Elstree Calling

Photo: Geoff Unwin. © Geoff Unwin

Geoff Unwin Feature:

Geoff Unwin wrote the catchy title song for the first of the three classic On the Buses films. Geoff kindly shared his recollections with my by email about his involvement with the film:

I was invited to write the title song for the first On the Buses feature film by Phillip Martell, head of music at Hammer Films, a company usually associated with horror films. At the time I was with EMI record and beginning to get invoved with film music at Elstree Studios. I recorded a demo of the song at Abbey Road Studios with an eighteen piece line-up featuring ex-Ted Heath big band pianist Frank Horrow on honky tonk. I also used a new vocal group called Quinceharmon who had recently been put under contract by EMI. The producers of the On the Buses movie liked the demo so much that they decided to put it directly on to the soundtrack. So what you hear on the film was only originally intended as a demo!

I then thought it would be a good idea to get Reg Varney to record a version of it as I knew he was quite a good rag-time pianist in his own right as well as being a wonderful comedy actor. When I called him he immediately said yes; but the EMI executives for some reason didn't go along with the idea as they wanted to luanch their new signing, Quinceharmon, with the Buses film. Consequently I recorded the title again but this time with my own 34 piece orchestra backing this new group. Brian Bennett of The Shadows was my drummer for the session.

The single received quite a lot of exposure on the radio as a novelty song and we issued every cineman with a copy of the record which was to be played before and after every performance which insured that cinemagoers went home humming the theme - at least that was the general idea!

Although On the Buses was slated by the critics, it played to capacity audiences and was sometimes held over for upto three weeks at some cinemas even knocking the then James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever, of the top spot!

Back then, sheet music was an important part of the music industry and so a piano copy of On the Buses was also published. The first On the Buses feature feature film was also the only one of the three-part film series to have a single release of the title song.

I am happy and proud to have been associated with such a great British comedy.

My special thanks go to Geoff Unwin for his time and help.

The book 'Mellotron - the machine and the musician that revolutionised rock' by Nick Awde is being published on 1st September 2008. In a chapter about Geoff Unwin, the author writes at length about the On the Buses soundtrack and single and kindly mentions my website, Elstree Calling. Please click onto the following link to order this book now from amazon: Mellotron.

Feature © Paul Burton 2008

Please do not use any part of this feature without first contacting Paul Burton to request permission.