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"Theme fromZ-Cars" was thetheme tune to the long-runningBBC television dramaZ-Cars. It was based on the traditional folk song "Johnny Todd",[1] which appeared inFrank Kidson’s 1891 collectionTraditional Tunes: A Collection of Ballad Airs. Kidson described "Johnny Todd" as a children’s rhyme and game heard among Liverpool children, noting that the words seemed old but were partially reconstructed due to gaps in the reciter’s memory.[2] The song also appears inSongs of Belfast, edited by David Hammond, who learned it from Mrs. Walker of Salisbury Avenue,Belfast, who claimed it dated from around 1900.[3] A version of the song is also mentioned in the first of thePara Handy stories, written inScotland in 1905, which stated that the tune had been popular about thirty years earlier.[4]
TheZ-Cars theme was arranged for commercial release byFritz Spiegl and Bridget Fry, and performed byJohn Keating and his Orchestra. The single reached number 8 in theRecord Retailer chart in April 1962, and as high as number 5 in other charts.[clarification needed][citation needed] The original television theme was arranged and conducted byNorrie Paramor with his orchestra.[citation needed] Episode credits from at least three of the 1962 broadcasts include the line "Music arranged by / BRIDGET FRY / and FRITZ SPIEGL".[citation needed]
The tune was adopted by supporters ofEverton F.C., a First Divisionassociation football club based inLiverpool. It was initially played in honour of actorLeonard Williams, who attended a match while appearing in the series. Following Williams’s death five days later, Everton played the theme again as a tribute at the next home match. Everton went on to win the League Championship in 1963, ending a 26-year wait. After fans associated the tune with subsequent victories, it became a regular feature before home games. The theme continues to be played as the team enters the pitch at bothHill Dickinson Stadium atGoodison Park, and it is also used in the club’s officialpodcasts.
In 1964,Watford F.C. adopted the tune at the request of then-managerBill McGarry, who was a fan of the television programme.[5] The tune has been played as the players enter the pitch since that time, becoming associated with the club’s rise under managerGraham Taylor in the 1970s and 1980s.[citation needed]Sunderland A.F.C. also used the song as entrance music for players at their former ground,Roker Park,[citation needed] and it has similarly been played atBorough Park, the home ofWorkington A.F.C.[6]
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