The music of SHOESTRING (Series 1)

The music heard in Shoestring can be divided into three categories: George Fenton's theme music and incidental tracks; so-called library or production music augmenting the latter; and commercially available songs, of which there were many heard throughout the series, given its backdrop of a big city radio station.

Presented here thanks to the exemplary work of Shoestring fan JOHN RILEY is a list of the commercially available music heard in the episodes in series 1.  Series 2 to follow.

Music rights have proved an obstacle to releasing Shoestring on videocassette and DVD. The BBC Video release in 1984, featuring the episodes "Private Ear" and "Find the Lady", was missing 45 seconds to remove Blondie's "Heart of Glass". And the 2011 2Entertain DVD of Series 1 was unable to licence "Lucky Number" by Lene Lovich.  Fortunately all issues appear to be resolved for the Network complete series release due 16 Oct 2017.

Without further ado let's tune in to Radio West, where the year being celebrated is 1979...

PRIVATE EAR

"Heart of Glass" - BLONDIE

"Do I Love You? - HUTCH

 "Singing in the Rain" - PASADINA ROOF ORCHESTRA

"Weep No More My Baby" - JACK BUCHANAN

"Love Is All" - MADELINE BELL

"Ain’t Love Easy" - NEW SEEKERS

"Move and Shake Your Body" - ALAN PARKER ft. MADELINE BELL

Elgar's Chanson de Matin - ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

"Lucky Number" - LENE LOVICH

"Needles & Pins" - THE SEARCHERS

"Bobby Shaftoe" - CHRIS BARBER

"Dippermouth Blues" - KEN KOLYER'S JAZZMEN

"Kite" - KATE BUSH

     

KNOCK FOR KNOCK

"If I Don’t Be There By Morning" - ERIC CLAPTON

"Georgia Duel" - SMOGGY VALLEY BOYS

"Because" - JOHN WILLIAMS

HIGHER GROUND

"24 Hours from Tulsa" - DUSTY SPRINGFIELD

Elgar's Dream Children Op. 43, numbers 1 & 2 - ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

"Lip Service" - ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS

AN UNCERTAIN CIRCLE

"When You’re Young" - THE JAM

"We Don’t Talk Anymore" - CLIFF RICHARD

"Duke of Earl" - DARTS

"Hold On To My Love" - LEO SAYER

"Love and Affection" - JOAN ARMATRADING

"When I’m Dead And Gone" - McGUINNESS FLINT

"Angel Eyes" - ROXY MUSIC

LISTEN TO ME

"Walk On By" - DIONNE WARWICK

"Heaven’s Just A Sin Away" - PHILOMENA QUINN

"It’s A Cowboy Lovin’ Night" - PHILOMENA QUINN

"My Mother’s Bible" - PHILOMENA QUINN

"Too Good To Be True" - TOM ROBINSON BAND

"Sound System" - STEEL PULSE

"Put Your Hand In The Hand" - BERT KAEMPFERT & HIS ORCHESTRA

NINE TENTHS OF THE LAW

"Miss You" - THE ROLLING STONES

"Beast of Burden" - THE ROLLING STONES

"Respectable" - THE ROLLING STONES

"When the Whip Comes Down" - THE ROLLING STONES

"Long Live Rock" - THE WHO

THE LINK-UP

"Stay With Me Till Dawn" - JUDIE TZUKE

"Ooh, What A Life" - GIBSON BROTHERS

"I Don’t Like Mondays" - THE BOOMTOWN RATS

"Reggae For It Now" - BILL LOVELADY

"No American Starship" - QUANTUM JUMP

"Breakfast In America" - SUPERTRAMP

STAMP DUTY

Selections from Bach - ARS REDIVIVA (MILAN MUNCLINGER), PRAGUE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

"Make Me Smile" - STEVE HARLEY & COCKNEY REBEL

"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" - ELTON JOHN

"Magdelena" - LEO SAYER

"Cracking Up" - NICK LOWE

FIND THE LADY

"Victims of the Riddle" - TOYAH (used as incidental)

"Neon Womb" - TOYAH (on-set performance by Toola's band)

"Give A Little" - JULIAN LITTMAN*

"Nutrocker" - B. BUMBLE AND THE STINGERS

"Waiting" - TOYAH (on-set performance by Toola's band)

"Video Killed The Radio Star" - THE BUGGLES

"Tuxedo Junction" - SYD LAWRENCE WITH THE GLENN MILLER SOUND

"Message in a Bottle" - THE POLICE

"I Don’t Like Mondays" - THE BOOMTOWN RATS

"Danced" - TOYAH (on-set performance by Toola's band)

Also one unidentified piece, playing as background in a bar

*who plays Radio West DJ Vincent 'Din' Dinsdale in this and three other episodes

THE PARTNERSHIP

"Meet Me By The Clocktower" - JOHNNY G

"Quantum Jump" - THE LONE RANGER

"Time Goes By" - MADELINE BELL

"Love Is All" - MADELINE BELL

"I Am A Cider Drinker" - THE WURZELS

"No Secrets" - THE INVADERS

3rd Piano Concerto by Rachmaninov - VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY AND THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

"He’s Gonna Step On You Again" - JOHN KONGOS

Bach Overtures - performers unknown

I'M A BELIEVER

"Never Feel Shame" - OMEGA

"You Gotta Survive" - TOM ROBINSON BAND

"Love is All" - MADELINE BELL

"Ribbon of Darkness" - TERESA DUFFY

"Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" - RAINBOW

"Let Me Fly" - STATUS QUO

Haydn's String Quartet No. 4 - AEOLIAN STRING QUARTET