I never understood why they kept the bongs when bulletins started on the half hour.
Good point. It doesn't make much sense, does it?
I assume it was because the bongs were associated with
News at Ten
. However, the mid-90s look managed to use Big Ben
and
the famous four notes from
The Awakening
without touching the bongs, as demonstrated here and here.
(BTW, IMHO this is the most gorgeous design ever used for an ITN bulletin.)
It's been proved that the bongs can be exclusively reserved for
News at Ten
while still creating a very strong brand, so I've no idea why they were used in the 1999 revamp.
Isn't the theme tune used from the 2004 relaunch onwards 'The Awakening' theme but heavily remixed? Are they using the original theme for News at Ten or carrying on with the current ITV one?
Isn't the theme tune used from the 2004 relaunch onwards 'The Awakening' theme but heavily remixed? Are they using the original theme for News at Ten or carrying on with the current ITV one?
Personally, I prefer the remixed version ...
OK then. Here follows an exhaustive history of the ITN theme.
The original version of what is now the ITN music is called
The Awakening
, and was written by Johnny Pearson. It was recorded in mono, and was used on
News at Ten
from its launch to 1993. Throughout that time, it's become one of the most well-known pieces of music in the world.
In 1993,
The Awakening
was re-arranged and re-recorded by Dave Hewson, and was released into the KPM library as
News at Ten
. The new recording was in stereo, and was also in a higher key than the original.
In 1995, Lambie-Nairn gave ITN bulletins on ITV a corporate look, based on
News at Ten
's infamous clockface. The music was composed by Dave Hewson, and consisted of two major hooks - the first was the famous four notes from
The Awakening
. I can't work out where the second one came from, but the earliest I can chase it back to is the ITN special on the 1994 Budget. As I understand it, this theme was called
Breaking News
and there were two versions created - one for the
Morning News
and the
Lunchtime News
, and the other for the
Early Evening News
and (?) weekend and holiday bulletins.
News at Ten
continued with its own distinct look.
Breaking News
was remixed in 1999 to tie in with the new ITV News graphics: this version had extra drums, and for the first time the bongs were used for all of the bulletins. This also extended to
News at Ten
, which had moved to 11:00 to become the
ITV Nightly News
.
Circa 2004, when the ITV logo was revised, the present mix was introduced - this had a less formal feel about it, and dropped the second major phrase. It's called something along the lines of
Global Agenda
in KPM. As for
News at Ten
, I have no idea what music it will use. All I can hope is that it's going to be better than the rubbish which is the present ITV News mix.
Is the end theme from 1993 onwards 'News at Ten' available anywhere? It's a fantastic piece of music. I recall they also used it to sign off on Sir Trevs final (ha) bulletin.
Is the end theme from 1993 onwards 'News at Ten' available anywhere? It's a fantastic piece of music. I recall they also used it to sign off on Sir Trevs final (ha) bulletin.
I haven't been able to find it in KPM, oddly enough. Neither was I able to find the end-of-headlines sting, which is the end of the closing theme.
