Asteroid

No, not that clunky 70s black and white arcade video game with the triangle destroying the rocks (that was Asteroids).

It is the (largely unknown) name of a piece of music instantly recognisable to millions of people who ever went to the Cinema, the Pearl & Dean theme.

The Telegraph describes it thus in their A-Z of Cinema;

P for PEARL & DEAN

‘Asteroid’, the Pearl & Dean signature tune, is a staccato masterpiece: is any other 20 second piece of music more evocative? It was written by Pete Moore, a composer and arranger, in 1968. Originally recorded in mono, in 2006 it was re-recorded in stereo. With Moore’s help, two of the three original male singers were tracked down to sing their vocal parts (’Pa-pa, pa-pa, pa-pa, pa-pa, pa-pa-pa. Pa-pa, pa-pa, pa-pa, pa-pahhhhh?… pah!’) once more. Pearl & Dean is a company that sells cinema advertising.

Here it is, with some titles in 70s style. (Their website gives a number of variants of their titles.)

There are also some classic 70s and 80s Cinema adverts on YouTube like Milk Tray, Hamlet Cigars, Hofmeister Lager and the sexiest rabbit ever, all “only two minutes from this theatre“.

2 Responses to “Asteroid”

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  1. Ellee says:

    What an amazing wordpress site, it certainly beats blogger.

  2. Womble On Tour says:

    I was crap at Asteroids. Break Out was more my scene.

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