A special concert taking place at Symphony Hall this weekend has been featured on the national BBC.
Stand By For Action! Gerry Anderson in Concert, which is being performed on Saturday 16 April, will include the theme tunes and other music from historic puppet shows such as Thunderbirds, Stingray and Captain Scarlet.
The event was previewed by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday 13 April, featuring an interview at Symphony Hall with Gerry Anderson’s son Jamie in which he said he was “equally nervous and excited”.
The story had originally appeared on the Westside BID website in February https://westsidebid.co.uk/2022/02/17/thunderbirds-are-go-as-puppet-creations-return-to-westside/.
Stand by for Action! is a musical tribute to the man who created many of the iconic children’s TV shows from the last six decades.
The timeless soundtracks will be performed for the first time by a full symphony orchestra during the world premiere concert at Symphony Hall, with the evening hosted by TV impressionist Jon Culshaw.
Jamie, the director of Anderson Entertainment, which is presenting the concert, previously told the BID: “I cannot wait for fans to enjoy this exciting, nostalgia-packed and varied evening of iconic tunes with a full video backdrop.
“The city of Birmingham has played such an important part in the creation of my father’s work, which many people maybe aren’t even aware of, so I can’t think of a better venue than Birmingham’s incredible Symphony Hall to host this special evening.”
One of the Birmingham connections is that many of the puppets were created in the city. In addition, the original sound effects for productions such as Thunderbirds, Stingray and Fireball XL5 were created in Birmingham’s Grosvenor Road Studios, where one of the studios is called the Thunderbird Suite.
The Symphony Hall concert will also feature some of Gerry Anderson’s earliest work including Torchy the Battery Boy and Four Feather Falls.
The music will be accompanied by stunning visuals from the TV series and films, including specially restored and previously unseen footage.
Jon Culshaw, who provides voices for characters in Anderson Entertainment’s Thunderbirds audio stories, said he was “thrilled and very honoured” to be hosting the show.”
The Today programme item also included a chat with Richard Harvey, composer of the Terrahawks in the 80s, who will conduct the orchestra at Symphony Hall.
Stand By For Action! Gerry Anderson in Concert will take place at Symphony Hall, a B:Music venue, on 16 April at 7.30pm. Tickets from £38 are available from https://bmusic.co.uk/events/stand-by-for-action-gerry-anderson-in-concert
Captions:
- Above: Jamie Anderson with Thunderbird 1 and Scott Tracy
- Main image: Jamie Anderson with Thunderbird 2
- Both photos are © Johnathan Williams.
