Radio 4 UK Theme - The Single

The Single

On Friday, 17 February 2006, the piece was re-recorded by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia under the direction of Gavin Sutherland and was released as a single on Monday, 27 March, also featuring Ronald Binge's Sailing By, the BBC Radio 4 late night Shipping Forecast theme. The original manuscript was restored by the notable light music composer Ernest Tomlinson after it was discovered in the loft of Ingrid Spiegl's house. The executive producers of the single were Mike Flowers, who had previously had an unexpected hit with his arrangement of Oasis's "Wonderwall", and Liverpool-based conference organiser Simon Roxborough.

During the first week of its release, it charted at number 15 in the Woolworths Singles Chart. On Sunday, 2 April 2006, the single entered the Tesco Singles Chart at number 8 and the UK Singles Chart at number 29. The top-ten placement at Tesco resulted in the single featuring prominently in the store's display areas, while its entry into the UK Singles Chart led to an on-air explanation of the campaign by the presenters of the Radio 1 Chart Show. By the second week of its release, it had dropped to 39th in the UK Singles Chart. In its third week, it fell to number 75.

The same team behind the single were also planning a full-length album of pieces selected from the British light music tradition. The album, provisionally titled "Early One Morning: British Light Music and Broadcasting Classics", was expected to include Country Gardens and Lillibullero (the BBC World Service theme), as well as the re-recorded UK Theme and Sailing By. This appears not to have come to fruition. However, the theme is available in another recording on Naxos Records' British Light Miniatures performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Paul Murphy.