I wish I was a spaceman ...

My own personal theme song has always been Barry Gray's end-title music for the 1963 British TV series Fireball XL5, produced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. It's one of the songs I'll sing at the drop of a hat at parties. And finally it is getting the recognition it deserves: the latest edition of the Penguin Television Companion has named it the #2 greatest theme song of all time.

Most US viewers won't likely know it, but Brits (and Canadians of my generation) certainly do. Interestingly, the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon used it as the theme music for one episode, too (the episode "Spider," about the designing of the Lunar Module).

You can hear it here. The composer is Barry Gray; the vocalist is Don Spencer.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site