The Prisoner Music Archive

Section Five

The Prisoner Theme

How can I play the theme music myself?

Any reasonable musician can work an arrangement out. The theme has a distinctive main melody carried on trumpets and the intermingling counter melodies and "stabs" using trombones and horns can be approximated on manuscript by the keen ear (you also need a hand and a pen of course!). With midi-compatable keyboards widely available it's then possible to translate it all into a "virtual band". Of course, the only way to get a really authentic-sounding theme of your own is to lay hands on a copy of the sheet music and work from that.

Getting hold of the sheet music

Unfortunately this document went missing after the Theme Music recording session, was never registered and therefore never converted into a reproducable and commercially available form.

After The Prisoner aired at the end of the 60's, New World Music released a sheet music piano arrangement - "Theme from the ATV Network Presentation the prisoner" (sic). This featured three photographs on the front cover (McGoohan, a helicopter and a motorboat which were stills from "Free For All"), while the musical content ran to 4 pages. This could be purchased over the counter of your friendly local music shop for the princely sum of 3/- (three shillings) which translates to 15p (fifteen pence) for those in the UK born after decimalisation and about twenty one cents for the USA.

The arrangement was obviously done "by ear" as it contains many of the elements of Ron Grainer's theme but doesn't really follow the structure, the left-hand bass part is particularly uninspiring. However, it's all that there was until Grainer decided to re-score and re-record the theme for commercial release. As is documented elsewhere in this FAQ, this version also strayed disappointingly away from the original, however the score was registered this time and became available from specialist music suppliers. The cover was very much the same as the earlier piano arrangement pictured above. As with the latter arrangement, it's now out of print.

Copyright for the orchestral version is held by ATV Music Limited, all Rights controlled and adminstered by MCA Music Limited, under license from ATV Music Limited.

A reproduction of this score was made available for a short time by Six Of One but only to their members. There is little chance of a commercial release.

The Prisoner Theme in "Total Guitar"

Total Guitar, as it name suggests, is a UK magazine which devotes itself to guitar-based recordings, artistes and playing techniques. One of the most popular features is where they take a well-known recording which features a particularly memorable guitar "lick" (Eric Clapton's "Layla" for example) which is dissected and converted to a score. Guitarists can then learn from the technique and add to their playing experience and skills.

The December 1997 issue (on sale from early November) featured an article on the Prisoner Theme and the very distinctive guitar sound which everyone remembers. The cover-mounted CD included a re-recorded version of the theme by The London Philharmonic Orchestra (courtesy of Silva Screen records). To accompany the article, the magazine printed the guitar part of the musical score from which this recording was made plus the chord sequences and an indication of the general structure of the arrangement.

As to the availability of back issues after all this time, well it's a long shot, but enquiries can be made to Future Publishing, FREEPOST (BS4900), Somerton, Somerset, TA11 6BR. (NB: the FREEPOST bit is only applicable within the UK.) Telephone (0)1225 822511. Alternatively you can e-mail  CUSTOMER SERVICES 

The following text is reproduced with permission of Total Guitar.

The Prisoner ...... Ron Grainer

This 17-episode drama only ran for two years, yet its dark spy theme remains a cult '60s TV classic. Joe Bennett talks to original session guitarist Martin Kershaw.

The Prisoner was conceived in 1966 by actor Patrick McGoohan as a paranoid allegory about state control and personal liberty. It's ironic, then, that McGoohan himself took such control that he vetoed three different pieces of music before settling on a theme. Ron Grainer was the third composer commissioned, and even his first attempt was rejected because McGoohan thought it 'too slow'. It has hastily re-scored with a dashing brass and twin guitar theme, and on 5th March 1967 guitarists Martin Kershaw and Vic Flick went into Anvil studios in Denham to play Grainer's twin electric guitar parts.

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Martin recalls that the score he was shown was covered in crossings-out and pencil markings; "That was how the session scene was, back then. Parts were written in the back of taxis on the way to sessions – sometimes the copyist would be working as you played a take."

Although the guitar part can be played as single part (as on our version), Grainer wanted a twin lead sound, and because the studio had no multi-track facilities, he hired two players. Martin; "Ron really knew what he was doing with guitar scores. He understood what was possible between strings, and all about the instrument's range. In The Prisoner, he scored for two rhythm guitars, playing different positions for a really big chord sound."

The band finished the track (and other music for the show) in that one Sunday afternoon session, but this wasn't particularly unusual at the time. Vic Flick; "There was no room for second-rate guitar playing – although there was a lot of work around, it was incredibly competitive. You would just sight-read what was in front of you and go home. To be honest, I can't even remember the session"

The Prisoner, from the 1996 compilation The Cult Files (Silva Screen). Arrangers Mike and Kevin Townend worked on the scores, and used the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, plus session players Mo Foster (bass) and Paul Keogh (guitar). Mike felt that one player could achieve the sound with double-stops; "It was arranged carefully so the rhythmic chops weren't lost, while keeping that twangy lead sound."

Paul used a 1963 Fender Strat with a Boss CS-1 compressor and DD-3 delay, into a Boogie combo.

Session players rarely read from tablature. Both Grainer's original pencil-written score and Kevin Townend's 1996 version were scored in treble clef. Consequently the tab for our version is transcribed directly from the track.

Thanks to martin kershaw, mike townend, paul keogh, mo foster, eric tomlinson, vic flick, larry hall, john huckridge, roy willocks, clive hicks and terry walsh for their help with researching this feature. Audio used by permission of Silva Screen records.