The Telegraph (03/Jan/2008) - That iconic tune

(c) The Daily Telegraph (03/Jan/2008)

• keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Blackmail (1929), Hubert Bath

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THAT ICONIC TUNE

"De dum, de dum, de dum, de dum, de diddly dum de dum". It's one of the most instantly recognisable theme tunes in all of British broadcasting, and a throwback to the traditional, bombastic style of BBC signature tunes that has somehow survived into the digital age.

The Sports Report introductory music is a march called "Out of the Blue" by the British composer Hubert Bath, played by the Central Band of the RAF. It was chosen by the programme's first producer, Angus Mackay, from the BBC record library. It was an instant hit with listeners, many of whom wrote in for the sheet music.

Bath, who died in 1945, composed the work for an RAF display at Hendon aerodrome. He was an accomplished composer of light classical music who contributed a number of soundtracks to early cinema films, including the first British "talkie", Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail.

Apart from Out of the Blue, he is best known for his Cornish Rhapsody, which he wrote for the film Love Story. His son, John Bath, also became a film composer.