image is from the 90's a reggea/pop tune called 'Bring Me Your Cup' by UB40. The chorus is

I’ve got the bottle, bring me your cup
Pop the cork, and try a sup
And when you’re empty, I’ll fill you up
We’ll drink it down till the sun comes up

The whole song suits my SEDDI image, but I think I've taken up enough space!

Sue

oneknightsteed wrote:From the Steed/Keel/Gale/etc. series, I found the background music a bit irritating at times. It didn't always jive with what was happening, but I'll put that down partly to the live taping situation and budget. The theme was not bad.
For the Steed/Peel series, the theme is inspired! Laurie Johnson got what 'The Avengers' was about! His background music enhanced the moments on screen. The music here is timeless!
The alteration to the theme for Steed/Tara seems appropriate, but I don't care for it quite so much. There were a few instances where the background for this series seems overdone and tired.
'The New Avengers', well, the theme wasn't bad. The Chick a bow-wow backgrounds were hideous! The music for this series definately aids in dating it, along with the stunning fashions!

As for songs that inspire images of, in my case, Emma & Steed I would first choose a song of the time period - 'A Groovy Kind Of Love' by the Mindbenders. Another song that suits my SEDDI image is from the 90's a reggea/pop tune called 'Bring Me Your Cup' by UB40. The chorus is

I’ve got the bottle, bring me your cup
Pop the cork, and try a sup
And when you’re empty, I’ll fill you up
We’ll drink it down till the sun comes up

The whole song suits my SEDDI image, but I think I've taken up enough space!

Sue

good points...pretty much me cup of tea...the dankworth material, is ok, but harsh,dirty-film noir-ish jazz...and yeah. maybe the budget had something to do with it, etc..

the Peel material, etc with laurie, is timeless....

the KING material, ok, slightly tired...keeping in mind, other's were writing music for the show, in that last season...as well..

I'm not keen on the Dankworth theme, either, not most of the incidental music. A lot of it jars, and it gets repetitive. Things definitely improved when Laurie got on board.

I prefer the Emma-era mix of the Avengers theme to Tara's, though the Tara version (with the trumpet bit announcing Tara's arrival on the scene) seems to have become the go-to version to cover--it's hard to find a version that doesn't have it. I definitely don't hate the Tara theme, though. All of Laurie's incidental music was wonderful, really--he did a brilliant job of coming up with iconic pieces (so iconic that when he was too busy to churn out as much original material in the Tara era, the recycling of certain pieces was a bit distracting because they were so closely linked to certain episodes).

I love the TNA theme and incidental music, too, but then I love seventies music as a whole. Seventies music and glam rock have come back, anyway, so I never think it sounds dated, just funky. (Though I must admit I was a bit taken aback to hear how similar some of his Jason King pieces are to his TNA work--some of them could have easily been interchangeable).

Incidentally, for anyone interested in reading more about Laurie and his time writing music for the show, I highly recommend his biography, Noises in the Head. It's a fascinating read and doesn't drag, and it gives another viewpoint into the making of the series (I'm always looking for fresh take from someone other than the usual suspects). It's probably the best Avengers bio that's never read.

Avengers songs? Well, there's one called "Keep It Friendly" that I'm rather fond of...

I make connections to stuff all the time, often to particular characters because of the lyrics. A lot of the Killers' output connects up to TNA in my brain (possibly because I co-wrote a lot of fanfic to Sam's Town)--"When You Were Young" and latter parts of "A Dustland Fairytale" for Purdey, "The Ballad of Michael Valentine" and "For Reasons Unknown" for Gambit. I associate Roxy Music's "Love is the Drug" with Gambit as well--just something about that intro.

I always think Steed when I hear the Kinks' "A Well Respected Man," too--there's a video lurking there, methinks. Well, they did owe their name to "Kinky Boots," so maybe they were returning the favour. Does a better job than Tahiti 80's John Steed in any case.

Emma has had enough tribute songs that you really don't need to look very far. Some of Honor's own tunes are Cathyesque. KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" tends to remind me of the Avengers ladies as a whole.

I do like the instrumentation that Dankworth used in the theme but Johnson's theme knocks my socks off! It's just an amaziing compilation and fits better with the era. I wouldn't want to change anything about it. TNA's theme I liked as well, it was very "adrenalized" if that makes sense.

what song makes me think "Avengers"? Well, there are plenty really great ones that can be put to the show but one favorite is Ain't No Mountain High Enough- "whenever you call me/I'll be there in a hurry/you don't have to worry"- yeah, I like that!

Even as a child, it was the theme tune that stuck with me.

Johnson's theme was a great bit of serendipity. I wonder how The Shake came to be used - interestingly Brian Clemens originally wanted to keep the Dankworth theme. In terms of visuals, I find that the season 4 visuals work better than the season 5 ones. It feels like a black and white piece of music rather than colour.

I love the fatter sounding season 6 arrangement with heavier drums and the brass stabs and the Tara theme added. There's a great spirit of fun and adventure to it.

I was initially very disappointed by The New Avengers theme as I was expecting the original composition given a seventies flavour. But it soon grew on me and I now love it. I even think the incidental music is wonderful. I adore all the funky guitar work.

John Barry's theme to On Her Majesty's Secret Service has always made me think of the Avengers - obviously with the Diana Rigg link but the feel of it - and the opening titles have a shot of Honor Blackman.

I've found anew song which absolutely remind me of Emma and John

here we go,

Bay City Rollers
The way I feel tonight

Turn the music way down low
Let me see you in the glow
In the fire light you are shining
Though it's much too soon to know
If thi slove I feel will grow
Let's take tonight to start out finding

'Cause the way I feel tonight
Everything will be alright
I will keep your candle burning
Oh yes the way I feel tonight
Everything will be alright
And the way I feel tonight - I love you

Close the door and turn the key
Open up your heart to me
I can see your love light glowing
Let your body melt in mine
Let us taste each others wine
Till the cup is over flowing

'Cause the way I feel tonight
Everything will be alright
I will keep your candle burning
Oh yes the way I feel tonight
Everything will be alright
And the way I feel tonight - I love you

Considering the fact that the music in Seasons 1-3 was played on the air via a record, while the episode was taping, I think it works pretty well. I especially like the loud music that comes in after something exciting or surprising has been said or done, and then the caption card comes up. The music serves as an exclamation point to the end of the scene (or "Act").

The music is one of the great things about The Avengers. The Johnny Dankworth theme, being more sedate, suits the early episode atmosphere well. There were recurring tunes in the background music tracks at that time, but they're quite good ones; I like the 'Don't Look Behind You' music. Laurie Johnson's theme tune music is great and I'm really amazed that he could write so much music for each new episode in the time available. One reason why I chose to watch 'Dead Man's Treasure' recently was because of the music, particularly during the car treasure hunt!

What other music reminds me of The Avengers (apart from the ones the stars sung themselves)? Jazz music like Dave Brubeck reminds me of the Cathy Gale era. Lots of sixties pop songs , like Petula Clark's 'Downtown' make me think of Emma's time, and also 'England Swings (like a pendulum do)'. I enjoy catching Tony Blackburn's show, Pick Of The Pops, on Radio 2 on a Saturday afternoon in case it's a 60's year; then it's Avengers time!

This song, particularly it's lyrics (usefully included in the video), always reminds me of The Avengers - or rather the quaint "Olde Englande" that the show is meant to represent - Avengerland, Murdersville and all of that.

Nice tune as well. It was also made during the show's run.