In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. We, however play TV theme tunes in an exuberant and chaotic way to delighted crowds who aren’t quite sure what’s hit them. If you have a relatively small problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find us, maybe you can hire… Dream Themes.
With a repertoire of a hundred themes, from The A Team through to Z-Cars (although we don’t actually play Z-Cars), Dream Themes present a joyous, chaotic, uplifting tribute to the music that soundtracks our lives. When emerging from a TV in the living room, these unassuming tunes might seem gentle and homely, but in a packed venue through a loud PA they become air-punching anthems, a celebration of the hours we spend staring at the box.
Why do we do this? We used to be a backing band for Mancunian legend Frank Sidebottom. From 2006 until creator Chris Sievey’s untimely death in 2010, we accompanied Frank at dozens of chaotic, unruly gigs across the south of England. Whenever Frank held a raffle during the show, we’d play a TV theme tune while the winner came up to collect a prize. One day, Paul (bass) said “Why don’t we just do this as a band?” One thing led to another, and, well, now look. More than a decade of ridiculousness.
Paul’s cohorts are Rhodri (keyboards), Dicky (guitar) – both of whom also play with pop legends Scritti Politti – and Rob (drums). We’ve appeared at dozens of sweaty rock venues and damp festivals including Camp Bestival, Festival No. 6, Wilderness, and Beatherder. We specialise in turning up with all our equipment to play at unusual events: a street food party in Kings Cross, ITV’s Paul O’Grady Show, speedway meetings, truck festivals and more weddings than you can shake a stick at. Our plan is basically to carry on playing television themes.