I got into a discussion on Twitter several weeks ago about Dennis Waterman sung theme tunes. Waterman's propensity to sing the theme tunes of shows he was in was one of the better regular sketches on Little Britain. I still have to suppress the urge not to chuckle every time I see the opening titles of New Tricks (one of the few programmes that Mrs Top Five and I both enjoy - a worrying sign that maybe we're getting on a bit now).
Anyway, I began to wonder if Dennis had recorded more that five theme tunes. If he had that would be far too good an opportunity to miss I felt. Well, it turns out ... he did four. This is disappointing for someone looking to base a top five on the subject. However, I didn't get to publish a top five a week every Friday without having one or two tricks* up my sleeve so without further ado ...
* This is another way of saying I cheat occasionally.
Thanks to www.Minder.org for some of the details.
1. Minder – Classic 80s comedy about the dodgy dealings of Arthur Daley and his put upon bodyguard for hire. Minder ran from 1979 until 1994 (though Waterman left in 1989). This has to be Dennis' magnum opus. Clearly it was a formula television producers were keen to reuse.
2. New Tricks – Ridiculously catchy theme to the BBC comedy drama about an eccentric group of ex-policemen brought together to solve unsolved crimes. Currently up to 8 series and still going strong.
3. Stay Lucky – Comedy drama about a small-time gangster Thomas Gynn on the run from London who discovers a new life up North in Yorkshire. Meeting widowed, self sufficient businesswoman Sally Hardcastle after her car breaks down on the motorway. Amazingly this ran for 4 series.
The embedded video takes some two and a half minutes to get to the theme tune so if you'd rather cut to the chase this link should start you at the beginning.
4. On The Up – Short lived sitcom in which Waterman plays Tony Carpenter, a self-made millionaire who turned his South London minicab firm into a successful chauffeur-driven car service. It also featured Sam Kelly as Tony's long-term friend and personal chauffeur and Joan Sims as his cook Mrs Wembley.
I couldn't find a video of this one so here's that Little Britain sketch instead;
5. What We Gonna Get 'er Indoors – In 1983, Dennis Waterman & George Cole capitalised on Minder's success with a Christmas single. Both sides were sung in the characters of Terry McCann and Arthur Daley. Not really a theme tune then but surely worth including to ensure I didn't have to consign this topic to the list of abandoned Top Fives that lurks in the darkest corners of my shed.
Minder.org explains that the record reached number 21, and spent a total of 5 weeks on the UK pop chart. They also provide this link to an mp3 of the a-side (I'm sure you'll want your own copy).
Here's a link to What We Gonna Get 'er Indoors on YouTube and the video below is the b-side "Quids & Quavers".
.
Anyway, I began to wonder if Dennis had recorded more that five theme tunes. If he had that would be far too good an opportunity to miss I felt. Well, it turns out ... he did four. This is disappointing for someone looking to base a top five on the subject. However, I didn't get to publish a top five a week every Friday without having one or two tricks* up my sleeve so without further ado ...
* This is another way of saying I cheat occasionally.
Thanks to www.Minder.org for some of the details.
1. Minder – Classic 80s comedy about the dodgy dealings of Arthur Daley and his put upon bodyguard for hire. Minder ran from 1979 until 1994 (though Waterman left in 1989). This has to be Dennis' magnum opus. Clearly it was a formula television producers were keen to reuse.
2. New Tricks – Ridiculously catchy theme to the BBC comedy drama about an eccentric group of ex-policemen brought together to solve unsolved crimes. Currently up to 8 series and still going strong.
3. Stay Lucky – Comedy drama about a small-time gangster Thomas Gynn on the run from London who discovers a new life up North in Yorkshire. Meeting widowed, self sufficient businesswoman Sally Hardcastle after her car breaks down on the motorway. Amazingly this ran for 4 series.
The embedded video takes some two and a half minutes to get to the theme tune so if you'd rather cut to the chase this link should start you at the beginning.
4. On The Up – Short lived sitcom in which Waterman plays Tony Carpenter, a self-made millionaire who turned his South London minicab firm into a successful chauffeur-driven car service. It also featured Sam Kelly as Tony's long-term friend and personal chauffeur and Joan Sims as his cook Mrs Wembley.
I couldn't find a video of this one so here's that Little Britain sketch instead;
5. What We Gonna Get 'er Indoors – In 1983, Dennis Waterman & George Cole capitalised on Minder's success with a Christmas single. Both sides were sung in the characters of Terry McCann and Arthur Daley. Not really a theme tune then but surely worth including to ensure I didn't have to consign this topic to the list of abandoned Top Fives that lurks in the darkest corners of my shed.
Minder.org explains that the record reached number 21, and spent a total of 5 weeks on the UK pop chart. They also provide this link to an mp3 of the a-side (I'm sure you'll want your own copy).
Here's a link to What We Gonna Get 'er Indoors on YouTube and the video below is the b-side "Quids & Quavers".
.
– Not actually a 2011 programme, but last year was the first time I’d seen this Danish thriller mixing political intrigue with police procedure. I was hooked by the characters from the off and the effort of reading subtitles soon paled into insignificance as I got caught up with the plot. By the end of the series I even began to believe I could understand Danish (to the point where I’d be Ironing, and forget to keep looking at screen. It could take several minutes before I realised I didn’t know what was going on). The second series was on just before Christmas and I'm looking forward to working my way through that as well. The success of The Killing seems to have opened the door for a number of other foreign language shows, Spiral & Borgen in particular, that are just as fascinating. 
– This had me gripped for 7 weeks. A sophisticated conspiracy thriller that reminded me of the sort of show the BBC made in the seventies, though filmed with a cinematic style that suggested a larger budget. Featuring a fabulous cast of British actors who portrayed a mixture of characters blurring the lines between good and evil. As I struggled to work out if I was supposed to be routing for the cops or the gangsters the plot took twist after unexpected twist. This was breathtaking drama that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The final episode was slightly disappointing, trying to clear up too many loose ends in too short a space of time, but still left me desperate for more. That seems unlikely given that most of them ended up dead.
– This didn’t start with the best of premises. Written by the creators of Peep Show & with a star from The Inbetweeners my hype radar was expecting the worst. Add the fact it also featured Jack Whitehall, a stand up comedian I really hadn't taken too, in a major role and it had expensive turkey written all over it. I gave it a go though and was pleasantly surprised by the first episode. By the time the first series ended I was completely won over and my opinion of Jake Whitehall has been dramatically changed. It was unusually long for a British sitcom but I found it properly funny with no sense of lag or loss of interest. I think it's been picked up for a second series which is great news.
, it really hadn't appealed at all, but caught the first episode of this series and found it a truly wonderful comedy. As with most of the other entries in this list, one of it's key strengths was the cast of characters. Olivia Colman is superb as Adam's put upon wife, Simon McBurney deliciously devious as Archdeacon Robert and Steve Evets fantastic as down and out Colin. It's Tom Hollander's show though and he pulls the whole thing together. I need to get a copy of the first series, it's classic british sitcom at it's very best.
– The second TV spin off from Shane Meadows excellent 2006 film "This Is England". Following on from the devastating finale of "This Is England '86" '88 is a more down beat affair. Vicky McClure puts in another stunning performance as Lol, even though she has to spend most of the time looking miserable and shouting at people. Meadows originally intended it as a film but I think it works just as well in three parts.
– The second year in a row Cormac has provided my favourite read of the year. This novel is a very different kettle of fish to “No Country For Old Men”. A tale of a father and son and their efforts to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The sub-heading on some paperback editions call it “beautifully harrowing”, a term I think sums up the story very well. The characters find themselves in a miserable situation, living in conditions that seem dreadful yet all too possible, but McCarthy manages to retain some sense of hope throughout their journey. It is emotionally draining and there are moments where I could imagine being on the journey with them, but despite the sadness I felt at their plight and the state of the world I ended the book with an overall feeling of positivity. That said I did also feel the need to stock up on canned produce, you know … just in case. It’s not a difficult book to read at all, the words flew by for me, and once I’d started reading I didn’t want to put it down.
– Whilst I enjoyed Peel’s unfinished biography it was a huge shame he did not live to complete it himself. His wife and children did a fabulous job and the book stands as a marvellous testament to Peel’s influence, but the parts written by himself are wonderfully witty and self-effacing and I felt a renewed sense of loss at the end of the self-written half. “The Olivetti Chronicles”, a collection of articles, columns and reviews for various newspapers and magazines, provided another opportunity to enjoy the man’s writing and his unique sense of humour. Short essays on everything from the strange joy of Eurovision to the horror of being sick in trains and musical comment on a diverse array of sounds from Tubular Bells to Berlin punk, interspersed throughout with references to Liverpool Football Club and his deep admiration of Sir Kenneth Dalgleish. There’s something to enjoy in every chapter and this is a must read for any Peel fan.
– A lucky find in my local library, this is the third Vonnegut book I’ve read and proved to be yet another intriguing read from the author. It starts out as a satirisation of the arms race but develops into a study of religion (albeit a completely fictional one). This is one of the books I struggled with in places but I think that was more my fault than Kurt’s. It's not a book to dip in and out of, once I focused on getting the book finished it was a joy. Vonnegut has a very different view of the world to almost any other author I could name. A book to re-read at some point I think.
– Lemmy’s a proper rock legend, an old fashioned Rocker who doesn’t care a great deal if you don’t like him very much. Maybe he’s not always done himself the best of favours with his choice of collectibles or public appearances but I’d always suspected that deep down he was a bit of a softy. “White Line Fever” tells his story pretty much from birth and is surprisingly open about his early life and the events that made him the man he is today. It flies through his move from local bands to touring Europe (with The Rockin’ Vicars) and from roadie (for the Jimi Hendrix Experience after flat sharing with Noel Redding) to Hawkwind. The first 5 or 6 Motorhead years take up a fair chunk of the book and provide some of the best stories. I was soon digging out the ‘Head albums I own and went out and bought a couple that I didn’t have. The last few chapters get a little repetitive as the pattern; Motorhead record an album/fall out with the producer/blame record label for poor sales/play blistering live tour to recover their money, is repeated several times. It’s a great read for anyone with fond memories of any of the bands Lemmy was in.
– The Man Booker Prize hit the headlines towards the end of 2011 with arguments over readability vs literary ability. I flunked A-Level English so am in no position to judge but considered reading them all to form my own opinion. I haven’t got very far yet, partly down to my dislike of hardbacks (which are, I think you’ll agree both too heavy and too expensive) but mainly down to my lack of effort. “Snowdrops” was the only contender I read. After hearing Germaine Greer slag it off on Newsnight (along with just about every other candidate on the list it seemed) I was all the more determined to like it. It's nothing hugely original but is an engaging and (appropriately enough) readable story. Something I read quite quickly and was just what I needed after two months of failing to get very far with “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”.