On Saturday, July 13th, Gerry Anderson fans from various top secret locations touched down in Birmingham for a most special assignment. Their mission – to spend an evening enraptured in the musical worlds of Gerry Anderson’s remarkable body of television and film!
After several months of anticipation, Stand By For Action! 2: Tunes of Danger proved to be a hugely enjoyable celebration of some of the most evocative and exciting music in television history. The concert, co-produced between Anderson Entertainment and Carrot Productions, saw the music of 70 years’ worth of dangerous adventures, thrilling rescues, and cosmic wonder performed live to stimulating effect. From the deepest depths of the oceans to the furthest reaches of outer space, the music of Thunderbirds, Space: 1999, Stingray, Terrahawks, and more was brought to thundering life.
Rather than journey through the musical works of Barry Gray, Richard Harvey, Crispin Merrell, John Cameron, and Derek Wadsworth in chronological order, Stand By For Action! 2 boasted an enjoyably eclectic structure. After a stirring introduction consisting of the one-two knock-out punches of Fireball XL5‘s This is the Twist and Thunderbirds‘ opening titles, the performance was split into several distinct sections, each of them linking several unique pieces of Anderson music through similar thematic moods, all marvellously performed with warmth and enthusiasm by the Hackenbacker Orchestra.
Arranger Daniel Whibley must be commended for the complex task of weaving together all these pieces of music into a cohesive whole – not an enviable task, as we spent the evening being pulled back and forth between full-throttle orchestral surges, sombre piano solos, funky launch sequences, and creepy synthesizer-led items. However, it was clearly a structure that paid off. From where this humble concertgoer was sat up in the circles section, the night was peppered with audience interjections of ‘yes!’ as each piece of music was announced by our wonderfully aimable compère for the evening, Jon Culshaw. A barely concealed excitement for our epic audible journeying into the music of Gerry Anderson was apparent throughout the evening.
Indeed, Jon’s own eagerness was a welcome presence throughout the evening that kept the audience in fine spirits. Even when the orchestra found themselves grappling with one or two technical gremlins during the performance, Jon’s infectious energy steered a consistently upbeat course for everyone. Matching Jon’s enthusiasm was conductor George Morton, who led the orchestra in fine style, resplendent in a Thunderbirds-styled overcoat fashioned from Thunderbirds curtains purchased off of eBay!
It was a joy to hear so many avenues (and alleyways!) of Anderson music packaged for the evening’s entertainment. The Massive Machines medley was a particular highlight, a complimentary melding of the muscular themes of several of Thunderbirds‘ greatest guest vehicles: Sidewinder, Fireflash, and Zero X. Also invigorating was The Sea and the Skies medley, a colourful romp ranging from Stingray‘s Terror Fish Attack and March of the Giant Oysters to UFO‘s Skydiver Launch before blasting off into the Supercar theme. Other highlights came in more unexpected ways. Barry Gray’s freakishly atonal ending theme to UFO capped off the Alien Worlds medley and was performed with unsettling aplomb by the orchestra’s keyboard section. Not the most obvious piece of Barry’s to be highlighted by the concert, but performed to brilliantly creepy effect.
Stand By For Action! 2: Tunes of Danger also serves as a celebration of Stingray‘s 60th anniversary by featuring the debut of Anderson Entertainment’s multiplatform saga Stingray: Deadly Uprising, which consists of a brand new Stingray story told across several formats. Kicking off the saga in a convincingly authentic style was the live performance of the full-cast drama Deadly Concerto, which opened the second half of the concert. Starring Marc Silk as Troy Tempest, Wayne Forester as Phones, X-20 and King Harmonius, Nicholas Briggs as Titan, Jules de Jongh as Atlanta, and Ben Page as the Aquaphibians, this compact adventure was performed with full orchestral backing and serves as a delightful and unexpectedly funny prelude to the wider Deadly Uprising saga. Ben’s submarine pilot capabilities are to be highly commended, while Nicholas and Wayne’s take on the bombastic Titan and snivelling X-20, respectively, gave the performance some wonderful comedic flourishes, too.
The surprise twist within the story was the inclusion of the mute Marina, here given something of a star role as she unleashes hidden musical abilities when Titan’s union with King Harmonius yields a new musically-themed superweapon to be used against the WASPs. Singer-actress Wendy Carr’s performance as Marina was brilliantly accurate, perfectly capturing the original puppetry movements alongside the other cast members, before she enraptured the audience with hers’ and Marc’s duet of Aqua Marina.
Once Deadly Concerto was in the can, the concert turned to more quieter tones with the Memories and Reflections medley, a chance for the much earlier puppet productions of The Adventures of Twizzle, Torchy the Battery Boy, and Four Feather Falls to be included in the show. Pianist Gemma Bisson’s solo piano rendition of the sublime Tracy Island Lounge Piano drew an appropriately rapturous response from the audience. A rousing rendition of Barry Gray’s lesser-heard track Legacy also prompted a positive audience reception for its celebration of many creative professionals closely associated with Gerry Anderson’s life and career. From there, Stand By For Action! 2 surged into the enthralling Big Favourites medley, a welcome set of classic opening theme songs from Joe 90, UFO, and Space: 1999, but it was the closing performance of the Thunderbirds March that provoked a buoyant eruption from the audience. With such a beloved theme saved until the end, Stand By For Action! 2: Tunes of Danger ended on a wonderfully triumphant note.
With its thrilling performances, varied setlist, and communally upbeat atmosphere, Stand By For Action! 2: Tunes of Danger authentically enlivened the music of Gerry Anderson’s worlds for fans, resulting in a spectacular evening of musical adventure. Coupled with the variety of exhibitions, displays, cosplayers, and more that were in full flow throughout the afternoon prior to the concert, Stand By For Action! 2: Tunes of Danger was a magical encapsulation of why the worlds of Gerry Anderson continue to remain so captivating for everyone.
If you want to relive the concert or missed out on being there, don’t worry! Stand By For Action! 2 is now available to pre-order on DVD, Blu-ray and CD for release this September!
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