BBC "999" - Full length version.

Here's the full length version of the BBCs "999" theme. It was presented by Michael Beurk

[@tjfSIM]

"David set out on what he thought would be an ordinary walk in the countryside. He had no idea he could end up being impaled by his own shoe."

[@MrSpasticplastic]

(Michael Buerk's voice) 🤣🤣🤣

[@MattJay.]

“Lynn I’ve pierced me foot on a spiiike”

[@alexdoran2385]

😄

[@PHealey1981]

😂😂

[@drankfrebin]

Thats gold

[@burri06]

This theme sends shivers up my spine.. Basically 2 and a half minutes of childhood trauma. I couldn't get enough of it.

[@geekmin-old]

That worries me in so many ways. Do you need therapy?

[@encyclopediabyai]

I thought It was just me. I used to block my ears as a child. To this day not much has ever scared me as much as this theme tune. Bizarre really.

[@nelsonr32]

Exactly the same. This theme tune terrified me as a child. It still does and I’m 36 years old!

[@Cole_King]

You want to listen to the Goosebumps theme

[@jono6046]

Yes, watching this as a child before going upstairs to bed shitting myself after it finished. Thanks Mum and Dad!

[@Keshihead]

Even now, I can pretty much recite what Michael used to say over this theme. "All of tonight's rescues are true stories. We've sometimes used actors or stuntmen, but everything you see and hear is based on the accounts of the people involved. They've helped us to reconstruct events as they happened."

[@RiderRated18]

What a show this was. Gripping rescue's, fantastic reconstructions and it also taught us all lessons about how to be safe in life. And this theme set the mood straight away, always used to love staying up on fridays nights as a kid to watch this.

[@rogerboltoncomposer]

Yes, technically that's called a 'tierce de picardie' when in a minor key piece you change the last chord into the major. It was meant to be hopeful and I am glad it worked for you, because I composed the music!!

[@ProfessorPesca]

You composed this? Amazing. How did this never get a ridiculously grotty drum and bass remix it's incredible! If Robert Miles or something had written this track it would have made millions, great stuff thank you

[@terinasargeant138]

roger bolton well what a top tune it was. We all sat avidly watching the titles roll listening to the familiar theme tune before Michael Buerks serious but securing voice started the stories. I miss it. So many good progs b4 reality shit tv took over.

[@KittyKatt_Luna80s]

Your work is amazing, Roger!

[@staffordahoy679]

A bit late to the party Roger but this is truly marvellous.

[@richtyd5751]

Bit late but thank you for this awesome piece. Perfectly captures the urgency.

[@wibblywobblytimeywimey7042]

The theme combined with Michael Beurk behind a gray background makes me feel like he's staring into my soul.......

[@gemsworld85]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one scared to death of this theme tune. It still makes me feel uneasy.

[@lifeguard2564]

Gemma lea That episode on Firework night when the kid got a spark in his eye. Freaked me out so much.

[@TubesOfTat]

So happy your comment was posted. Just getting the piss taken out of me at work cause I said this theme used to scare the hell out of me to the point my parents had to mute it downstairs while I was in bed or I wouldn't sleep. I'm 29 now and it still gives me goosebumps lol

[@estherday2239]

Gemma lea me and my sister were freaked out by it as well!!

[@ajs41]

Was this composed by the same person who composed the Casualty theme?

[@anthonyhardy2946]

Was right up there with the unsolved mysteries theme (Robert stack)

[@sueplexify]

I like how it builds up the tension and makes you feel like you are having a panic attack then at the last few seconds it just 'goes nice' :-)

[@jeremyveale6339]

I remember the one where someone did something, and they nearly died, but then thanks to the effort of the emergency services, that person was ok. Does anyone else also remember this episode? It's quite vivid for me!

[@jeremyveale6339]

That was the joke.

[@thequietestengine]

Oh man I think I know the ep you mean, the one where that person had an accident? Yeah that was really scary, I'll never forget it.

[@jeremyveale6339]

That's the one! I'm glad someone else remembers it! It used to keep me up at night!

[@jeremyveale6339]

 That's the one! I'm glad someone else remembers it! It used to keep me up at night! SilverSquall11

[@adammclaughlin845]

Is that the one where they did that thing? Can't remember what it was, but it was unforgettable stuff.

[@tjfSIM]

One of the theme tune classics! I used to love this show, the feeling of suspense and drama and the terrible reconstructions :) They don't make them like this anymore :(

[@djouroboros]

I like the brass emulating the doppler effect of an ambulance. Clever writing.

[@Ravinder2220]

Who remembers the one when the guy got the javelin stuck in his neck?

[@Ravinder2220]

That was scary episode

[@richardhurr31]

And the one where the old guy playing pool fell over and got a pool cue through his neck.

[@AshMills1973]

DryRoastedAreBest That was the first TV show I ever worked on, ended up working with cameras on about 150 reconstructions.

[@ishaunTV]

Ravinder2220 I remember the bonfire night special when that man tried to light a bonfire and burnt himself in the process.

[@Spindler2007]

Ravinder2220 I remember that one. Bloody hell! That kid sure was lucky to have survived a javelin through the neck after slipping on that mud.

[@MattJay.]

Used to watch this as a kid before bed, along with Strange but true. Prob not a good combination before bed.

[@MrLondonchappy]

Yess finally someone who remembers strange but true , that was good

[@LouisaReacts]

+MrLondonchappy Was that the show with Michael Aspel? I think I remember that.

[@TubesOfTat]

Went through all of strange but true not so long ago on KZbin. The first episode is like ten minutes down the road from me :D

[@dancoulson6579]

Same here! Exactly the same :D

[@elwolf8536]

Yep yep same

[@Ravinder2220]

Who remembers the one when the girl got her hair stuck in the bottom of the swimming pool suction?

[@MusicLover88321]

By far the best one...

[@NotNickFrost23]

there was one in a jacuzzi and i always remember this when i go into one

[@The94Venom]

Ravinder2220 What was the title of that one ?

[@HaloHoney]

Ravinder2220 That was my mate Hayley who got stuck underwater!

[@Ravinder2220]

Hayley. Omg.! She's your mate. How did she fell when she watched her episode?

[@Andyc18]

I honestly LOVED this programme. It was part of my childhood, I was born in 1988 and I used to watch this every week when it was on, I think it was on on a Friday or Saturday night wasn't it? I remember being allowed to stay up to watch this and I think it finished around 10pm at night or something, it can't have been school the next day haha. The theme tune always sounded haunting to me, it's haunting but very good.

[@tonightwefly]

Friday night yea

[@gman7038]

It's not the same unles you sing 'Nine nine niiiine' at the crucial point.

[@paulhalpin6301]

Dead clever how the composer litterally employed the Dopler effect

[@silverbullet1759]

Quality, really sends you back to the 90s!

[@rogerboltoncomposer]

Wow! Great o hear positive responses. I composed and played every note! It is SO old - can't believe that anyone has any interest in it anymore! Cheers.

[@gwc289]

Loved the programme as a kid. Always used to be allowed to watch it, but my mum and dad (who was a serving fireman then) made me promise to ‘switch it straight off if any of the stories scare you at all.’ Well, none of the stories ever did as far as I can remember, but that theme tune was on a whole different level!!!

[@Duraganthelion]

Wow, this takes me back ^^ I used to watch this show all the time back in the day. Thanks for putting this up. This will always be one of the best BBC theme's ever made

[@Spindler2007]

This theme tune sure has you on the edge of your seat like its about to take you on a rollercoaster ride of panic and danger. The beginning gives you that feeling of being prepared for something dangerous and then when it gets going with the nee naa on the trumpet, its like getting through an apocalyptic warzone with chaos and people's lives in danger around every corner and then when it gets to the end, it gives you that sigh of relief that you made it to the other side safe and the nightmare is finally over.

[@loopbackish]

Yes exactly! Did anyone actually die on this programme?

[@Spindler2007]

@@loopbackish I'm not sure but I've read that a veteran stuntman died in a parachute accident while doing a recreation for an episode.

[@loopbackish]

@@Spindler2007 interesting. I meant did any of the victims of the portrayed real life accidents die, or did they only have stories with positive outcomes? It would be ironic if more people died recreating the accidents than did in the actual events!

[@Spindler2007]

@@loopbackish I think the stories all had positive outcomes. Although, on the 999 lifesaver episodes, I think there were ones where people died in the drink driving and suicide specials.

[@loopbackish]

@@Spindler2007 I haven't seen the specials! I'll have a look but the programme is scary enough when you know it has a positive outcome. 😄

[@ajuk1]

Loved 999 back when I was a kid.

[@ravinderghatora6283]

The 999 theme tune scared the shit out of me. I felt so on edge and uneasy. Still sends shivers down my spine even to this day. The Crimewatch UK theme also scares me.

[@elwolf8536]

Ravinder Ghatora it anoyd me that thay changed Crimewatch into a rave at the end.

[@threat2015]

The crime watch theme was bloody scary in ‘94

[@verycasualgamer1784]

One of the most sinister theme tunes ever created for a TV Show.

[@jordywoody14]

Still haunts me

[@HoodedFig900]

They don't make musical intros like this anymore. The best one about at the moment is the BBC news. Casualty was good untilthey digitised the sound effects. This works well because the ticking at the beginning signifies time and the music gives it a sense of urgency. The merging of the ambulance sirens is also very clever.

[@97channel]

Yes, I've actually been onto your channel a good few times recently and watched a few. And your Chucklevision uploads. Fantastic stuff, much appreciated.

[@lex13vs]

Tonight on 999...

[@MissLouanneUK]

Ahaha I like that gentle end note it's like they're all safe at home with their slippers and hot chocolate :D

[@quietseagull2857]

I used to love this programme, it was fascinating. I remember the episode where there was a dry cleaners and they had a load of towels from a restaurant that were greasy. They washed them and put them in a drier and they caught fire because of the grease. There was another one where a man got skewered by a snooker cue. I'm not quite sure what happened but I assume he was playing snooker and there was some sort of freak accident. Maybe he slipped on some beer or something, I don't know. There was another one where someone put a crystal ball on their windowsill and because the sun went through it, it magnified it and the curtains caught fire. Can't believe I can still remember that after all these years haha. They were brilliant though, they don't make TV like this anymore. I really, really miss the 90s, it hurts.

[@StuartElliott73]

Just incase anybody was wondering, the music was written by the talented Roger Bolton, who also penned the theme to several other well known tv shows including Question Time.

[@jakamneziak]

is it normal for the hairs to go up on the back of your neck listening to this? I love the doppler effect provided by the horns to recreate the sirens. Possibly the best executed theme for purpose in television history.

[@angelicMisha]

and sorry for the long seemingly excessive comments, but I truly loved 999, I guess it was a staple of my TV childhood. And I haven't heard the full version of this in potentially 10+ years. It would be amazing of BBC repeated 999 on iPlayer/TV or *somewhere* Anyways, thanks so much for the upload, you've made me a happy girl! ;)

[@pburns1984]

I can't have been much more than 8 or 9 years old when 999 was first shown on TV, and it was the only night of the week when I was allowed to stay up past my bedtime! I always remember having stunned admiration for the men and women of the emergency services, as well as the brave people who helped complete strangers. Fast-forward to 2009 and I'm training to become an Emergency Medical Technician... coincidence? I think not.

[@magget16]

my mum used to let me stay up and watch this when i was about 4 years old :P

[@apollobikes1826]

Great theme, thanks for the upload. Nowadays the BBC has dumbed down the content so much even programme theme tunes (sorry programme noises) are namby-pamby.

[@DJSmad82]

Yeah I remember the hair stuck in filter one classic

[@bluecobalt27]

It is a chilling theme, but when I was a kid I always used to like the way it switches to a reassuring major key at the end. Nice touch that, as if to say "It'll be allright, kids, sleep well", hahaha.

[@NerdicWarrior8920]

I remember watching 999 as a kid. Who can forget the theme tune.

[@joeandrews7329]

Michael Buerk was 46 when the series started 32 years ago, and it ran for 11 years. Theme was by Roger Bolton. From Joe. X

[@jmm1233]

very much a fear inducing apocalyptic dystopian theme , it screams " you're all going to die " and has that chirpy HA Ha Ha at the end ,

[@laalratty]

I remember the one where a girl stabbed a knife through her hand after trying to separate two frozen burgers.

[@wrexham1983]

1:09 gets me every time

[@therealKINDLE]

Who ever wrote this is a genius. The Piano is for people running, the Clock for Time is Running out, the Brass are Sirens, & the Dud-Dud-Dahhhh is 9-9-9. Who ever wrote this was inspired by the project & should be working on Films. Stunning. I wish I had a Stereo Version of it.

[@choncord]

It's composed by a bloke called Roger Bolton, if you go up on this comments section, you'll find the man himself owning up and commenting about this...

[@jonathanbernstein181]

And don't forget the Doppler effect key change - the best bit of all!

[@stu19855]

I used to LOVE 999!!! Bring it back!!!!!!!!!!

[@ashleyhallows2566]

Ross Kemp for host because he's serious and hard !

[@gmfmusic85]

Some excellent TV music here, brings back many memories. Love the suspense in the music, and that chilling key change at 0:49 Oooh, love it!

[@jokeface2]

man this tune is so memorable. I remember writing a letter to the BBC when i was in primary school asking for them to bring it back after they got rid of it. I used to be shit scared after watching this. Remember one where some girl got her hair caught in a jacuzzi and drowned. THey managed to save her by cutting her hair with a butchers knife then doing the CPR... scary stuff

[@draph91]

The last bit of the song sounds very triumphant

[@tjfSIM]

Well, as the general theme of the series was people being rescued from the brink of disaster, I think that last major chord in the theme tune was supposed to give out a reassuring message that although the stories featured terrible accidents, everything turned out ok in the end, and you can all sleep well in your beds!

[@RifleEyez]

Still to this day every time I cycle I think of the 999 episode when someone’s wheel came off and the forks somehow stuck in their head. Trauma.

[@scattysarah1984]

Still giving me goosebumps in 2016....

[@theogalama]

And it still does in 2021!

[@wrexham1983]

Me in 2022

[@Macho_Fantastico]

Somehow nostalgic and still as creepy in 2016.

[@balonga13]

I also remember the music terrifying me when i was younger. Late at night this sense of impeding doom it was horrible the only relief was at the end. For people who were scared of it your not alone lol

[@ShokaLion]

this could so easily be the boss music to a computer game.

[@rogerboltoncomposer]

If you are interested I once did a solo piano version. You can find it on Roger Bolton My Space. We did also do a re-mix but the launch was cancelled of one of the Stunt Artists died during a shoot. RIP.

[@mr.y.mysterious.video1]

i recall the episode where a young boy riding his bicycle had the front wheel fall off. he flipped over, landed on the ground and the front forks of his bike impaled his head - freaky yet true

[@NotNickFrost23]

I remember one episode where a group of people went caving, and got separated when they had to dive under water under a rock, but one person went too deep and ended up in small enclosure, or something like that anyway.

[@DryRoastedAreBest]

I remember that one - I think the story was that the kid found an unknown hole between the two that the group were going between underwater and subsequently the group couldn't find him.

[@Ravinder2220]

Yes. I remember the caving one with the group of cavers they went underwater to find the guy but couldn't get to him.

[@The_New_Abnormal_World_Order]

I remember it

[@SteRDLK]

And then Elon Musk called him a paedophile.

[@NerdicWarrior8920]

Yeah, I remember that one. Did they ever find the kid? I don't remember.

[@anagoge]

This brings back memories. What an awesome theme.

[@iamdb1990]

ah, to be 8 years old again... hearing this, and then watching the stories and then going to bed... didn't have nightmares lol

[@jamzal]

Ones I recall: - Old man impaled by snooker cue - Man who ran with fireworks in his pocket and sustained major burns - Woman who had some sort of reaction to a curry - Some man on a boat who got caught upside down by one of his ropes and had to amputate his own leg - The last one I don't recall too well but it involved a young blonde haired boy who collapsed or something...

[@peterwood2633]

Propeller into the skull scared the crap out of me as a kid.

[@voiceofreason2008]

still gives goosebumps! loved 999

[@robsonrobert60]

The one with the baby getting it's thumb stuck in a plughole disturbs me.

[@jamzal]

I used to watch this and 'Strange But True' as a child in the 90's. Both shows traumatised me.

[@chrisoldfield6951]

July 2022 and Still remember it so well 999

[@dronebee83]

If it wasn't this, it was Dr Who or some borderline snuff public information film. British TV frightened us shitless when we were kids.

[@LiamLloyd1]

I remember there was always someone who got stung by a load of bees.

[@NerdicWarrior8920]

Yeah, I remember that one. I think there was one where a little girl knocked a wasp or new best while rolling down a hill and got stung.

[@BayerShep]

Ah the memories upon hearing this. I used to get both excited and scared when i heard the 999 theme on a friday evening. Those were the days.

[@Pemlola]

What a classic! In my mind - #NINE NINE NIIIIIINE!#

[@ESCMattUK88]

Used to love this

[@mittfh]

It's the kind of evocative piece you'd expect to find in a GCSE music paper. Immediately before the music, a thick Derbyshire accent would explain "The following piece of music is intended to create a mooood, atmosphere or picture. Using sentences or single words, describe the mooood, atmosphere or picture the music gives you." You'd then either have structured questions asking you how the instrumentation, tempo, timbre, dynamics etc. contributed, or write it freeform as a mini essay.

[@MrDanielvass]

You’d need to ask the invigilator for extra paper for your answer for this piece.

[@sirlukeh]

I like how much emphasis this video has on Michael Beurk

[@97channel]

@Recruit173 Oh wow, I didn't expect that to be on here. Thanks for the link, I would like to see that again.

[@kbtreturns]

i can just imagine this, maybe with some added beats, being played in a club. that would be awesome. :)

[@MusicLover88321]

Was a boss show this, every friday around 9pm, music was good too

[@BristolSpotterHD]

brings back memorys i watched this when i was about 6-8 i think always remember 2 scenes.. 1) young boy on a make shift swing in a branch and fell off and has a large-ish branch through his neck. and 2) women fell out of a window and got impailed on spiked fencing outside, and crawed to a neibours house.. pretty scary back then as it is now.. hope they bring it back

[@sps152]

@MrHappytobegay I used to watch this during most of its run in the 90s, with my mum (I was born in 1989). The subject matter, general tone of the show, and late-night slot (for a 5-year-oid of course) scared the hell out of me. So did the theme music, but I vividly remember the happy-sounding ending bit making me feel like everything was ok after the credits! Without that I probably would have ended up scarred for life haha :)

[@dansheppard2965]

In 2020 this tune starts playing from the sky when you open your front door.

[@17rev72]

This brings back so many memories! Used to love watching this. I remember there was one with a guy getting his leg sucked into some farming machinery, awful! There was always someone trapped on a mountain or something too lol.

[@TLrtd]

hell yeah!!! Haven't heard this in years!

[@sonetlumiere12345678]

This is so retro. That music still freaks me out!

[@Sandheaver]

The theme tune used to scare me so much when I was young that I used to run out of the room whenever I heard it! Wish they'd bring it back though. Michael Buerk was fantastic.

[@flattyre]

I used to love watching this with my dad when I was a toddler. Don't ask why, I don't think I really understood what was going on, but I loved the music. I knew I was watching something dramatic. Horrible really, going by what they showed :P

[@1986ant1986]

used to stay up to watch this

[@spunxy]

hahaha I remember switching this music on full blast to alert the whole house it was starting... and then ending up sitting on the edge of the sofa hoping for the *Saviour* moment to arrive before I would get so worked up!

[@HayleyJeffs]

I loved that program

[@Sk4nka]

I used to love this programme

[@Hulk2k6]

Some of the factual programmes actually had killer theme songs!

[@Salad-Cream-Binge]

Absolute bop

[@SabreXT]

I still remember the episode where a guy crashes his truck into a fence, and gets impaled on a tree. Don't think I will ever forget that. Also that guy who is sinking in some mud under a jetty.

[@Gemmalouiselea]

The music scared the shit out of me as a kid i had nightmares it really does get you

[@ripperevo2011rrchamp]

Ooooh! That music used to give me the creeps and it still does!

[@97channel]

@SiThompson1 It was a small whirlpool. She had long hair which got sucked into one of the filter grids and became tangled in the mechanism, pulling her head under. They had to saw through her hair with a big knive, or something, as scissors were unable to cut her free because her hair had braided like a rope. That incident actually led to a change in the safety laws of pool filters in UK public baths. Now you mention it, that javelin accident does ring a bell.

[@jordywoody14]

best bit was the last part when everything is alright

[@MrDaraghkinch]

2:17 I love happy endings!

[@macabre_delights]

MrDaraghkinch at 2:17 it sounds like ascending into heaven to me. This is very creepy. The sirens are the worst part.

[@Gemmalouiselea]

i could never sleep after watching 999 the music scared the shit out of me

[@SendyTheEndless]

I like how the trumpet part is doing "nee norr nee norr" lol

[@itsjustdel]

I liked this, it made feel young

[@threat2015]

We sometimes use stuntmen, but everything you see tonight is real

[@JH-su9vl]

Fantastic theme tune