Ivor Slaney: Top Dog - Vintage TV & Radio Classic

Ivor Ernst Slaney 1921-1998. A British composer and conductor, notable for his work in film, television and radio.
Born in West Bromwich, nr. Birmingham he trained as an oboist, but is best known as a composer and arranger. he was responsible though anonymously for many recordings by the 101 strings and credited for two classic but very different children's TV film series - Sir Frances Drake and Double Deckers. He also recorded extensively for music libraries in the Light Music genre. From here came the theme for the earliest TV series featuring Harry Worth and then 'Top Dog', which became just as famous for its use as signature tune to the BBC's radio comedy series chronicling the world of an imaginary government department in Whitehall, 'The Men from the Ministry'

His father Ernst Wallace Slaney was the principal 'cellist in the Bournemouth
Municipal Orchestra in the 1920s and 1930s under Sir Dan Godfrey. His mother was Grace Elizabeth Arney (b 22 April 1893, died July 1988). She married Ernst in Bristol in 1920. As a youngster Ivor joined the choir of St Stephen's Church, Bournemouth where he was also taught by Percy Whitlock, the church's Director of Music and a colleague of Ernst Slaney at the Bournemouth Pavilion. According to Whitlock's diary, Ivor was known as 'Tiny'.
In 1935, aged 14, Ivor entered the Royal Artillery in Woolwich and gained a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where he studied oboe with Léon Goossens and made friends with Malcolm Arnold. During the war he joined up as a musician in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, and afterwards worked for a time as an orchestral player with the London Philharmonic, the Covent Garden Opera House Orchestra and the Boyd Neel Orchestra. He married pianist Mary D Ludlow (known by her stage name Dolores Ventura) in 1948, divorcing her in 1969 and remarrying in 1974.
On this video as befits the title, images of active well groomed canines to go along with this jaunty little tune.

An lovely album of 22 instrumental memories to treasure, why not own it?
Album Info:-
Top Dog - Ivor Slaney
British Light Miniatures
Vintage TV and Radio Classics
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra -Gavin Sutherland.
2007 Naxos
DDD 8.570332.

Apologies for any copyright issues, this video is not made or uploaded for any profit or personal gain.

Видео Ivor Slaney: Top Dog - Vintage TV & Radio Classic канала Jayne Anne Strutt