For me it has to be F1 The Chain by Fleetwood Mac..

Grandstand was always ace. I really like Soul Limbo on TMS though.

ChrisG wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 13, 2022 9:39 am

Grandstand was always ace. I really like Soul Limbo on TMS though.

Sportsnight, BBC Golf, BBC snooker, MOTD, Wimbledon. All belters.

Someone at the beeb knew how to pick a tune.

BBC cricket.

Yorke House went mental when the DJ put that on.

Ski Sunday

Pot Black... Take be back to my youth in B&W.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nXUPHR17FI

Another vote for Ski Sunday.

Rugby Special

Match of the Day.

Match of the day with the U2 - beautiful day day intro, pretty sure it was on ITV

Grandstand, no contest.

F1

I quite liked the ITV soccer coverage in Des Lynham's days using the U2 Beautiful Day theme

Otherwise I agree Ski Sunday theme and the BBC Cricket and Grandstand themes are excellent,

UTC

Superstars

To most of the above I'd add 'Music Box Dancer' used at the Winter Olympics many moons ago.
Not a particularly epic tune, just a very good fit.

https://youtu.be/8gMZ6QWv62s

Remember as a kid having a Sporting Themes LP. All the above mentioned on one record!!

Burnley Ace wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:54 pm

Remember as a kid having a Sporting Themes LP. All the above mentioned on one record!!

I've just had a look on ebay and there's quite a few versions available.
CD, vinyl and cassette.

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 13, 2022 11:45 am

Match of the day with the U2 - beautiful day day intro, pretty sure it was on ITV

was that not sky sports super sunday?

I think the best tune was ITVs "World of Sport" on a Saturday afternoon, with presenter Dickie Davies, great tune, did you know that he is still alive, he is 89 yrs old, blimey im 66 and remember him like it was yesterday, great prog for sport.

distortiondave wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 13, 2022 1:36 pm

was that not sky sports super sunday?

Think so.


Another vote for Soul Limbo - really miss this on the cricket

https://youtu.be/9GdvFiE2R5I

distortiondave wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 13, 2022 1:36 pm

was that not sky sports super sunday?

I've no idea, I thought it was ITV's version of MOTD. My memory is pretty bad though

The old sport on 2 (Radio 2) intro, they use it on 5 live sometimes

Others
Sports night with Harry Carpenter
Sports report 5 Live

Big break!!!

Gazzetta Football Italia from Channel 4, no contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAo7TrQ0aXw

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jrp3K3IoDo

Actually I’m cheating. The Go!Team didn’t really do the theme for Junior Kickstart, but interestingly a lot of their songs do have a seventies TV theme tune vibe about them.

Also worth a mention is Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out for a Hero. Always remember this from Channel 4 American Football in the 80's.

Another I remember that's rarely mentioned is the instrumental played by Waldo de la Rios that was played on BBC for Horse of the Year Show and show jumping.

TheFamilyCat wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 13, 2022 9:48 am

Sportsnight, BBC Golf, BBC snooker, MOTD, Wimbledon. All belters.

Someone at the beeb knew how to pick a tune.

They certainly did.

Was there any sports theme tune at the BBC in the golden era of TV which wasn't an absolute belter?

I once read that The Chain happened to become the F1 theme tune simply because Fleetwood Mac's Rumours came out at the time the BBC started routinely showing full season coverage rather than ad hoc one off races, capitalising on the excitement of the Lauda-Hunt showdown season previously, and the producer happened to be a Mac fan who was thinking about a theme tune whilst listening to the new album. A pure timing fluke, yet that instrumental extract became so synonymous with the sport and still is.

BBC darts
https://youtu.be/GU2_cmjtdk0

Sportsnight

https://youtu.be/naD6cYYVs_c

BBCs Golf Coverage

https://youtu.be/a-bd5j18N0s

BBC Sports report on radio. The opening few bars especially.

ITV Sport bosses must have been so pleased with themselves for their classy opening titles effort for Italia 90....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gH_OxIMjXI

....until they sat down in front of the box and saw what the Beeb had dialled in and churned out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxSiDLBpqC0



Still brings me nearly to tears hearing that music. And to think until summer 1990 i didn't give much more than two hoots about football!

'Theme from Sparta FC' by The Fall - as used for Final Score

The Grandstand theme from the 1970s/80s was 'Forget About You' by The Motors

Soul Limbo was great - as was the BBC's test match coverage during that era

Freddie Truemans "Indoor League"

https://youtu.be/MKW9lxByrOk

OK not really a sports theme ... but its been a long day driving down to Bideford here in Devon

This always brings back memories for me.

https://youtu.be/gv_idtcK1-E

World championship boxing on ITV…takes me back to the days of Benn and Eubank
https://youtu.be/bpvI8iXeEqQ

Sports Report on BBC Radio.

https://youtu.be/gv_idtcK1-E

Never quite been the same since James Alexander Gordon read the results. Often imitated but never as good.

Grandstand, World of Sport reminds me of my youth, great tunes.
A Blackburn board wouldn't get past horse of the year show.

It was ‘The Premiership’ on ITV that used Beautiful Day by U2.

https://youtu.be/VucMb_n-an0

I always like Paul Weller’s ‘Out of the Sinking’ for Super Sunday on Sky. Reminds me of watching big games at my grandma and granddads as we didn’t have sky.

https://youtu.be/dHusV_t_uzw

Firthy wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 13, 2022 3:25 pm

Also worth a mention is Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out for a Hero. Always remember this from Channel 4 American Football in the 80's

Ugh.

But the elongated version of the two tribes intro during the touchdown highlights was good.

It has now bee n longer since the cowboys were good than the last time the Scousers won the title. Dallas/lfc/real madrid. The triple crown of entitlement.

Superstars and Ski Sunday. Also Nessun Dorma at Italia 90

Alive & Kicking..Simple Minds. Perfect fit for football on Sky.

Has to be Grandstand , not just the nostalgic memories of a great days sport ahead kicked off by Football focus , but how many theme tunes make great use of a triangle !

Granada Soccer Night, if that qualifies as a theme tune.