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The Dam Busters is the theme for the 1955 British war film The Dam Busters . [1] The musical composition, by Eric Coates, has become synonymous with both the film and the real Operation Chastise. [2] The Dam Busters March remains a very popular accompaniment to flypasts in the UK.
Coates's son, Austin Coates, recounted in a BBC radio interview that the march was not written for The Dam Busters. His father had been carrying out an exercise in composing a march that emulated the musical forms of Edward Elgar, such as in the Pomp and Circumstance Marches . A few days after completing the composition Coates was contacted by the film's producers. Coates had a profound dislike of writing film music and turned down the producers' numerous requests. Not until they told him that this was "a film of national importance" did he agree. On hearing more about the film, he came to the conclusion that the piece he had just finished would be a perfect overture. The march was performed for the film by the Associated British Studio Orchestra.
The film's musical score was completed by Leighton Lucas.
The Central Band of the Royal Air Force released a single of the march (HMV B10877) which reached 18 in the UK record charts on 21 October 1955. [3]
The march is now the musical setting for the hymn "God is our strength and refuge", based on Psalm 46.
By the time the sheet music for the march was published in 1955, Carlene Mair had added the following lyrics: [4]
Proudly, with high endeavour,
We, who are young forever,
Won the freedom of the skies.
We shall never die!
We who have made our story
Part of our Empire's [later: 'country's'] glory
Know our hearts will still live on
While Britons fly!
Fans of Lincoln City sing the song, with their arms outstretched imitating aircraft, after their team scores. It is also regularly played by Scottish football club Rangers F.C. post match. [5]
The march was featured in the 1973 Christmas special of The Goodies television series, "The Goodies and the Beanstalk".
Progressive rock band Jethro Tull concluded their concerts in the late 1970s and early 1980s with a rock rendition of the theme. [6] It can be heard on their live 1978 album, Bursting Out .
In Chile, the orchestral version of this march was used for 40 years as a theme song for the radio news show "El Correo de Minería", in Radio Minería.
The march, with a lyric written for the occasion, was used as a theme song for the Norwegian YMCA Scouts national scout camp in Mandal, Norway in mid 1990.
In the early 1990s, Land Rover featured "The Dam Busters March" in a television advertisement for the Land Rover Defender.
In 1990, Carlsberg Group parodied the 1955 film including "The Dam Busters March" in a television advertisement for Carling Black Label beer. In 1994, the March and the idea of the bouncing bomb (this time a rolled-up towel towards a sunbed) were used in another Carlsberg advertisement.
A slightly re-arranged orchestral version is used in Danny Boyle's short film Happy and Glorious, made for London's 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.
The song is featured on the high score screen of the Dragon 32 game Tea Time .
Jethro Tull are a British rock band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire in 1967. Initially playing blues rock and jazz fusion, the band soon incorporated elements of English folk music, hard rock and classical music, forging a signature progressive rock sound. The group's founder, bandleader, principal composer, lead vocalist, and only constant member is Ian Anderson, a multi-instrumentalist who mainly plays flute and acoustic guitar. The group has featured a succession of musicians throughout the decades, including significant contributors such as guitarists Mick Abrahams and Martin Barre ; bassists Glenn Cornick, Jeffrey Hammond, John Glascock, Dave Pegg, Jonathan Noyce, and David Goodier; drummers Clive Bunker, Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow and Doane Perry; and keyboardists John Evan, Dee Palmer, Peter-John Vettese, Andrew Giddings, and John O'Hara.
Thick as a Brick is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released on 3 March 1972. The album contains one continuous piece of music, split over two sides of an LP record, and is intended as a parody of the concept album genre. The original packaging, designed as a 12-page newspaper, claims the album to be a musical adaptation of an epic poem by fictional eight-year-old genius Gerald Bostock, though the lyrics were actually written by the band's frontman, Ian Anderson.
Aqualung is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Jethro Tull; it was released in March 1971 by Chrysalis Records. Though it is generally regarded as a concept album, featuring a central theme of "the distinction between religion and God", the band have said there was no intention to make a concept album, and that only a few songs have a unifying theme. Aqualung's success signalled a turning point in the career of the band, who went on to become a major radio and touring act.
Heavy Horses is the eleventh studio album by British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, released on 10 April 1978.
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British epic docudrama war film starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, that was directed by Michael Anderson. Adapted by R. C. Sherriff from the books The Dam Busters (1951) by Paul Brickhill and Enemy Coast Ahead (1946) by Guy Gibson, the film depicts the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb.
Ian Scott Anderson is a British musician best known for his work as the singer, flautist, acoustic guitarist, primary songwriter, and sole continuous member of the rock band Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist who also plays harmonica, keyboards, bass guitar, bouzouki, balalaika, saxophone and a variety of whistles. His solo work began with Walk into Light in 1983; since then he has released another five albums, including the sequel to the 1972 Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick, titled TaaB 2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock? (2012).
This Was is the debut studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released in October 1968. Recorded at a cost of £1200, it is the only Jethro Tull album with guitarist Mick Abrahams, who was a major influence for the sound and music style of the band's first songs. When the album was released the band were performing regularly at the Marquee Club in London, where other successful British groups, such as the Rolling Stones and the Who, had started their careers.
War Child is the seventh studio album by Jethro Tull, released in October 1974. It was released almost a year and a half after the release of A Passion Play. The turmoil over criticism of the previous album surrounded the production of War Child, which obliged the band to do press conferences and explain their plans for the future.
Songs from the Wood is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, released on 11 February 1977 by Chrysalis Records. The album is considered to be the first of three folk rock albums released by the band at the end of the 1970s, followed by Heavy Horses (1978) and Stormwatch (1979).
"Aqualung" is a song by the British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, and the title track from their Aqualung (1971) album. The song was written by the band's frontman, Ian Anderson, and his then-wife Jennie Franks.
Michael Timothy Abrahams is an English guitarist and band leader, best known for being the original guitarist for Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968 and the frontman for Blodwyn Pig.
Doane Ethredge Perry is an American musician, composer and author. From 1984 to 2011 he was drummer and percussionist with the band Jethro Tull and has also appeared on hundreds of recordings spanning multiple genres on records, film and television.
"Locomotive Breath" is a song by British progressive rock band Jethro Tull from their 1971 album, Aqualung.
Ahead Rings Out is the debut album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1969. The band had been formed in 1969 by Mick Abrahams, the former guitarist of Jethro Tull, and sales of Ahead Rings Out rivalled those of Jethro Tull’s next album, Stand Up, reaching No. 9 on the British album chart.
Dee Palmer is an English composer, arranger, and keyboardist best known for having been a member of the progressive rock group Jethro Tull from 1976 to 1980.
"Bungle in the Jungle" is a song by British progressive rock band Jethro Tull. It was released on their album War Child in 1974.
"A Song for Jeffrey" is a song recorded by the English rock band Jethro Tull, released as their second single in the UK, and as the B-side to "Love Story" in the US. The "Jeffrey" of the title is Ian Anderson's friend and future Jethro Tull bassist Jeffrey Hammond, who was "a slightly wayward lad who wasn’t quite sure where he was headed in life".
"Heavy Horses" is a song written by Ian Anderson and performed by his band Jethro Tull. The song was released on the 1978 album of the same name. Written as a tribute to horses, the song features folk rock elements that rebelled against the musical trends of the period.
"Dun Ringill" is a song written by Ian Anderson and performed by his band Jethro Tull. The song was released on the group's 1979 album Stormwatch. Written as a tribute to the fort of the same name, the song features folk rock elements that rebelled against the musical trends of the period.
