David Arnold has been Musical Director of Children In Need since 1994, and this year was again asked to provide not only the Main Title and all incidental music for the show, but also backing tracks and vocal recordings for no less than three separate celebrity musical items.
The producers wanted the show to have a more contemporary feel this year, with an entirely pre-recorded soundtrack rather than a live band on-stage.
This decision involved some interesting challenges – not least the need to meet tight timing requirements. It was certainly the case for the next clip; condensing and re-sequencing a 7-minute epic into less than 3 minutes isn’t easy ! Luckily even hardcore Meatloaf fans were impressed with the result.
The Hairy Bikers Sing ‘Bat Out Of Hell’
(In fact, the results were so good that some people thought the Hairy Bikers were miming to the original – we’re happy to confirm this was not the case !)
The Newsreaders go Ga-Ga
For each item we created entirely new backings using the original versions as references, and then recorded the vocals at TV Centre in London. Mixing and editing took place at our state-of-the art studio just outside Cambridge.
Loose Women Sing Girls Aloud
This final item was performed live on the night, but we still had an important role to play beyond providing the backing – Zoë Tyler is a professional singer and voice coach, so David and Gareth worked with her to help the other “Loose Women” perfect their performances, with excellent results.
Once again the entire evening was a tremendous success, and everyone at David Arnold Music is delighted to be involved.
Contact us now for more information about any of our TV music for branding, trails or shows.
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Much prefer a live orchestra on children in need. Backing tracks don’t sound as good. No substitute for live music at an event like this. Bring back Dave Arnold and the orchestra again this year. Thank you :o)