As well as producing new opening and closing titles, either by live action or animation, new opening and closing music was also chosen, replacing the original Thriller theme by Laurie Johnson (the incidental music by him heard within the episodes was unaffected). These sounds have attracted far less criticism than the visual titles and there is no doubt that much of the music selected is of high quality and often very memorable; all the same the loss of the original themes is lamented and even the best of the new music doesn't match-up with the remarkable soundscape Laurie Johnson tailor-made for the series.
All the new music was sourced from music libraries such as KPM, Bruton and De Wolfe. Library music was composed for use in any sort of production to convey a particular mood or atmosphere rather than specifically composed for a particular show as had been the case with Laurie Johnson's pieces for Thriller. As such the music used can also be heard in many other TV and film productions, e.g. The Sweeney used library music throughout (except for its opening and closing titles which were composed by Harry South) and some of the Thriller movie title music such as "In Danger" by Brian Bennett (used on the movie for "Possession") was used in the earlier police show. The Australian prison soap Prisoner: Cell Block H also used library music for its all incidental sounds including many of the tracks used for the Thriller movie titles.
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| One of the library music albums that was the source of much music for the Thriller movie versions and many other shows |
In my case I can credit the music used on the movie titles for inspiring my now long-standing interest in library music. Previously I'd always appreciated TV and film music but aside from those pieces which were known to be written by well-known TV and film composers such as Barry Gray and Laurie Johnson I hadn't given much thought to the origins of the music. If pushed I probably assumed that all the music heard in a show was written by the composer credited on-screen. Indeed some viewers may have assumed that Laurie Johnson wrote all the opening and closing music on the movie versions because no-one else was credited. Library music is designed to be anonymous and uncredited but that unfortunately means that viewers are commonly unaware of who wrote it.
That changed when Thriller fans such as Mark McMillan started to identify the pieces used in the movies. Names of the composers and the track names were provided and it became far easier for fans to seek them out for further listening. Before the internet this was very difficult as library music albums were very hard to obtain but now many of the tracks heard in the movies and in other productions are available for official download or elsewhere on the internet and a small number can also be found on CD. Other fans and library music experts have identified other tracks used and most recently Martin Marshall in his excellent book A Thriller in Every Corner has produced the fullest guide to the music used with only a handful of tracks still unidentified.
The guide below lists the pieces (where known) that were used in the movie versions. These are listed under the movie titles with the ATV original title indicated in brackets where it was different. Martin's book gives a much fuller guide to the music used. Although these tracks have generally been heard in many other productions for me I always associate them with the Thriller movies in which they featured:
Anatomy of Terror (An Echo of Theresa)
Rescue by Johnny Pearson
Appointment with a Killer (A Midsummer Nightmare)
Opening titles: "Uneasy Atmosphere" (Keith Mansfield)
Closing titles: "Cape Kennedy" (David Francis)
The Carnation Killer (The Colour of Blood)
"The Plot" and "Darkside" by Brian Bennett; "Apocalypse" by Daryl Runswick
Color Him Dead (K Is for Killing)
"Nerve Centre" and "Deadly Enemy" by John Scott
Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are
"Figment's Park" by Simon Park; "String Explosion" (John Scott); "Destructive Powers" (David Fanshawe)
For the only time a fragment of the original Thriller opening theme can be heard at the end of the original teaser but this is almost certainly due to an editing error.
Cry Terror! (Kill Two Birds)
"Ice Floe" (Pierre Avray); "In Pursuit" (Steve Gray); "Industrial Time Bomb" (Nick Ingman)
Death in Deep Water
"Motor City" (Nick Ingman); "Getaway" (Brian Bennett)
Death in Small Doses (Ring Once for Death)
"City Limits" (Keith Mansfield); "Heavy Lead" (Dave Richmond)
The Death Policy (Lady Killer)
"Emergency" by Johnny Pearson
The Devil's Web (Nurse Will Make It Better)
"Fatal Error", "Research Establishment" and "Softly Softly" (all Keith Mansfield)
Dial a Deadly Number
Unknown track
The Double Kill
"Cold Sweat" by David Lindup; "Hair Razor" (Johnny Pearson)
The Eyes Have It
"Turmoil" (Johnny Pearson)
File It Under Fear
Unknown track
The Fear Is Spreading (The Crazy Kill)
In Pursuit (Steve Gray)
I'm the Girl He Wants To Kill
"Cape Kennedy" (David Francis); "Sulle Rovine" (Complesso Fabor)
In the Steps of a Dead Man
"The Elements 4" (Eric Towren); "Destructive Powers" (David Fanshawe)
A Killer in Every Corner
"Industrial Time Bomb" (Nick Ingman); "Countdown" (Dave Richmond); "Minuet" (Luigi Boccherini)
Killer with Two Faces
"Motor City" (Nick Ingman); Startle (Brian Bennett)
The Killing Game (Where the Action Is)
"Matter of Urgency" (Keith Mansfield); "Nerve End" (Alan Parker)
Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill (A Coffin for the Bride)
"Surveillance" and "Prowler" (Brian Bennett tracks)
Look Back in Darkness (The Next Voice You See)
"Motives 1" (Simon Park)
Melody of Hate (Nightmare for a Nightingale)
"Psychopath" (Dick Walter); "Experiment with Danger" (Jim Lawless); unknown atonal piano piece (end titles)
Mirror of Deception (Good Salary - Prospects - Free Coffin)
"Nightride" (Steve Gray); "Strident Theme" (Francis Monkman)
Murder in Mind
"String Explosion" (John Scott); "Experiment with Danger" (Jim Lawless)
Murder Motel
"Face of Danger" and "Face of Great Danger" (John Scott tracks)
Murder on the Midnight Express (Night Is the Time for Killing)
"Danger - Musicians at Work" (Syd Dale)
The Next Victim
"Hostile" and "Predator" (Johnny Pearson tracks)
Not Guilty (The Next Scream You Hear)
"Knife Fight" (Steve Gray); "Prowler" (Brian Bennett); "Uneasy Feeling" (Jack Trombey)
Once the Killing Starts
"Music 15b" (Don Harper); "Study in Evil" (Derrick Mason); unknown piece with bass guitar
One Deadly Owner
"Gear Shift" (Dave Richmond)
Only a Scream Away
"Rock a Bye Cradle" (Eric Smart); "Mask of Death" (Jack Trombey)
A Place To Die
"Montee Au Calvaire" (Vladimir Cosma)
Possession
"In Danger" (Brian Bennett); "In Pursuit" (Steve Gray)
The Savage Curse (Kiss Me and Die)
"Lonely Stranger" (Laurie Johnson); "The Deep" (Otto Sieben and Sam Sklair); "Knife Fight" (Steve Gray - closing titles)
Screamer
"Hot Cargo" (Keith Mansfield); "Stress" (Francis Monkman)
Sign It Death
"F.B. Aie" (Vladimir Cosma)
Someone at the Top of the Stairs
"Chemical Waste" (Nick Ingman)
Spell of Evil
"Gyrosonic" (Louis Brunelli)
Terror from Within (Won't Write Home Mom - I'm Dead)
"Startle 2" (Brian Bennett); Black Mist 1 (Alan Hawkshaw)
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| Track listing for "Drama Montage" by Brian Bennett including some of the tracks noted above |
Addendum - library music in the ATV original episodes
While Laurie Johnson wrote all the incidental or "mood" music heard in the original episodes, a small number of mainly library tracks were also heard but only in very specific circumstances - when a character was listening to music playing on a radio, jukebox or stereo turntable. It was probably a good idea to use pieces by other composers to make clear the difference from his incidental music for the show.
A Coffin for the Bride
"Life of Leisure" and "Special Offer" (both Keith Mansfield)
Death To Sister Mary
Unknown rock instrumental playing at the party (also heard in The Double Kill).
The Double Kill
See above.
Good Salary - Prospects - Free Coffin
Unknown jaunty flute piece
Kill Two Birds
Unknown jaunty flute theme (also heard in Good Salary)
A Killer in Every Corner
"Classical Minuet" (David Snell)
Murder in Mind
"Concerto for Orchestra" (Bela Bartok conducted by George Solti)
The Next Voice You See
"Supercharger" (Alan Parker)
One Deadly Number
Unknown Tchaikovsky piece
Someone at the Top of the Stairs
"Friends and Neighbours" and "Scooter Girl" (both Alan Hawkshaw); "The Free Life" (James Clarke)
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