A musical shipwreck?

As the BBC’s – ahem – flagship children’s programme readies for its 50th birthday celebrations, Michael Hoskin, from cult TV website TV Cream, is asking a pertinent question. Has the theme tune been ‘broken’?

The show returned to our screens last month after its traditional summer break, and sporting an updated version of the famous signature tune – ‘Barnacle Bill’. Nothing odd in that… except is that tune actually still ‘Barnacle Bill’? Or is it now the equally nautical ‘The Sailor’s Hornpipe’?

On September 24, Hoskin dropped a line to the show’s editor, Tim Levell, to ask. Levell replied: “We intended to use Barnacle Bill (which is a sailor’s hornpipe of course). What do you think the difference is?”

Hoskin replied (and this is where it gets good)…

Hi Tim,

Many thanks for your reply. It’s difficult to describe the difference in words, but basically Barnacle Bill goes:

“Tiddle Im Pom Pom, dada dada dada daaa [rest]

Tiddle Im Pom Pom dada dada dada daaa…

Dada dada dada dada dada dada dada daaa [rest],

Tiddle Im Pom Pommy Tiddle Im Pom,

Tiddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Tiddle Iddle Iddle Lum,

Tiddle Im Pom Pommy Tiddle Im Pom

Tiddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Um,

Tiddle Im Pom Pommy Tiddle Im Pom

Tiddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Um

Pom Iddle Iddle Um, Pom Pom!”

but the sailor’s hornpipe that is now used goes:

“Tiddle Im Pom Pom, diddle diddle diddle diddle Tiddle Im Pom Pom, diddle diddle diddle diddle

Tiddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Iddle Iddle, Iddle Iddle Iddle, Tiddle Im Pom Pom!”

and is altogether more hectic. It is the tune that is usually played in the Last Night of the Proms.

I’m not the only one who has noticed it, as the dropping of Barnacle Bill has also been mentioned on the Blue Peter entry for Wikipedia (admittedly not always accurate!):

I don’t expect my email makes sense, but listen to the new theme compared to any of the others and you should be able to tell the difference.

Then, on October 5, Levell came back with this…

Hi Michael – belated reply but thanks for this – we are looking in to this and if necessary/appropriate will get it changed back to ‘Barnacle Bill’ – best, Tim

So what do you think? Here’s a montage of previous BP themes…

And here’s the latest version…