How I Made The TOP GEAR Theme
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- čas přidán 17. 06. 2024
- 22 years ago Christian Henson smashed together three drum loops, some orchestral stabs, a synth bass, and a guitar through a Seek Wah for a poky little motoring show on BBC2. This small section of music was part of a larger suite of re-arrangements of The Allman Brother's "Jessica". The files are long lost on frozen spinning drives so Henson and the Crow Hill Team fastidiously sifted through sample collections re-creating a musical signature of what became the most distributed factual entertainment program of all time. This is how Christian made the #topgear theme.
If you fancy going under the hood of this iconic track we have prepared various versions of the music, the samples and DAW files so you can get your head around how this odd concoction of instruments became the sound of motoring for 22 years. Download for free from here: thecrowhillcompany.com/hub/
Like the idea of the seek wah, check out ZVEX effects: www.zvex.com/
Theo Le Derf, amazing guitarist does remote sessions!!! www.theolederf.com/
The Top Gear trio are still going strong on #drivetribe: / @drivetribe
If you like content like this be sure to subscribe to the channel. Do you have a favourite Top Gear episode??? Let us know in the comment below.
CONTENTS:
0:00 So 20 years ago...
01:05 How you can get under the cover of the Top Gear theme
01:23 What is Top Gear?
01:58 What is a media composer?
02:35 Drums
03:48 How I got the gig
04:22 What is a Seek Wah?
05:17 The hunt for the humbucker
06:32 Orchestral stabs
07:02 Water tank hits
07:19 Did Top Gear make me rich???
08:00 Synth bass
08:19 The original concept
09:22 The guitar sessions
10:50 Comping guitars into the track
11:12 The mystery orchestral bit
11:36 What do you need to study to become a media composer?
13:07 Mixing
13:42 What happened next?
14:23 Why I have put off making this video for 5 years...
15:27 How to download the assets FREE
15:45 Playout. - Hudba
no way you made the top gear theme, absolutely love it, even after hearing it the 3.468.917 time!😃
You are right.
He didn't.
It was written by Chuck Leavell while he was in the Alman Brothers.
The famous begin part of the theme is a song called Jessica by the Allman brothers band
Yeah he even mentioned in the video that he didn‘t come up with the theme himself but he still worked on it and gave it its unique sound, so as a fan of both top gear and christian as a person this was quite a nice surprise
@@martinmcwhorteryikes. Someone is miserable.
Same
Tonight
I wear a hat
James wears a hat
And Richard is behind a low wall
Love that.
The best, thank you.
Tonight,
I drive a car,
James gets lost,
And Richard Crashes,
😂😂😂
I read this in Clarkson's voice...
"Tonight, i pay some bloke 600 quid for a song. Hammond wears a hat, and James learns about the french constitution."
Wait did they actually say this in an episode? if yes what?
Ow I’m intrigued too!
@@luca91214there was one where they where a hat. I think it’s where they made caravans.
This reminds me of a “smaller” train CZcamsr, @Hyce777 and his 3/4 idiots show.
It's crazy to think that instead of composing a new theme song from scratch, they chose to rearrange Jessica and still pay royalties to the original composer.
The BBC has a weird relationship with copyrighted music. They use it a LOT in their programmes. I don't remember the exact details, but I think they have some deal with the major labels where when they pay for flat fee for the use of music in perpetuity, or it's something like that anyway. I don't remember exactly, but there's a reason why you hear copyrighted music in even obviously low budget bbc tv programmes all the time, music that you think would be far too expensive to justify
The BBC uses music so much over their extensive TV shows, radio etc that im sure they get a good deal to use pretty much anything they want@@Muzikman127
The BBC has long had a blanket agreement where they don't need to seek permission for use of copyrighted music (phonograms), instead they advise the publisher and copyright holder of the usage and pay a prearranged flat rate fee to MCPS & PRS which eventually reaches the various rights holders.
In this case it sounds like the BBC (via TG's production company) paid a flat fee to the composer of the cover, possibly as a perpetual worldwide all formats buyout (fairly common). As a result they wouldn't need to pay any phonogram performance royalties via MCPS for using the cover version, only songwriter/composer royalties to Dickie Betts via PRS for all subsequent public performances. Sure, it's a chunk of money, but nothing like it might be had they not done a buyout.
Jessica was associated with Top Gear from day one so it made perfect sense to keep it...
@@PhilWare1 You're right.
It's funny though, probably one of the few opening sequences for a series that I don't skip. Between Clarkson's humor and the legendary music, it really draws one's attention.
I've never clicked on a video so quickly
Fastest gun in the west!!
Mood
yep i had a poo-reset when i saw this pop up, had to hold it for 16 minutes and 23 seconds. was well worth it
You have a need for speed
you browsing history shows that you click on little girls videos quicker....
Tonight, Dickie writes a song, Christian composes a new arrangement and Theo plays a guitar.
Without realising it your arrangement/composition is possibly the single piece of music I've heard the most times in my life. The show used to have "Star in a reasonably priced car".......at £600 you are the "Reasonably priced star". Be in no doubt that your work has touched people. My sincere thanks.
I'd have to learn how to drive first!
@@TheCrowHillCo seems you can drive a DAW pretty fast 😎
I love that there's this elevator music version of Jessica playing in the background during the guitar store section of the video
Crazy find! It does sound like Jessica 😂 nice one!
They've hidden it all over the video among different segments of the video. So cool
The Seek Wah was the early-2000s weird guitar effect of choice for many composers and arrangers.
I’ve heard it on so many albums, West-End shows and TV themes.
Did every csi use it? And ncis? Cause now you mention it...
@@thepenguin9 CSI themes are The Who songs from the 70's and 60's...
Also mythbusters i believe
I remember it in v-rally 2 for the Dreamcast.
Loving the cheeky pizzicato cello version of Jessica lurking in the background during the 'field trip' x
Theo did that!
I smiled so hard when I caught onto it
Sidebar on similar principal: It's one of my favourite bits of film music work ever - in Grosse Pointe Blank, the Guns & Roses version of "Live & Let Die" transforms into a muzak version as Martin Blank (John Cusack) enters an Ultimart convenience store that used to be his house.
The earworm of the century 😄
Had no clue you made this Christian...well done 🙂
Er, it was Dickie Betts that wrote this
@@rodmunch6849That's what I thought! Christian was the arranger I believe.
Top Gear opening theme "Jessica" by The Allman Brothers Band. Composer Dickey Betts (arr. by Christian Henson)
Oooh I thought it was Dickie
Better, thank you. What a sly piece of work this video is.
The Allman bros version was used on the show before its reboot. I wonder if the modern one is different enough to count as another composition.
@@stevecarter8810 yes mate, they mentioned that in the video... Hardly sly was it.
Media composer? You rearranged Jessica by the Allman brothers, bravo! Compositional genius? 😅 😂😂
And the closing theme used to be “out of the blue” by Elton John/Bernie Taupin
That 3rd drum loop just makes it so iconic.
It's amazing that despite being vary much of it's time it doesn't feel dated at all. Great job Christian!
The key to not being dated is to never be fashioable in the first place.
@@TheCrowHillCo some things just transcend fashion ❤️
Fashion goes in cycles though, people are getting nostalgic for the sounds of the late 90s and early 00s.
@@TheCrowHillCo that's actually a really solid piece of advice!
It does sound dated lets not be silly
Incredible how your tracked livened up the life of millions!
It's borderline criminal just how little you were paid for the show considering how iconic the theme is, nevertheless thank you so much Mr. Henson!
Horses for courses.
You don't get paid more than a flat fee for doing something like this, unless you actually did something to warrant a songwriting credit and therefore royalty payments. It's just how the industry works.
I love the "old Top Gear". It's a great achievement that you arranged it in the first place, but then you recreated it like it was no problem! And share the samples?! That's fantastic!
Its fun to mess around with!
I can’t believe you only got £600 for arranging such a perfect piece for such a legendary show
I mean, he didn't, he recorded a slightly more modern sounding cover of an existing song by the Allman Brothers Band that was already being used for the show. If he'd written it, he'd be getting the royalties for its use
Not meaning to denigrate his work to be clear, it's a cool arrangement, but he didn't write it, he recorded an arrangement of it
@@Muzikman127 yep fair enough, the focus of my comment was more about the £600 compensation from the BBC rather than whether he ‘wrote’ it or not. Seems criminal to be paid so little by such a large company. I work in this industry and have been asked if I have any pieces that sound like X with an offer of £2k-£4k, and I know a placement on a Pepsi advert for example is around £50k
@@michaelwagner5927 fair enough yeah. That'd still be over a grand in today's money, but I do agree that that's still pretty cheap, assuming his memory of the figures is accurate here ;)
@@michaelwagner5927 Also bear in mind that it's not £600 for the lot, it's what he got after splitting with his colleague who laid down the guitar tracks (which are the key feature of the song), studio time, etc. It was also originally a little motoring show no one gave a toss about, not one of the BBC's flagship programmes! Apparently he did it all in 4 hours? If they'd known what it was going to become I imagine they'd have splashed a few more quid on it! 😂
I’m liking this retrospective look into the Henson archive. More please.
We hear you!! 🙏
agreed!
This is peak content. Possibly my favorite CZcams video.
Thanks!!😊
Tonight
I point at some fields
Richard minces around a corner
And James describes his ideal night-in
Amazing how this guy reproduces his original creations on tech 20 years in the future. Thinking this was created on early 2000's tech, and he still smashed it!!
Is it the same computer package, I guess? (Newer version of course, but I guess (as an example) if you were using Adobe Photoshop then it would be similar to now. Video editor Final Cut Pro got a big reboot into "iMovie Pro" to much disarrangement though, but things like Abode Premiere and Avid would still work the same in terms of video editing.)
Hearing this meant it was favourite show of all time about to start. Thank you!
Yeah its weird how divorced from it I became, it was part of the sonic wallpaper of telly... to go back and re-own it was a strangely disconcerting experience.
TONIGHT
Christian Henson lays down a track
Theo Le Derf plays a guitar
and The Crow Hill Company makes a video
Gave me chills as it all came together
As a self taught musician, this has given me much hope and a confidence boost. Thank you.
Oh my word, I so enjoyed watching this! It was a perfect combination of what you did, how you did it and background insights.
Thanks for doing this Christian! For some reason I never knew you created this, but as an early adopter (watcher) of Top Gear in Canada and learning a bit about music from your videos over the years it’s a wonderful connection to discover. Cheers!
I'm so happy to see what you've done here. This 'little' song has almost defined my childhood and now I'm a musician myself finding out about the crow hill company, so now I'm loving this video and I'm loving your website as well
I've heard the song during the show probably thousands of times and never once put too much thought into how the theme was composed. Great work! Cheers mate!
Absolutely incredible. And just another lesson that you never know how big or iconic what you're working on will be. Something that seems like just another job could end up being a massive part of entertainment history
Rarely what you think is going to be your big break turns out that way too.
I remember you promising this video a few years ago. And finally its here. Thank you so much! Fantastic work!
After my best friend moved from South Germany to London 16 years ago i payed him a visit and we sat down after dinner and watched TV. He introduced me to Top Gear and instantly it became my most favorite TV show ever. The next years it became a habit to book a flight every 2 months to pay him a visit and just watch Top Gear on Dave or any other channel which has some old episodes in the schedule. The best thing was the music the team at the BBC have chosen for some of the episodes (like for the Disco Volante part) which introduced me to even more wonderful music and composers which are still played every day during work. There have been so many hours of listening to all of their voices, jokes and epic moments. I hoped that The Grand Tour would come close but sadly it never convinced me even though it started very promising. Thanks for sharing the process of creating the theme for it. Quality content as ever Christian.
I love any video like this. They’re so valuable and helpful to aspiring media composers!!!
Thankyou
So pleased to here, that is completely our intention.
Never in my life has a theme song put such a smile on my face immediately when i hear it. Thanks
you're a legend man, the nostalgia that the top gear theme song brings me is insane, thank you for bringing me and millions of others amazing memories ❤
I used to feel so deeply excited every time I heard this intro as a kid, it was such a perfect way to start and end the show. In fact, even hearing it now makes me feel a little bit of a thrill! You did an amazing job, thank you
Wow Christian, what a wonderfull insight into your creation process, I'm 58 and loved making music on home computers startiing with the Atari 800Xl, and then the Atari ST. I also had no classical training, but thoroughly enjoyed exploring music making on anything with keys, even sneaking into churches and firing up church organs. The explosion of midi and daws massively empowered people like me to create unheard and unique sounds with out the practical limits and phenomenal huge costs of traditional studio hardware.
Your origins rhymed with me and your success with iconic projects have been truley heart warming.
AWESOME video!!! i really enjoyed hearing the track with different parts muted, it was so lovely !! Thanks for making this!! :D :D
Thank you for enjoying it! 🫵
Thank you algorithm for placing this in my feed and seeing great work recreated for my tv
This video combined all of my loves, being a musician and a Top Gear fan. I just wish’ed the video didn’t end! Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
That Irving Berlin fact is crazy! Only the black keys?! I never would have guessed.
Thank you for makeing my childhood! This show was amazing and some of my earliest memories are waiting to see if my father would come home and finish work in-time to watch an episode with him!
Its rare that i watch a video completely to tye end, skipping nothing. This was riveting! Great work!
Thank you for sharing your story ! And again I’ve been supporting your company since I’ve discovered it ! You guys are the best ! Keep up the good work and thank you 🙏
Thanks for supporting us and being a part of the journey!
@@TheCrowHillCo it’s normal 🙏
Had no idea what CZcams would give me today but man this video delivered! Thank you Christian for you work! I know you said you don’t want to be remembered just for this but it had a huge influence on me. I can’t hear Jessica without thinking of your piece.
Ive always been curious about this, great to hear how you put it together.
This is amazing, thank you for sharing!
I love the intro music and the fact that you used loops from BT makes it even better!
I never thought the Top Gear theme would have such an interesting story behind it. Well done!
This video, which was a great watch, led me to your Company. As an (extremely) amateur music producer, the free resources provided there are already an amazing addition to my recording repertoire. Thankyou so much!
Glad to have you as part of the crew! 🙏 glad you’re enjoying the tools we made 😊😊
You say you only spent 4 hours and that you're not quite sure why it did so well, and yes, arguably its probably not the most perfect 'musically', but that's not what makes music special. It's being a young kid, hearing that guitar sweep at the start from upstairs and sprinting down to watch the episode. The music is the constant in a show that has been there my entire life and because of that the music is always going to be a special part of my life. Thank you for arranging this music, you'll never quite know how much of an impact it has really had on people like me
The orchestral stabs are very art of noise :)
Indeed. Anne Dudley got me into this industry,.
Awesome! Simply awesome....thanks for sharing this. Love Logic Pro and the TG theme tune.
Been watching the series for like seems all my youth and well into the last season with Jeremy Clarkson in it. And always wondered how this was made. This video sparked a lot of inspiration and ideas and would love to see and hear more. Keep it up, you're doing great, wishing you all, the very best!
remembering the episode with slash and watching him play it was just so amazing
Brilliant. Thanks so much for this!
Thank you soooo much for this, awesome!!
Great to see this being made! Such a great piece :)
This is amazing. I had no idea you did this and it's fantastic to celebrate it, even if it was only 4 hours of your life.
very well produced video, was cool watching you recreate it
Those words towards the ends are very encouraging as someone who can’t play instruments, but has been learning to use a DAW since 2018
why did i just learn about this? the most unexpected crossover of my interests 😂, thanks for the memories 🙏💙
Still sounds amazing and still sends a shiver down my neck!! :)
This is fantastic. Thank you!
Finally we see how the Top Gear theme was made, I have been waiting for this since Christian mentioned it on his original channel years ago ❤
I had chills the entire time watching this!
I’ve been waiting for this video for years
We hope the wait paid off 😊
Keep this man safe he had been the reason so many of us enjoy top gear today I’ve never rewatched a yt 3 times but this this was worth it 🎉🙏
Nice work Christian. You got the chops dude.
When I started watching your videos several years ago I knew you were special, but the Top Gear theme/best Jessica remix ever special is something else!
You should have heard the quartet arrangement.
Unusually for a documentary like this, it’s getting a refresh of the tune as a treat, and a few of the scenes are getting recut original elements - the whole video isn’t just relying on the exisiting sequence chopped up, like you hear too often
What a beautiful studio❤
Thank you. One of if not my favorite theme tune to a T.V Show.
Don't worry, Christian, you'll always be the "Alien Isolation" composer first and foremost in my mind!
I love the colossus n the background!!!!!!!
That was brilliant!
Some of the best tracks or ideas I've ever had, just came together with pure serendipity.. Some tracks I've spent months trying to finish, tweaking, re-writing.. I should give up, but it's THE very definition of the sunken cost fallacy.. Some tracks I've done were just overnight start to finish, no stopping to think, just throw what works in and improv.. and I've ended up loving it.
So, 4 hours to write this iconic intro - I completely understand, it just came together that night!
Incredibly well made video!
14:40 Another great example why old saying "if it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing well" is still correct.
Wonderful video and walk through. Also mesmerising watching you with Logic Pro
I would have brought this up in every conversation, how am I just learning this now? legend!
shy
This sound that meant you were going to enjoy the next hour of your life, or close to it. Fantastic video
❤ You are the Top Gear guy… Awesome man thanks for the great theme tune over the years. Love it LOL
I'm old enough to remember the original show and theme very well. When the re-boot came out I was a bit indifferent to the revamped theme, but over the years it has grown on me and has now become even more of a classic than the original in my mind. I guess mainly because I've heard it so many times, but seeing how it was put together is fascinating and what blows my mind is you did this in 4 hours and got paid only £600 for it. That is both incredible and criminal at the same time. What a legend. I don't think it's a bad thing to be known as "the Top Gear guy", but I certainly understand why you'd want to down-play it, because it's very easy to be typecast as a one trick pony. Clearly you're not though!
Its so iconic it’s never going to be outdated.
This actually made me just smile 😁
You built childhoods with your rendition, I thank you for also building mine.
This was brilliant .
I'm so glad this video exists. Always wondered how to came up with that wonky sound lol.
I absolutely love that drumline
No way!!! Bro we totally want to see a list of your full credits please. And more vids like this!
www.imdb.com/name/nm0378194/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Two pints to immense ❤
Fantastic insight ❤
I LOVE this!!! 🚀
Glad you’re enjoying what we’re making! 😊
Totally geeking out
Absolutely brilliant video. Thanks for sharing. Always wanted to know how. 😊
Excellent video explaining how this was all made, just can't get over the lack of revenue it generated for Henson considering how popular the show was. Mind blowing!
Watching this show grow into tgt then finally end has been a 23 year long journey what a ride
Kept that one quiet chum !
Well kept ‘under the hood’ 🚗 😂
I cried happily listening to this. The good old days 😢
The vibe of the theme at Top Gear ❤