Just to open this article, an excellent history of The Guide, in all its myriad incarnations, can be read at A History of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Before one reads this article, one must first realise that there have been several versions of The Guide: the radio series, two LPs, various cassettes, CDs, books, various stageplays, a TV series and, more recently, a film. This article endeavours to tell the story of the music from the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's various incarnations (except for the towel; the towel wasn't musical).
For many, the music of the Radio Series, LPs, TV Series and Motion Picture have leapt into our heads at some point. Whether humming Pink Floyd in the elevator, or singing Vote Beeblebrox in the shower, it's nothing to be ashamed of.
First off, a note on the names given to the different radio series. In order, each radio series was named (for release):
- Primary Phase
- Secondary Phase
- Tertiary Phase
- Quandary Phase
- Quintessential Phase
Journey of the Sorcerer
The most recognisable piece of music from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is, of course, the signature tune, Journey of the Sorcerer, composed by Bernie Leadon (once a member of the Eagles and now a conductor) and performed by the Eagles for their 1975 album, One Of These Nights. This version of the tune was used only for the five radio series (1978-2005).
The original Eagles recording of Journey of the Sorcerer had a duration of 6'39" and had, roughly, four banjo sections with three 'themed' sections separating the banjo sections (the first three banjo sections forming 'lead-ins' for the 'themed' sections). The first banjo section and, following on from this, the first of the 'themed' sections was used as the opening theme for all 26 episodes (or 'Fits' as they were known) of the radio series and also for every other version of The Guide to date.
For Fit the First (the first episode of the first radio series), the sections of Journey used over the credits were the first banjo and 'themed' sections. However, from Fit the Second, the second banjo and 'themed' sections were used over the credits. This remained the same for all versions of the programme until the 2005 film.
Of course, this wasn't the only version of Journey of the Sorcerer; there were three and a bit versions arranged and performed by Tim Souster (for the two LPs and the TV Series), a cover of one of Souster's version by Mark Ayres, another cover - of a different Souster arrangement, and by an as yet unknown artist (well, to this researcher, anyway) - and Joby Talbot's full orchestral version for the 2005 motion picture.
However, there does remain one version which has not been released - the Philip Pope arrangement used for the last three radio series. It was performed by the Eagles tribute group The Illegal Eagles. This was necessary since the BBC could only commercially use the original Journey of the Sorcerer for the Primary and Secondary Phases. The BBC deemed it too costly to negotiate for its use on the latest three series.
So, with the exception of the Tertiary Phase (with the further exception of the U.S.A.), these series were commercially released with the new Illegal Eagles version of the theme. The longest 'clean' version of this theme available is at the end of the last episode (Fit the Twenty-Sixth), where all but the opening banjo bars are played.
For more information on the commercial versions of the theme, you can go further down towards the bottom of the page.
The Radio Series
In 1978, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series was first broadcast through a series of incoherent time-warps to a rather unsuspecting Radio 4 audience. Over time, of course, it became a hit and spawned books, vinyls, etc. Anyway, the music used in this radio series came from all kinds of places (mainly Douglas Adams' own record collection).
The great Paddy Kingsland (of the equally great BBC Radiophonic Workshop) provided music and radiophonic effects for Fit the First and Fit the Seventh through to Fit the Twelfth. Despite the fact that he did compose some music for the first episode (otherwise known as the pilot), some 'stock' music was used. Before the second episode was finished, Paddy Kingsland was transferred to the BBC Schools Department, where he stayed until the end of the first series. So, for Fit the Second through to Fit the Sixth, Dick Mills (also of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop) provided radiophonic effects.
Due to the nature of the BBC, it may not come as much of a surprise that Dick Mills had provided sound effects for Doctor Who since the early '70s, Paddy Kingsland would be providing music for Doctor Who from about 1980 and Douglas Adams would be, in 1979, the script editor for Doctor Who. Indeed, Douglas Adams would later write Life, the Universe and Everything with the never-produced Doctor Who and the Krikketmen in mind.
As many fans would happily recall, the end of the first radio series (and the TV series) was accompanied by Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World. In a way, it worked better with the TV series alongside the vision of a peaceful prehistoric Earth whose trees were being set alight by the Golgafrinchans to avoid the impending recession.
For reference, here is a just-about complete list of music used in the Primary Phase (in no particular order) 1:
| Artist(s) | Title | Album/Source | | The Eagles | Journey of the Sorcerer | | | Terry Riley | A Rainbox in Curved Air
Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band | | | György Ligeti | Lontano
Melodien
Volumina |
A Modern Mass for the Dead | | Robert Fripp & Brian Eno | Over Fire Island
Wind On Water | Another Green World
Evening Star | | Patrick Moraz | Cachaca | | | Gruppe Between | Kotakomben
Volkstanz | Einsteig (LP)
" | | Stomu Yamashta | Space Theme | Yamashta | | Jean Michel Jarre | Oxygene | | | That's Entertainment | The Band Wagon (1953, MGM) | | Absolute Everywhere | Miracles of the Gods | In Search of Ancient Gods (LP release from TV special) | | Stockhausen | Mikrophoniet | | | Iso Tomita | The Engulfed Cathedral | Snowflakes are Dancing |
Not mentioned in the above table are three songs: Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra, the Beatles' Rock and Roll Music and Pink Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond. They were used during Fit the Third, not long after the Heart of Gold and its crew had landed on Magrathea. During this scene, Marvin hums Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Arthur comments that the "robot can hum like Pink Floyd". Marvin then offers to play some rock and roll, which he does, in the form of the Beatles song. Later, when Zaphod begins to make his speech on entering the lost world of Magrathea, Marvin hums Also Sprach Zarathustra.
Due to the costliness of copyright agreements on the songs by the Beatles and Pink Floyd, none of the radio series' commercial releases have included this scene, although it is available online (see this entry's Referenced Sites list). This scene was recreated in the LP (details below).
By the second radio series, it was decided that Paddy Kingsland should provide all music and radiophonic effects, which enabled the narration music to fit Peter Jones' narrative - although the stock music has suited this purpose, more by chance than by design. A good example of this is the bouncing and stretching effects featured in one piece of narration regarding 'tendrils'.
When the Hitchhiker's Guide returned to BBC Radio 4 for the Tertiary Phase, the arrangement in regards to music composition was similar to that for the Secondary Phase. However, instead of Paddy Kingsland providing all incidental music, the task of composer was handed to Paul "Wix" Wickens.
Amongst his pieces of narration music was a section about the mattresses and ratchet screwdriver fruits - in some ways, it sounds similar to the banjo mid-sections of Journey of the Sorcerer (although the main tune itself was not actually performed).
Not all of the music in the final three radio series was provided by Wickens, though. Only during broadcast, the original Eagles version of Journey of the Sorcerer was kept as the signature tune. And, on the CD release, as previously mentioned, a Philip Pope arrangement was used. Philip Pope also composed and performed the Krikkit Song for use in Fit the Fifteenth (episode 3 of the Tertiary Phase). Used in the information programme about the planet of Krikkit, it was performed in the style of a folk song and demonstrated the lack of awareness the people of Krikkit had about the greater Universe beyond their own immediate surroundings.
Original Records
When, in 1979, Original Records decided to do a double-album of Hitchhiker's, they realised that the theme and music from the original radio series could no longer be used due to copyright issues. To that end, they enlisted the services of the late Tim Souster (a respected contemporary and avant-garde composer) and Paddy Kingsland of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (who had worked on the Hitchhiker's radio series).
Together, the two men created a rather coherent-sounding universe. Tim Souster composed most of the music, with Paddy Kingsland composing various passages and once again contributing sound effects (most of which were re-used and remixed from the radio series).
Tim Souster reworked the theme tune - turning it into a fully-fledged electronic piece - in essence, taking the first minute and a half of the original Eagles version and replacing the Eagles' strings with the now-familiar synthesised brass (incidentally, an album of some of Souster's other work, entitled Electric Brass, was released in 1999, five years after his death).
In place of The Eagles' electric guitar-like effects, Souster used synthesised and electronic effects.
To accompany the new opening theme, the sections of Journey of the Sorcerer used over the radio series credits (the second banjo and 'themed' sections) were arranged to form Journey's End (Journey of the Sorcerer), used in the first record after the destruction of the computer bank on Magrathea. Unlike Souster's (and also Mark Ayres') later versions of Journey, Journey's End did not conclude with a slower reprise of the last five notes (for the melody) of the second 'themed' section, but instead used a synthesised thing (I really cannot describe this effect) similar to the closing thing in the LP's opening theme.
This 1979 version of the theme is frequently accredited to Paddy Kingsland, but, to my knowledge, Paddy Kingsland has never arranged, performed or produced a full version of Journey of the Sorcerer (I'll get back to this one).
This opening sequence (1'20") was used for the opening titles of the 1981 TV Series to accompany the incredibly cheesy graphics (yes, the ones with the golden astronaut, designed by the late Doug Burd). It was also remixed for the second LP in 1980 (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe). This 1980 version, in turn, was mixed with the closing music from the second LP for the late 1990s CD This is Science Fiction (Disc 2, Track 17). This version was also featured on the 1983 BBC Records release Spaced Out - BBC Space Themes.
When the Hitchhiker's TV Series was being wrapped up, Tim Souster was asked to do yet another version of Journey of the Sorcerer. This version was based more on the Eagles version, with some differences. For instance, at the end of the 'credits' section, a small part of the music is slowed down and repeated to create a 'finale'. Rather unfortunately, the first half of this version was not used on the television series, only the second half. However, when the DVD of the T.V. Series was released in 2001, the first half can be heard in the main menu of both discs.
This was Souster's final version of the theme, and was released as the A-Side of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy T.V. Theme Music, a very, very rare record indeed.
The B-Side of this record contained various 'goodies', two of which were sourced from the second LP, The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe. The first of these was Peter Jones' Disaster Area Narration (minus the incidental music) and Tim Souster's Reg Nullify In Concert (an extended version of the one which was used on the record). Here follow the lyrics to Reg Nullify in Concert2:
Your arms
Your legs
Your heads
You're everything…
To me
I've been through all eternity
Your glistening scales of green
I don't know where they've been
You might have laid a Treen
But, I don't care.
You are my everything
You're everywhere.
Your plurid feet of blue
Red fingernails you chew
How do you go to the loo?
But, I don't care.
You are my everything
You're everywhere.
The last two verses were 'optional' and did not appear on the record.
Also on the TV theme record was the classic Disaster Area song Only The End Of The World Again, which was a much-expanded and much-louder version of some of the background music from the second LP. This new version featured Douglas Adams himself playing one of the guitars (left-handed, of course). Naturally, this song was produced by none other than Hotblack Desiato himself.3
The following is the complete track listing from the first record (some track times are inaccurate - for example, Journey of the Sorcerer actually lasts about 10 seconds longer):
Side One - Journey of the Sorcerer (B. Leadon) 1.12
- The Guide Speaks (Music T. Souster, 1.40) 3.04
- None At All (Music T. Souster, 0.59) 1.42
- Gargleblaster Sonata (Music T. Souster, 1.08) 2.17
- I Don't Like Thursdays (Music T. Souster, 0.43) 5.58
- Vogon Constructor Fleets (Music P. Kinglsand, 0.46) 2.50
- The Babel Fish (Music P. Kingsland, 1.48) 2.50
- Micturations of a Vogon (Music T. Souster, 1.13) 3.09
Side Two - A Short History of the Earth (Music T. Souster, 2.02) 3.05
- The Big One (Music T. Souster, 1.51) 1.51
- Unease by the Sea (Music T. Souster, 2.20) 2.20
- Heart of Gold (Music T. Souster, 0.30) 0.48
- Infinitely Improbable (Music T. Souster, 2.08) 4.01
- Song of the Mindless Jerks (Music T. Souster, 0.57) 3.50
- Waveband on the Run (Music P. Kingsland, 0.53) 4.48
Side Three - Yore Kind of Music (Music T. Souster, 2.23) 3.50
- Consolation No. 1 (Music T. Souster, 0.58) 1.00
- Out to Lunch (Music P. Kingsland, 1.20) 2.56
- Consolation No. 2 (Music T. Souster, 0.25) 1.51
- Whale Song No. 1 (Music T. Souster, 0.35) 2.23
- Whale Song No. 2 (Music T. Souster, 0.58) 2.00
- Pink Planet (Music T. Souster, 0.59) 1.31
- Biro Gyro (Music T. Souster, 2.40) 2.40
- Double Sunset (Music T. Souster, 0.48) 3.04
- The Dolphin's Farewell (Music T. Souster, 1.24) 1.43
- Factory Floor (Music T. Souster, 0.11) 0.31
Side Four - The Earth, Mk. 2 (2.28)
- Tell Us Why (Music T. Souster, 1.15) 5.13
- Aubade (Music T. Souster, 0.21) 1.44
- The Answer (Music T. Souster, 0.12) 1.35
- The Messiah (Music T. Souster, 1.07) 3.28
- Is There a Lifestyle After Death? (Music T. Souster, 2.25) 6.55
- Arms of the Law (3.14)
- Journey's End (Journey of the Sorcerer) (B. Leadon) 1.17
Side Three featured a new version of the cut Magrathea scene from Fit the Third of the original radio series (mentioned above). To avoid the copyright concerns that would later necessitate the editing-out of this scene from all commercial releases of the radio series, Tim Souster instead synthesised a piece of music similar to the Pink Floyd song featured in the original radio series (in doing so, making Arthur's comment that Marvin could hum like Pink Floyd more accurate). Souster also created a synthesised version of Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra to accompany Zaphod's 'entering Magrathea' speech.
And now follows the complete track listing from the second record (as above, some track times may be inaccurate):
Side One - Journey of the Sorcerer (B. Leadon) 1.10
- The Story So Far (Music P. Kingsland, T. Souster) 5.27
- Breakfast at Milliways (Music P. Kingsland, T. Souster) 4.41
- Disaster Area (Music T. Souster) 2.44
- Reg Nullify in Concert (Music T. Souster) 1.14
- Apocalypse When? (Music T. Souster) 8.15
- Big Black Cars (Music T. Souster) 3.39
- How Are We For Time? (Music T. Souster) 1.07
- Ins and Outs of the Universe (Music T. Souster) 3.41
Side Two - Is There Life After Lunch? (Music T. Souster) 4.49
- Empty Vessels (Music T. Souster) 4.00
- 'B'-Ark up the Wrong Tree (Music T. Souster) 7.18
- Poetic Circles (Music T. Souster) 6.38
- Origin of the Species (Music P. Kingsland, T. Souster) 5.35
The TV Series
In 1980, production started on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV Series, with Alan J.W. Bell as Director. For the music, Douglas Adams originally wanted someone other than Paddy Kingsland (probably Tim Souster) to provide the music, but Alan Bell insisted on using Paddy Kingsland. However, Tim Souster did still make a contribution to the T.V. Series, with his 1979 arrangement of Journey of the Sorcerer featured in the opening titles, and the second half of his T.V. Theme Music arrangement used over the closing titles.
The incidental music for the TV Series was done in true Kingsland style, some similar to his music for the LPs, some not. Fans of Doctor Who who have heard the music will recognise some of the music from the Magrathea scenes as being freakishly similar to Kingsland's own music for the 1980/1 Doctor Who episodes Logopolis and Castrovalva.
Die-hard fans of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop most likely own two of Kingsland's pieces for the TV Series, as they were included on the 1983 release The Soundhouse: Music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Featured on this album are the pieces The Whale (track 5) and Brighton Pier (track 14), two very typical Kingsland pieces.
At the end of the final episode of the TV Series, after the credits, there is a final scene, one final scene of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy itself floating away into space. To accompany this scene, a 'grand' version of Journey of the Sorcerer was used. No specific credit was given, but it was probably arranged by Paddy Kingsland.
The Marvin Records
Ah, the Marvin records. Just getting them or listening to them is somewhat of an achievement these days. It's been said that the entire concept of the Marvin records came about from a discussion between Douglas Adams, Tim Souster and Stephen Moore, resulting in one of them suggesting a record with Marvin droning rather than singing, and the other two agreed. There were two records, and they caused many a listener to cry both tears of joy and sadness.
There does already exist an article upon this very subject, The Songs of Marvin The Paranoid Android - it goes into far more depth than this researcher does here. It's highly recommended.
So, in 1981, the first Marvin record, Marvin The Paranoid Android, was released, featuring Marvin (Side A), in which Marvin is very depressed; and Metal Man (Side B), in which Marvin is very depressed, yet still manages to save a ship and its crew from a black hole. Soon after, the second record, Reasons To Be Miserable, was released, branded as a double B-side. This one featured Reasons To Be Miserable, in which our heroically-depressed android does everything from feeding fishes to wishing to be a calculator; and the ever-popular Marvin, I Love You, in which a certain incredibly-depressed robot finds out that a recording has been stored in his databanks by a female of an as-yet-unknown species who loves him.
This second record featured a logo of Marvin holding a record with "Depressive Discs" written underneath, carrying the words: "For further details of how bad life can be, write to: The Marvin Depreciation Society, 2 Whitechurch Lane, London E1."
The lyrics for these two records were written by Douglas Adams, Stephen Moore and John Sinclair. John Sinclair produced it for Sarm Productions and, presumably, Tim Souster composed and performed the music for it. The records were released by Polydor; the codes were POSP 261 for the first record and POSP 333 for the second.4The "Making Of" Documentary
When the TV Series was first released on video in the early 1990s, a special "Making Of" documentary was commissioned. It was written and directed by Kevin Davies (who, a decade earlier, had helped Ron Lord with his legendary Guide animations) with the music composed and produced by Mark Ayres 5. The pair had worked together in the same year on the Doctor Who documentary 30 Years of Doctor Who (otherwise known as More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS).
Mark Ayres' music for this documentary was a reflection of his musical versatility, with pieces of music similar to the music that Paddy Kingsland had composed twelve years before, as well as a well-orchestrated finale featuring a banjo, various synthesisers and various examples of Mark-Wing Davey's remarkable knowledge of profanities. For the opening titles, Mark Ayres, having also been hired for "Sound Design", extended and edited Tim Souster's 1979 version of Journey of the Sorcerer, adding various effects in the process, for use on the opening titles.
Commercial Releases of Journey of the Sorcerer
In 1996, Mark Ayres, who had become a 'regular' at Silva Screen Records (they had released all three of Mark Ayres' Doctor Who scores, as well as some of his other scores), was called upon to arrange and produce a new version of Journey of the Sorcerer for the Silva Screen release The Cult Files: Re-Opened. Ayres, who had once been a classmate of none other than the late Tim Souster, revived Souster's T.V. Theme Music arrangement. He extended it from Souster's 2'55" to 4'22" and performed it with more acoustic-sounding instruments.
For instance, his banjos and violins sounded acoustic, rather than synthesised. However, he did keep Souster's electronic effects (creating similar effects in such a way as to make them sound 'hollower' and 'sparser') and percussion rhythm.
Also in 1996, another version was featured on The No. 1 Sci-Fi Album, which is possibly another Ayres arrangement 6. This version roughly followed Tim Souster's first arrangement of the theme until the end of the first banjo and 'themed' sections, whereupon it diverges and is a mix of the original Eagles version and the T.V. Theme Music/Ayres versions.
Here is a complete chronology of Journey of the Sorcerer and its various releases:
| Year | Artist (Composer/Arranger) | Alternative title (if any) | Album | Duration | | 1975 | The Eagles (B. Leadon) | | One Of These Nights | 6'39" | | 1979 | Tim Souster (T. Souster) | Journey of the Sorcerer
Journey's End | The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy | 1'20"
1'17" | | 1980 | Tim Souster (T. Souster) | | The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe | 1'12" | | 1980 | Tim Souster (T. Souster) | The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy Theme Music - Journey Of The Sorcerer | The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy T.V. Theme Music | 2'55" | | 1981 | Uncredited, poss. Paddy Kingsland | "Finale" | The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy | 0'24" | | 1996 | Mark Ayres (M. Ayres)
Based on T. Souster, 1980 (2) | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Journey of the Sorcerer | The Cult Files: Re-Opened
Various Silva Screen and International Releases | 4'22" | | 1997 | Uncredited, poss. Mark Ayres
Based on T. Souster, 1979 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | The No. 1 Sci-Fi Album | 4'17" | | 2004 | The Illegal Eagles (P. Wickens) | | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases | | | 2005 | Uncredited orchestra (J. Talbot) | | The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: Original Soundtrack | 1'15" |
The Motion Picture
The 2005 motion picture of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was decades in planning - it had gone through years of development hell. Apart from a brilliant cast and some even more brilliant Guide animations (thank you, Shynola), there was Joby Talbot's music. Joby Talbot, formerly of the band "Divine Comedy", was hired as composer for the motion picture. He successfully combined synthesised elements (similar to Souster's and Kingsland's music) with orchestral sections with such precision as to make a brave man weep.
One of the most memorable scenes from the film was the very first scene - the opening titles of dolphins singing, swimming and dancing. Sung by Hillary Summers, Kemi Ominiyi and the R'SVP Voices, So Long & Thanks For All The Fish showed the dolphins' last hurrah (and nod of appreciation to humans) before they left the Earth by their own means. The opening and closing titles versions were written by composer Joby Talbot, conductor Christopher Austin and director Garth Jennings over a dire lack of coffee and an even more worrying lack of Hob Nobs.
Included on the soundtrack album of the movie are two 'bonus' tracks: Reasons To Be Miserable (His Name Is Marvin) and Vote Beeblebrox. Reasons To Be Miserable is, essentially, a re-recording of one of the classic Marvin songs, 'sung' by Stephen Fry (murmured possibly being a better word) and with completely different, yet matching, music by Bang Bang Club and Keith Cox.
1 This information comes from the original radio series script book.
2 These lyrics were posted by film-maker Kevin Davies (who created The Making of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" in 1992) at the Douglas Adams Continuum Fora (LYRICS #2 - Reg Nullify and his Cataclysmic Combo).
3 Thanks to Radox the Green for much additional information (source).
4 Thanks to Radox the Green for much additional information (source).
5 Mark Ayres is probably most well-known for his work with Doctor Who - he's been a prominent figure in musical Who circles since his first Doctor Who score in 1988. He has since begun restoring the BBC Radiophonic Workshop archives and many past Doctor Who adventures as part of the Restoration Team.
6 There is no credit to any specific artist on the CD, and Mark Ayres' website says that he did do some arrangements for this CD. But I'm just guessing here.
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