5 of the Best Performances from Stand By For Action! 2: Tunes of Danger

Stand by for musical action! Last July, we celebrated the musical worlds of Gerry Anderson with a stunning one-off concert - Stand By For Action! 2: Tunes of Danger. This spectacular show brought the supersonic soundtracks of Thunderbirds, Space: 1999, Terrahawks, Stingray and more to life via a live orchestra and hosted by Jon Culshaw.

Stand By for Action! 2: Tunes of Danger is now available to order on DVD and Blu-ray, while the CD will be appearing around March. With the concert now available to enjoy, we're counting down five of our favourite performances from last year's spectacular concert!

5. Martian Menaces

From the pre-Supermarionation series such as The Adventures of Twizzle to Anderson Entertainment's own spy-fi audio drama, First Action Bureau, nearly 60 years of Anderson adventure was highlighted at the concert, with many worlds brought together into numerous uniquely themed medleys. One of the most stirring of these was Martian Menaces, which brings together the eerie atmospheres of Captain Scarlet, the Mysterons, and the Martian Rock Snakes before swinging into the surging synths of S.O.S from Terrahawks.

4. Deadly Concerto

Away from the music, Tunes of Danger gave fans the chance to hear the opening story in our multi-platform Stingray saga, Stingray: Deadly Uprising. Performed by a live cast with orchestral accompaniment, 'Deadly Concerto' sees the mighty Titan align himself with a new underwater villain to lure the Stingray crew to their doom, whilst also planting the seed for a much larger invasion still to come against Marineville. 'Deadly Concerto' serves as the prequel to the wider Deadly Uprising saga, so be sure to complete your line-up of brand new Stingray stories with the concert's home release!

3. TB Lounge Piano

Performed as part of the sombre Memories and Reflections medley, 'TB Lounge Piano' sees concert pianist Gemma Bisson shine with this enrapturing solo performance of Virgil Tracy's own piano piece from the closing scene of 'Trapped in the Sky'. After an evening filled with some of the most thrilling and recognisable theme songs from television history, hearing this sweetly reflective piano piece brought a moment of calm to the concert before the final surge into the Big Favourites medley that closed out the show.

2. Massive Machines

Tunes of Danger's medleys brings many eclectic avenues (and alleyways!) of soundtracks that wouldn't appear to work in concept, but arranger Daniel Whibley performed a superb job of welding together unexpected gems. The Massive Machines medley however benefits from uniting three distinct pieces of music from the world of Thunderbirds - the themes of the Sidewinder, Zero X and the Fireflash. The stomp of the Sidewinder, the soaring Zero X and the magnificent take-off of the Fireflash make for a sonically effective binding of three of Thunderbirds' grandest machines.

1. Thunderbirds March

It surely isn't a surprise that this particular number grabs the top spot. The soaring 'Thunderbirds March' gave the concert a wonderfully triumphant note to end on - so much so that the orchestra played it twice! The 'Thunderbirds March' provoked full audience participation on both rounds, ensuring that an evening of supersonic music was brought to a thrillingly rousing finale. 

60 years on since its debut, the music of Thunderbirds, along with several decades' worth of other enthralling music, remain as beloved as ever, and Stand By For Action! 2: Tunes of Danger is firm proof that the music of Gerry Anderson's worlds were a vital ingredient to their longevity.

Order Stand By For Action! 2: Tunes of Danger on CD, DVD, or Blu-ray now! If you've already ordered the Stand By For Action! 2 CD along with the DVD or Blu-ray version and would like to receive your DVD/Blu-ray sooner rather than later while the CD version remained in production, use our contact form to message the Anderson Entertainment team to split your order.