Trumptonshire Music

For many people, the most memorable thing about the the Trumptonshire trilogy will be the songs and the music. The music itself was composed and played by Freddie Phillips while the lyrics were written by both Gordon Murray and Freddie Phillips. In the interview with Freddie Phillips he talks about his recollections from the times when he was putting together the Trumptonshire music and sound effects.

Some of the songs will be instantly recognisable - such as Windy Miller's song, or "The Little Steam Engine" (Time flies by...). Others, such as Mr Dagenham's song (Our Mr Dagenham he can sell anything...) are heard in only one episode, and so will undoubtedly be less familiar.

The Trumptonshire Web aims to provide a reference for the lyrics of the all the Trumptonshire songs, so you should find what you are looking for, even if it's a bit obscure. The lyrics can all be found in the "Songs & Trivia" sections. If in doubt, try searching using a keyword.

CDs

The themes to all the Trumptonshire programmes are available on a compilation album from BBC CDs and all of the Trumptonshire songs are available on a triple CD set from John Phillips (son of Freddie Phillips).

Trumptonshire LPs

Back in the sixties and seventies all the songs were issued on several vinyl LPs (remember those ?) The titles were mainly published by Music for Pleasure:

"A visit to Trumpton" MFP 1189 from 1967

"Come to Chigley" MFP 1352 from 1970

"Songs from Chigley & Trumpton" EMI/Starline SRS 5085

"All The Music From Trumpton And Chigley" Rec.234 from 1976

"Welcome to Camberwick Green" MFP 1190 1966

"Camberwick Green" BBC REC 263 1977 / RPT13 1972. (Possibly same as MFP 1190)

While these records are occasionally seen in second hand shops, I personally have yet to come across one in this way.

About the Songs

Almost every Trumptonshire character had his or her own particular song, and this not only reinforced their identity, but also provided additional information to explain what their occupation involved. For instance, in Mr Murphy's song we learn that he is a "Pudding, pies, and pastry maker", and not just a master bread baker.

Of the music, Joe Bennett writes: "Freddie managed to carry melody, accompaniment, counterpoint and some really interesting arrangements without getting in the way of the lyrics - masterful guitar composing at its best".

(Further contributions from readers relating to the music would be most welcome)

Published Music

If you are interested in actually playing the music from Trumptonshire it is possible to track down the scores. The lyrics and scores were published in two books by Hamlyn. These were:

Songs from Camberwick Green (1969)
Songs from Trumpton (1970)

N.B. I do not believe that the scores for the Chigley songs were ever published).

These books appear to be aimed at a school music class, but would be more than adequate if you're interested in creating the music yourself. For each song there is the score for guitar, voice, and percussion, with hints on how to achieve some of the more unusual percussion sounds, such as the sound of the windmill.

These books can be obtained via good second hand book sellers - see the Trumptonshire books section for details.

Midi

For those of you into MIDI instruments try this Camberwick Green theme which was converted to MIDI format by a contributor.

Total Guitar Magazine feature

In their March 1995 issue, "Total Guitar" magazine published an interesting article showing the reader how to play the Trumpton Firemen theme "Firemen Bold". Joe Bennett, the magazine's technical/music editor and author of the article, describes it as " an example of how you can find great guitar playing in the unlikeliest of places".

The magazine included a cover CD which contained (amongst other things) the full two-guitar version played by Joe, and also a further track with just the accompanying guitar, allowing the reader to play the lead guitar.

If you're interested in Total Guitar magazine, then check out Future Publishing's extensive Website.