What's the best ever BBC Sport theme tune?
As the Royal Albert Hall warms up for the first ever BBC Sport Prom, we want you to decide which of these 20 classic tunes should be named the nation's favourite BBC Sport theme
Slap bang in the middle of the World Cup, the Commonwealth Games and Wimbledon, this year the Royal Albert Hall will for the first time host a BBC Sport Prom.
As musicians flex their fingers for the 20 July performance, RadioTimes.com wants to find out once and for all what the nation’s favourite BBC Sport theme tune is. We’ve delved into programmes past and present to find the 20 top musical intros to the world of sport (not World of Sport, that was ITV).
Now it’s over to you to decide which of these themes is in a league of its own.
All the hummable regulars are here, from the melodious avalanche of Ski Sunday to the fanfare of Grandstand and the evergreen Sports Report. But there are also some surprises.
What about the down-and-dirty synths of the darts by The Douglas Wood Band (the same people who composed snooker’s mean bass riffs)?
And did you know that the famous Match of the Day theme has only been the clarion call for football fans since 1970? Have a listen to what might have been if Barry Stoller hadn’t composed his fist-pumping trumpet arrangement.
Then there are the intros to Sport on 4 and Sport on 2, the soundtrack to sport on the radio before 5 Live took control.
Golf, Formula 1 and Wimbledon (intro and outro) all make the list, along with the ultimate test of skill, endurance and mental agility: Superstars.
Listen to all 20 of the best current and former BBC Sport themes, and cast your vote below.
Athletics By Keith Mansfield
Cricket / Test Match Special
Soul Limbo by Booker T and The MGs
Darts
Cranes By The Douglas Wood Band
Equestrian / BBC Horse of the Year
A Musical Joke by Mozart (arranged by Waldo de los Rios)
Formula 1
The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
Golf
Chase Side Shoot Up by Brian Bennett
Grandstand
By Keith Mansfield
London Marathon
By Ron Goodwin (originally a score for 1966 film The Trap)
Match of the Day (1970-present)
By Barry Stoller
Match of the Day (1964-70)
Drum Majorette by Arnold Steck
Pot Black
Black and White Rag by Winifred Atwell
Ski Sunday
Pop Looks Back by Sam Fonteyn
Snooker
Drag Racer by The Douglas Wood Band
Sport on 2
Number One by The Delle Haensch Band
Sport on 4
The Shuffle by Van McCoy
Sports Report
Out of the Blue by Hubert Bath
Sportsnight
By Tony Hatch
Superstars
Heavy Action by Johnny Pearson
Wimbledon Intro
Light and Tuneful by Keith Mansfield
Wimbledon Outro
Sporting Occasion by Arnold Steck
