Name That Tune (British game show)
Contestants bid to name a tune in as few notes as possible.
Two contestants competed on the British TV music quiz Name That Tune, testing their song knowledge. The format began in the US on NBC Radio in 1952, then debuted on ITV in 1976. Tom O'Connor hosted first, succeeded by Lionel Blair in 1984.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Music game show
- Runtime
- 15–30 minutes (inc. adverts)
- Creator
- Harry Salter
- Presenter
- Tom O'Connor
- Lionel Blair
- Jools Holland
- Alison Hammond
- Series
- 3 (Wednesday at Eight)
- 3 (London Night Out)
- 6 (ITV original)
- 2 (Channel 5)
- Episodes
- 22 (Wednesday at Eight)
- 20 (London Night Out)
- 82 (ITV original)
- 27 (Channel 5)
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Background and history
The British version began in 1956 as Spot the Tune on Granada Television, with singer Marion Ryan appearing for seven years across 209 half-hour programmes. Several hosts presented the show, including disc-jockey Pete Murray, Canadian pop singer Jackie Rae, and comedians Ken Platt and Ted Ray. Peter Knight and his Orchestra provided the big band support. Contestants guessed a song's title after hearing only a small sample; the winner of the most cash had to name as many £5 tunes as possible within 40 seconds. A jackpot tune reached at least £600 on one occasion. The show was later revived as Name That Tune on ITV. The UK pilot was recorded in 1976 and became a 15-minute slot on Wednesday at Eight, which evolved into London Night Out. Due to the game's popularity, Thames Television turned Name That Tune into a half-hour weekly series in 1983, with Alan Braden and his orchestra as the big band. Tom O'Connor hosted from 1976 until 1983; Lionel Blair took over from 1984 until the series was dropped from ITV schedules in 1988. Maggie Moone and Irish trio Sheeba sang the songs, while pianist Ronnie Price (whose hands were a regular feature) performed. Nick Jackson was the announcer. The series was revived on Channel 5 in 1997 with Jools Holland hosting two series in 1997 and 1998. On 5 May 2007, the show briefly returned for Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon on ITV, with Peter Dickson as announcer. In October 2009, Ant & Dec announced plans to revive the show for Channel 5, but this was scrapped in August 2010 due to an issue with the format's owners. ITV produced two non-broadcast pilots in 2014 and 2015, hosted by Bill Bailey and Frank Skinner respectively, with Alex Horne and his band The Horne Section providing music in the latter. The show was revived again as the sole new addition to the second series of Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow, filmed at Dock10 studios in 2021.
Rules (1983–87)
Two contestants chosen from the studio audience went through several rounds to win up to £1200 in cash and prizes. A wheel onstage, spun up to five times, set the cash value for naming a tune, with amounts ranging from £10 (later increased to £25) up to £100. A second wheel, spinning the opposite way, had two 'Double' spaces. This phase ended when one player correctly identified three tunes. For each tune, the show's vocalist sang the middle section, replacing any actual song title words with 'la-las', and contestants had seven seconds to write down the title. Three tunes were played, each worth £50 for a correct answer. In another game, the host gave a clue about a song, and contestants took turns bidding on the fewest notes they would need to identify it. They announced their bid in the classic phrase 'I can name that tune in X', where X was a whole number from one to seven. Bidding stopped when one contestant challenged the other to 'Name That Tune', or when someone bid one note (or rarely zero notes), meaning they would try to guess from just the clue. The first to name three tunes won a special prize like a Hi-Fi system, with the third tune needing to be earned normally or by default. Next, contestants tried to name as many tunes as possible in 30 seconds. The clock paused when a contestant buzzed in with a title, but if no one buzzed after five seconds, the clock stopped and the tune was discarded. Each correct tune earned £50, except the seventh, which was worth £200. The contestant who named seven tunes correctly won the game and moved on to the Big Prize Tune. That contestant was taken to an isolation booth, wired so they could only hear the host and the piano. The pianist opened a golden envelope containing sheet music with the title blacked out, while the host held a sealed business-size envelope. The pianist played 20 seconds of the song as a timer counted down. After the music stopped, the contestant had 10 seconds to think and give one guess for the exact title. If correct, they won a new car.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created Name That Tune (British game show)?
Name That Tune was created by Harry Salter.
When did Name That Tune (British game show) first air?
Name That Tune first aired on 7 April 1976.
When did Name That Tune (British game show) end?
Name That Tune last aired on 30 November 1987.
More in 1970s British Game Shows
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