This article was printed in the May 1997 edition of Total Guitar Magazine and was passed to us by Hugh Portnow via DaveCurran. The feature also included a notation of the guitar solo from the theme from Rainbow, and this was played through twice on track 40 on the cover CD, with a fade out as per the original recording. Track 41 was a looped backing track, with an ending that matches the vocal "...paint the whole world with a rainbow" section.

Theme from Rainbow

This month's TG telly track is taken from the 70's children's series, Rainbow. Our very own Joe Bennett transcribes and plays the guitar solo that was his first musical inspiration.

You'll remember this if, like me, you're (just) still a twenty-something, or if (also like me) you did a lot of skiving during your 'A' levels. It's actually come back to our screens recently, but with different characters and, alas, no guitar solo - so for this guitarist, the faces of Bungle, Geoffrey, Zippy and George will be forever linked with burbly ninth fret neck pickup overdrive sounds.

All the music for the show was performed by the six-piece band Telltale, the original members were actor-musicians Hugh Portnow (lead guitar) Tim Thomas (guitar and lead vocals) and Hugh Fraser (bass/flute). The original recording was made in 1972, and this version of the music was still used as late as 1991. Cover versions have been recorded in a variety of styles, including rave, rock and thrash metal (also check out the bizarre indie-style recording by Brussels Spaceship).

The solo is an extemporisation of the vocal tune from the intro, and the entire piece is based on a one-bar chord pattern. Hugh wasn't improvising the solo - this extemporised melody was written as a flute line and also appears in the vocal version.

The guitar sound, though under produced by today's standards, is surprisingly effective in the context of the basic acoustic/bass/drums rhythm section. Hugh; "It was just a standard sunburst Tele, which I bought new in 1969. I put it through a Coloursound wah/fuzz, and just moved it until I got that warm tone, then screwed the pedal tight so it wouldn't move from there. After that it went into a Fender Tremolux head, with a 2x12 Fender Bassman cabinet."

There is a rarely-heard improvised version of the original in existence, he remembers; "At the end of the actual show music, over the fade, I cut loose and did some wild stuff. The original went on as far as a key change, then over the credits outro music they just let me go mad. But it's that little 8-bar solo that everyone remembers."

Total Guitar Issue 30 - May 1997. Page 85. Transcribed by Dave Curran.Further information about Total Guitar Magazine can be found at the FuturePublishing Website.