NEWS: Sky - 1975 HTV soundtrack vinyl release

Buried Treasure label to release cult 1975 TV soundtrack on vinyl, check out their Bandcamp page.

“The Juganet is a circle. The circle is a machine. The machine is a cross-over point. The point is a paramagnetic intersection. That is where I must be. Not here.”

An eerie, unsettling benchmark for wyrd television in the 1970s, Sky, created by Doctor Who stalwarts Bob Baker and Dave Martin, is acknowledged as one of several outstanding children’s dramas produced by HTV alongside Children Of The Stones, King Of The Castle and Into The Labyrinth.

The series mixes ecological fable with science fiction and fantasy. An ethereal alien materialises on the Earth and soon realises he’s landed in the wrong time zone. Sky must seek out the Juganet, an ancient portal that will send him to the correct temporal destination. With the help of tearaway Arby Venner, his sister June and friend Roy he battles Earth’s immune system which is attempting to destroy Sky via the sinister human manifestation of Goodchild.

“a sort of rurally set The Man Who Fell To earth…perfectly captures a sense of 1970s grime and the anti-style of a country gone to seed” A Year In The Country

Whilst the series may initially appear as just another low budget, kid’s sci-fi aimed at keeping youngsters occupied after school and before dinner, Sky touches on a variety of prescient ecological & societal themes such as mankind’s disregard for nature, wayward youth, the disappearance of the nuclear family, class, alcoholism and the rejection of technological progress in a post-apocalyptic future. A brooding atmosphere is sustained across the seven episodes, aided by Eric Wetherell’s stark score. Featuring harpsichord, glockenspiel, timpani, cello and primitive electronics, the music is tense and atonal, verging on experimental.

Transferred from the composer’s masters, we’re thrilled to present the isolated score to Sky as a ten inch LP on transparent, ice blue vinyl. The record features 26 cues including unused and alternative takes. 20 cues are included with this promo (if you need the rest please reply using the feedback form).

And any self-respecting HTV related release just wouldn’t be complete without the iconic Waterfall ident, composed by Johnny Johnston with electronic sounds by John Baker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop – all above board and officially licensed from the rights holders.

The Sky 10″ LP will be available to pre-order from bandcamp on Friday 1st August and in record stores from early September. All copies include a TV Times postcard + A3 colour poster of the 1975 Sky / Look-In magazine cover by legendary Italian illustrator Arnaldo Putzu.

Bob Baker published a revised novelisation of the Sky TV series in 2015. Copies can be bought here.

Eric Wetherell’s autobiography ‘Having A Hand In it’ can be bought here.

Further reading on Sky:

A YEAR IN THE COUNTRY

TV HEAVEN

THIS WAY UP