| "On the Inside" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Lynne Hamilton | ||||
| from the album On the Inside | ||||
| B-side | Love Theme from "Prisoner Cell Block H" | |||
| Released | March 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:10 | |||
| Label | A1 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Allan Caswell | |||
| Lynne Hamilton singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"On the Inside" is the theme song for the Australian soap opera Prisoner (known as Prisoner: Cell Block H in some territories). It was written by Allan Caswell and performed by Lynne Hamilton.
Caswell recalls that his "publisher was having lunch with a guy from Grundy's one Friday and asked what they had coming up. They already had music for Prisoner, but the final decision was being made on the Monday and if we could get something to them by then they'd listen to it. I didn't get a chance to work on it until the Sunday afternoon. It was like buying a lottery ticket – either I write something and it might get accepted or I don't write something and not give myself a chance." [1] Caswell recorded the song on a portable cassette player "and gave it to his publisher who delivered it without listening to it. Within five days, I was in the studio with Lynne Hamilton. She got half way through the song and burst into tears. Anyone who believed in it like that was going to do a good version of it." [1]
An alternative version of this song was used in the credits of the Season One finale, Episode 79, [2] and again in Episode 151. On this version, there is a small guitar intro and the orchestration is slightly different. This particular version is not available on the soundtrack and was only used during the credits at the end of the show on rare occasions. The song alternated with an orchestra-only version of this track during the first two seasons.
The song was a hit in Australia in 1979 when the television show was launched, and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart in 1989 when the show attracted millions of viewers in its late night slot in ITV regions. [3] [4]
| Chart (1979–1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [5] | 4 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [6] | 5 |
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA) [7] | 11 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [8] | 3 |
| Chart (1979) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [9] [10] | 23 |
Australian 7" single (RCA Victor – 103316)
In 2009, writer Allan Caswell alleged that Alabama's song "Christmas in Dixie" was 'ripped off' from "On the Inside", but conceded that legal action was unlikely as both he and Alabama were signed to Sony. [11]
The song was recorded as a slower country ballad by Patti Page; coincidently the series of Prisoner was enormously popular in the United States, where it was known as Prisoner: Cell Block H. [12]
The song was rerecorded and released by singer Ella Hooper to coincide with Foxtel's Australian re-run of the series, which started in March 2011. [13]
Reggae singer Donna Marie has also recorded a version, with minor alterations to some lines.
It was also covered by the Living End, titled "Prisoner on the Inside".
Although the song was not used as the theme for Wentworth , the 2013 reimagining of Prisoner, it was briefly heard in the pilot episode, being hummed by Jacs Holt (played by Kris McQuade), the show's main antagonist. The original Lynn Hamilton single version of "On the Inside" was, however, used on the closing credits of the final episode of Wentworth (titled "Legacy") in Australia, which aired 26 October 2021, whilst a modern cover version was used on the UK broadcast on Five Star later the same day.
It was released in the United States on Hilltak 7903. [14] [15]
"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from Rocky", is the theme song from the movie Rocky, composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta West and Nelson Pigford. Released in 1976 with Rocky, the song became part of 1970s American popular culture after the film's main character and namesake Rocky Balboa as part of his daily training regimen runs up the 72 stone steps leading to the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia and raises his arms in a victory pose, while the song plays. The song was written in Philadelphia. The song is often played at sporting events, especially in Philadelphia. Most notably, the Philadelphia Eagles play the song before the opening kickoff of every home game at Lincoln Financial Field.
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Edith Bliss was an Australian singer and television presenter.
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"C'mon Aussie, C'mon" is an Australian Cricket anthem.
"When the War Is Over" is a power ballad of Australian band Cold Chisel from their 1982 album Circus Animals. The song was written by drummer Steve Prestwich and issued as the third single from the album, peaking at number 25 on the national singles chart, and also resurfaced in August 2011 due to download sales.
New Toy is the first extended play by English-American singer-songwriter Lene Lovich released in 1981 by Stiff Records. It was released outside the United Kingdom in three different versions, one featured six new songs, while the other two contained songs from her previous albums, Stateless (1978) and Flex (1979).
"Farewell Aunty Jack" was the closing theme to The Aunty Jack Show, played at the end of each episode. It was re-recorded and released as a hit single in late 1973 and spent 3 weeks at number one in the charts in Australia in February and March 1974.
"The Boy from New York City" is a song originally recorded by the American soul group The Ad Libs, released in 1964 as their first single. Produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the song peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the chart week of February 27, 1965. Though the group continued to record other singles, they never repeated the chart success of "The Boy from New York City". According to Artie Butler, the track was recorded at A&R Studios in New York, in three separate sessions. The first session was to lay down the rhythm section, then the next session was for the lead and backup vocals, with the last session was just for the horns.
Lynne Hamilton is an English-born singer, notable for her career in Australia, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s having recorded the single "On the Inside", written by Allan Caswell, which was the theme to the television series Prisoner
David Allan Caswell, publishing under pen name Allan Caswell, is an English-Australian songwriter and performer, author, record producer, freelance journalist and teacher. Caswell wrote "On the Inside" and recorded by Lynne Hamilton. It was a hit record in Australia and New Zealand in 1979.
"Stimulation" is the debut single from Australian pop group Wa Wa Nee. The song was released in April 1986 as the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album. The song peaked at number 2 on the Australian singles chart.
"Who Listens to the Radio" is a song recorded by Australian rock band The Sports. The song was written by band members Stephen Cummings and Andrew Pendlebury. The original single version was released in October 1978. In 1979, it was reworked and re-recorded as a new lead single from the band's second studio album, Don't Throw Stones (1979), the song peaked at number 35 on the Australian Kent Music Report.
"Oh Carol" is a song by the British rock band Smokie from their 1978 studio album The Montreux Album. It was the album's second single. The song first came out in May 1978 as a single and later appeared on the album, which was released in October.
