Natural Born Fillers

Winchester Hospital Radio are fast becoming my favourite CD publisher.

This one - Natural Born Fillers - is a selection of music used in the 1960s and 70s by British TV stations in-between schools programmes.


Yep, that's right – this is a CD of the music the BBC played over that clock that would count down while the class was still filing into the TV room.

So how on Earth did this copy come to be found hiding in a CD shop off Queen Street in Auckland, New Zealand???


These are two discs of absolute joy.

I could list loads of tracks that I loved here, however since they were never identified on air, it's hard to match the titles to the music. Still, I'm sure it's no coincidence that many of the titles here start with the word 'happy'. Roger Webb's Happy Folk, Johnny Burt's Happy Snaps and David Perian and Alberto Baldan's Happy Pop Polka to name just three.

Mind you, others like Roger Webb's The Waiting Game sound lonely yet somehow comforting at the same time.

But most of them like David Fanshawe's tijuana Coloured Hats are beautiful pieces of fun, and I listened to Day Out four times! Roger Davy's Atoll 4 sounds like the sort of piece that you would never find anywhere else other than between kids' TV programmes, while James Clarke's The Piper's Song is apparently a rearrangement of Teddy Edward.

It's all so free, easy and colourful. I think this is called 'lounge music', but I probably think that because I used to watch so much TV in my lounge. I certainly enjoyed lounging to it tonight and last week anyway.

But I think the appeal is best summed up by a quote from composer Brian Fahey in the sleeve-notes though, when he observes, simply:

"After 40 years it still sounds optimistic".

Track Listing:

Primary CD
1. BIG BEAT (John Cacavas)
2. FANCY FLUTES (Roger Bourdin)
3. KIDDIES CORNER (Roger Roger)
4. SWING-SONG (Roger Webb)
5. FROM TIME TO TIME (Peter Shell, Rony)
6. MORNING RIDE (Cy Payne)
7. FEET FIRST (Johnny Hawksworth)
8. COUNTRY ROAD (David Holland)
9. MINI-MINUET (Tony Osborne)
10. HAPPY POP POLKA (David Perian, Alberto Baldan)
11. SANDWICH BAR (Frank Barcley)
12. COOL CHARM (Lee Mason)
13. POPSY (Johnny Hawksworth)
14. SCOTCH ON THE ROCKS (Alden Shuman)
15. HAPPY FOLK (Roger Webb)
16. SCHERZANDO DIABOLETTO (Ronald Binge)
17. DANCING HARP (Roger Roger)
18. FANCY FREE (James Clarke)
19. AUTUMN LOVE (Paul Lewis)
20. FOR DEBORAH (Roger Webb)
21. PLAYABOUT (Paul Bonneau)
22. WORKSHOP (Charles Williams)
23. THE GENTLE TOUCH (Herbert Chappell)
24. REGENCY STREET (Sam Fonteyn)
25. CACHE-CACHE (Roger Davy)
26. PLASTIC JAM (Angela Morley)
27. SAILBOATS AND CYPRESSES (Eugene Cines)
28. FUNKY FEVER (James Clarke)
29. MINI-MOTO (Roger Webb)
30. TRIPPIN' THE BLUES (John Cacavas)
31. SATURDAY STROLL (Eddie Thomas)
32. FUN AND GAMES (Johnny Hawksworth)
BONUS TRACK
33. SARA'S TUNE (David Lord)

Secondary CD
1. THE WAITING GAME (Roger Webb)
2. COLOURED HATS (David Fanshawe)
3. SUNLIGHT (Lee Mason)
4. COUNT TO TEN (Eddie Thomas)
5. DANCING YOUTH WALTZ (Douglas Gamley)
6. HAPPY WEEKEND (Cy Payne)
7. GENE KELLY'S DANCE (David Perian, Alberto Baldan)
8. BOSSA FOR BRIDGET (Duncan Lamont)
9. HAPPY SNAPS (Johnny Burt)
10. GIN-FIZZ (Marie Francis)
11. SIR LANCELOT (James Clarke)
12. THREE-QUARTERS-VILLE (Roger Webb)
13. CHUCKLES (Brian Dee)
14. LUCINDA'S LULLABY (Roger Roger)
15. THE STORYTELLER (Harry Rabinowitz)
16. CHERRY BLOSSOM (Tony Osborne)
17. FIESTA GIRL (Brian Fahey)
18. THE GIRL IN BLACK (Francis Personne)
19. WALTZ COOL (John Cacavas)
20. THE WINNERS (Roger Webb)
21. ATOLL 4 (Roger Davy)
22. HORN-A-PLENTY (Robert Farnon)
23. DAY OUT (Johnny Hawksworth)
24. THE PIPER'S SONG (James Clarke)
25. LIKE SPRING (Steve Race)
26. HAPPY FIDDLES (Rony, Peter Shell)
27. BLUE CHIFFON (Gordon Franks)
28. PERIOD PORTRAIT No. 1 (Roger Roger)
29. PEANUTS (Nino Nardini)
30. BRIGHT MORNING (Roger Webb)
31. TEA AND LACE (Olivier Natal)
32. THE CHARMER (John Cacavas)
BONUS TRACK
33. A TUNE FOR LUCY (Inigo Kilborn)

Sometimes available here.
Reviews of other WHR releases:

Cocktail Swing
Girl In A Suitcase
Music While You Watch