Mason Moore | Hinckley Reporter | 27 March 2021
A NEW exclusive theme song has been created and produced locally for a Facebook-based Hinckley history group’s twice weekly live streams.
Local man Simon Carnall was approached to work on the theme song that now plays as the intro and outro music for Hinckley District Past and Present’s twice weekly live streams.
Simon agreed to help out on the theme song ‘without hesitation’ and worked on the lyrics and tune for the track.
Carnall was approached by Paul Gardner to work on the theme song after he had worked on a charity track back in December, that he had self-written and produced that was played on the broadcasts, which seen generous group members raise over £3,000 in funds.
The charity track, named “Christmas Stroll”, was played back in the group’s Christmas streams, for the ‘Action for Alfie’ campaign, to raise funds for a local young boy to be able to walk unaided.
“We were like McCartney and Lennon”
Throughout his time working on the new Hinckley District Past and Present theme song, Simon explained that it proved difficult to sleep, as he was constantly thinking up new tunes instead.
He even compared his collaborative works on the theme song with Paul to two Brit-pop legends, McCartney and Lennon.
He said: “Usually tunes pop in my head at totally random times but this one, it just came into my head that same night after we had completed the lyrics.
“Through one night I must have had to get out of bed 20 times to pick up my phone and hum the tune parts that had bounced into my head. By the morning, the full tune was born.
“I kept in touch with Paul throughout and we agreed on any changes, we were like Paul McCartney and John Lennon as though we had been writing songs for years it all seemed so natural.”
The voice behind the track
His wife, Jill, provided the backing vocals, but a strong prominent lead vocalist was needed to lend their vocals to the track.
Daniel ‘Danny’ Morrison, of local four-piece dad band, 4th Avenue, was asked to be the lead vocalist for the theme music, an opportunity which he ‘jumped at’.
Morrison revealed that he worked on the song completely free of charge, as ‘any chance to sing during lockdown is a blessing’, and that the opportunity to work on the theme was ‘too good an opportunity to pass up’.
Danny explained that it did prove difficult to virtually record the track, but he believes the end result turned out to prove a ‘brilliant’ final take.
Speaking about his time working on the track, he said: “When I was approached by Paul and Simon, I jumped at the chance to work with them. Not just because their collective names are ‘Paul Simon’ but the chance to record a theme song for HDPP was too good to pass up!
“As a keen member of the Concordia theatre, and local band 4th Avenue, any chance to sing during lockdown is a blessing. I love watching the stream every Wednesday and Saturday, I know so much about the history of Hinckley now because of it.
“When I heard the demo of the song, the words were brilliant and really reflected what the HDPP group is all about. I instantly thought that it was an earworm that I could add my own personal touch to.
“Working virtually to record a song was challenging, but I think we made a great team and produced a brilliant final take. Think ‘YMCA’ meets ‘le freak, c’est chiq’ and you’ll be along the right lines!”
Group founder Paul Gardner described the track as an ‘ear worm’.
Song set for songwriting contest
The song, titled “HDPP Live”, is set to be entered into the 2021 UK Songwriting Contest, so viewers are being asked to keep their ‘all of their fingers and toes crossed’, in hopes that it will win an award when it is entered in.
The track echoes the group’s goals to ‘keep Hinckley’s heritage alive’ and help keep ‘memories alive’ with an upbeat, catchy, funky feel good for viewers to enjoy whilst the stream countdown starts.
The song is not publicly available on streaming services at the time of publication (27 March).
Track Credits
- Daniel Morrison (Vocalist)
- Jill Carnall (Backing Vocals)
- Simon Carnall (Backing Vocals, Producer)
- Paul Gardner (Intro Announcer)