Dream Themes

Britain’s nostalgia obsessives have a new act to follow: a TV themes band, Dream Themes, playing what one aficionado describes as ‘songs for the sofa’. The band’s entire repertoire is made up of TV themes from the seventies, eighties and nineties – some of the most memorable and accomplished music of its time. Rhodri Marsden, Dream Themes’ keyboard player, said: “We grew up in the seventies and eighties – a golden age for TV themes in Britain and the United States. Who can forget the themes to Grandstand, The A Team, Grange Hill and Ski Sunday? TV theme music is undervalued and these tunes deserve to be heard at deafening volume while everyone jumps about a lot.” The band, formed from members of Frank Sidebottom’s backing band, comprises Paul Guided-Missile (bass), Rhodri Marsden (keyboards), Dicky Moore (guitar) and Rob Clarke (drums). Rhodri Marsden said: “These might not be the tunes you’d expect to hear in a club or at a festival, but they can bring out a lot of emotion in the audience. Watching two hundred people scream “Panorama” can be quite an affecting experience. I’ve seen people welling up during the theme to The Bill and invent dangerous dance moves for Magnum PI. In a living room these tunes might seem gentle and homely, but in a packed venue they become joyful anthems, a celebration of the countless hours we spent staring at the box.”