Sunday night in bed hearing that downstairs. .used to scare the shite outta me. .. 42 now and its still gets me. Why ????

Even now after 30 odd years this music still freaks me out

i always loved the old Anglia knight ident.

This theme tune automatically makes me think of the past and reminds me of something but don't know what. It's so creepy and used to scare me and my sister. Even back when we was kids I felt like it reminded me of something from the past?

Ahh yes, the dancing lady at the start. The highlight for every teenage boy back then.

36 now and the theme still creeps me out. I'm not sure whether it was the skulls or the fact I had school in the morning that scared me more.

For those asking, the dancing lady's name is Karen Standley. Her boyfriend at the time was contracted to make the titles, so she took the day off from working as a secretary, and just made the dance up as she went along. She did an excellent job.

Thank you Ron Grainer for writing this charming tune! As everybody else I also do remember this serie, from the turning knight with the Anglia banner to the cards, dancing women and mysterious masks.

I'm 41. Love this theme tune. Think we knew it was to a series of macabre tales, so knew the theme wasn't so innocent. World in action, yes, and crime watch, and police five, used to freak me out! Great memories.

Loved that Anglia TV opening.

Karen Standley, the dancer to the theme tune in the graphics, was one of the most famous people on TV then. But no-one knows very much about her or what she really looked like. It would be interesting if we could get clear picture of her dancing. Her silhouette was the best thing about "Tales of the Unexpected."

This theme scared the hell out of me as a kid..sinister but excellent.

The landlady! Great episode! We watched it in gcse English back in 1996 and had to write what we thought happened to Billy at the end as a story. Most of my class wrote him dying in some way . I wrote he ecaped (jumping out of a window and slicing his wrist), the story is him then running as fast as he can to the nearest police station to explain everything that had happened. When the police man goes to the house to investigate, instead of finding a murderous woman who'd chased Billy all over he finds a kind, almost grandmotherly old lady (she'd hidden the 'taxidermy' by then). She explains to the officer how she'd given Billy lodgings some months ago and he'e come back to try and break in, hence the smashed window and he must have cut himself trying to escape. Of course she was lying and Billy wasn't! The officer believes her and says he needs to take a statement, she agrees, offering him a "cup of tea dear?" The same one she'd offered Billy hours earlier! Thats where i ended my story. The teacher said she was gripped from the start. Only A i ever got!

Remember this from years ago as a child, really freaky!!, tune sends shivers down my spine even now .

After all these years I hadn't forgotten the dancing lady inside the burning fire. Love this tune so much... Thanks

Ahhhhhhh this always meant bedtime for us!!

loved this show, love the haunting quality of the theme to.

One of the scariest tunes EVER!

Back when tv theme tunes were works of art in themselves. The images chosen inspire trepidation in themselves, chance - thing over which we have no control. The rotating gun, the roulette wheel the tarot pack - chance and fate.

Love it. Thank you. This is one of those pieces of music that stays with you. Wish the dancing silhouette had been longer. Perfect accompaniment with the music.

I was terrified of the opening credits when i was little

When I was 7 or 8 years old this tune freaked me out back in the 80s

I was 14 years old in 1979 when Tales Of The Unexpected started. It was a great series with great theme music.

Even as a wee lad in the 1980s this show was a bit disturbing. But the silhouette was enlightening even then! Very sexy!

Anglia - Colour Production... This was back when colour was a big deal! Amazing...but makes me feel old!

Loved this show,was about 6 and i remember watching with my now departed dad.

my granny bless her use to watch this show when i was a kid....the music use to freak me out....and the mask with the eyes lighting up use to scare the piss outa me!!!!

this is the only episode on the DVDs to have the anglia knight. also this episode is terrifying!

Una de las mejores series cortas de la historia de la televisión. Imaginación a raudales, excelentes actores y siempre un final inesperado. Tanto la presentación como su música son inolvidables, una auténtica joya !!!

My dear old mum let me stay up and watch this sometimes. It was one creepy show.

that comment of which you`ve put on youtube, i can relate to more than any ive ever heard....... that music and the music out of the south bank show mean nothing more than bad memories of`get to bed!!!` once i heard that music,, i knew a full week of school was ahead....looking back how my life is now..how i wish those days were back!

I don't know why they got rid of the Anglia Television logo's at the start and the end of Tales Of The Unexpected nowadays when they repeat them on Sky television. It looks so much better than the crap modern Granada logo they have on it now.

Why does this give me chills?

Ah, the sound of terror.

why dont they make TV like this any more? The intro to this show was amazing, they changed it for the US version, god knows why, the UK one used to scare me something rotten.

I got the whole series at home. It was an amazing programme. These days I appreciate the quality of the stories and the ingenious twists at the end. However I was young when it was originally screened (during it's original 9 year run I was aged between 3 and 12) and I didn't think much of it, because I couldn't understand the stories and it just didn't appeal to me - though I did ended up watching a few episodes. However the one thing I did enjoy watching though was the intro and outro. The music was spellbinding, there was something hypnotic about it. But that is not all, there is also the images - the silhouetted dancing woman, the revolver, the pack of cards, the spinning roulette wheel etc. which just adds to the mystique. Every time it was on I used to watch it for that theme music and intro and switch it off. Sometimes I maybe put it back on just to see the outro! Amazing TV series and a brilliant piece of music by the legend that is Ron Grainer (the same man that wrote the Doctor Who theme tune)...

Used to watch this show when I was little. The Landlady was my favorite episode, and also the creepiest one in my opinon. Thanks for sharing.

So, trawling through KZfaq, searching for TV themes loved as a child and here's this one. The only theme EVER to have my other half say "URGH, no. Turn it off! This music gives me nightmares." Brilliant stuff. Ron Grainer was a genius!

Thank you for posting. For some (unknown) reason this theme tune popped into my head today and I was compelled to search for it and listen to it! I remember the show well, on a Sunday night before school!! Some fantastic story lines I seem to remember!

Will remember this forever....

Thank the lord I have name to put to the tune. It's been driving me mad since it popped into my head recently.

My dad introduced this show and The Avengers to me when I was maybe seven... I'll never forget them :)

The good old days ........this programme scared me to death .....bloody creepy!

Felt compelled to look for this after 30 years overseas. Must have put a hook in me.....thanks for the trip.

was expecting "and now its the quiz of the week"

Good Lord, that silhouetted woman doing that dance in TOTU. I SOOOO wanted to have her.

Want 'spooky' 1970's theme tunes ? Try - 'Picture Box', 'World in Action', 'Tomorrow People' & 'Children of the Stones'. . . Think its the Hammond Organ that makes them eerie. Like the theme tune to 'Get Carter'

Karen Stanley was the ‘naked’ lady dancing. This theme still gives me the hebejebees! This meant bedtime on school nights.

Yeah and me . It was the endings that got me . Always remember the landlady one . And Royal jelly.

If we had grown up with this music completely decoupled from the associated visuals, would it still sound sinister?

Brilliant 👏

the brilliant Ron Grainer wrote this- he also wrote the themes to Steptoe and Son and of course Doctor Who!

You have my thumbs. A terrifying waltz. Shudder.

wow....The MEMORIES this music brings!

I really miss watching the tales of the unexpected I loved watching it very much

Pure evil, with a jolly tune. Don't make them like this anymore

Ahhh no way!! I been looking for this, I remember as a kid my nan and grandad watched this. I always remember this strange music and the dancing women, it was always so surreal and strange to me bk then, all part of growing up these things lol. So glad I found it now thanx so much!!! :))

This and the World in Action theme are my nostalgia favourites

I use to be terrified of this theme song when I was little. Then i was only 7 and it felt so sinister and dark then.

I just loved this tvshow...so so so much!

Oh my goodness, this still sounds as eerie as it did on Sunday nights as a child...used to give me the chills, especially the lit up eyes and the dancing ladies...

This music and intro will always haunt me. Memories from my childhood. But I love it.

Sunday evenings in the 80's

This is a very catchy tone

Desde los 70 traigo ese tema musical en la cabeza...que me llena de suspenso!!

As many others have commented. This theme used to scare me as a child because it always invoked a feeling of malevolence. That something bad was going to happen to someone which did on this show. The red backdrop, the flames, the image of the lady combined with the carnival/carousel theme and you knew it spelt major misfortune ahead.....

Great. Ron Grainer - what a talent

Oscar winning Film Director Bert Salzman, who dramatized, directed and produced episodes of ' ' Tales of the Unexpected ' between 1981-84 will be attending a retrospective of his films at London's Portobello Film Festival, Westbourne Studios, Ackland Road, Nottinghill. on Thursday Sept 13th at 730pm 2012 He currently lives in California but will be traveling to London for he first ever Film Festival retrospective of his work in the UK.

Ron Grainer, Brilliant musician.!

hear this and i knew it was back to school in the morning.

Got scary goosebumps man!

ahhh that music are so good

a wonderful piece of music

Who could ever forget this? Creepy as hell. It was the first time I saw Tarot cards.

lovely

Could listen to this non stop.

LOL! I thought I'd ask my 6 year old the same thing. Whilst he was watching I said are you scared and he said "no." I told him I used to be petrified of this and he simply said "Pathetic!" LOL!!!!

If i remembered rightly . They were a couple with a baby , the husband was a bee keeper and im sure the husband fed the baby royal jelly in the milk . And towards the end both the baby and father begin turning into bees . Making that buzzing sound . I always found the storylines creepy and the theme tune !!!!

wasl always on a downer this time o the week, just had a bath and weekend over n back to shitty school

Best tv opener ever ! Used to creep me out but what a series.

Found this with regard to the dancer : Star-studded and lavish Tales of the Unexpected may have been, but it also gave some “unknowns” a taste of fame. Best remembered of them was the dancer who performed for the opening title sequence dubbed by one newspaper as “the sexiest dance on television”. Karen Standley was a 27-year-old secretary and housewife from Berkshire, and took a day off to record the sequence. “The moves were my very own,” recalled Karen, who never danced professionally but got the job because her boyfriend at the time worked for Top of the Pops and was contracted to make the titles for Tales of the Unexpected. She was seen only in silhouette on screen and for the recording had to wear a white body stocking and white tights, with white greasepaint on her arms and legs to achieve the necessary effect. “The greasepaint kept melting under the hot studio lights,” she said. “It was horrible and uncomfortable and it took three baths to wash it all off. But it gave me some money - nothing staggering, but I got a new outfit out of it.” “I was just told to look as sexy as I could and I made it up as I went along. I got a fair amount of fan-mail - mostly adolescents who wanted a picture of me. I suppose I was their fantasy woman.” Karen is now a mother of two and works as a receptionist in a hospital accident and emergency department.

This show use to come on Friday nights 11:30 Pm in the early 80s , i miss this show

A BRILLIANT SERIES

beautiful nostalgia...

proper old skool,i belive this was on every sunday night

ITV should bring this back, drop the reality game show crap bring back Tales Of the Unexpected

Classic series. Filled with classic twists and malicious comedy.

Cracking theme 👌

Was the 1st series of Tales of the Unexpected made by Yorkshire Television, because I was looking at an old RTE Guide from 1979. It was shown on RTE 2 on a Thursday night and on the RTE Guide, most programmes from Britain had the television company who made the programme, but when I saw Tales of the Unexpected listed, it said at the end of the programme details 'A Yorkshire Television Production'. The second series was show on RTE 2 in early 1981 and that says Anglia Television

wuau despues de 30 años vuelvo a ver esto, me trae muchos recuerdos, lo estube buscando por muchos años, muchas gracias.

This is my ringtone

BRAVO!!!!!!!

loved this show

this was another great tv soundtrack along with Juliet Bravo, used to do the dance at the end in my living room at the end of the programme!

This terrified me as a kid, it was that horrid music and those images. Once my parents went out to the pub and left me alone to watch t.v. I think I was 13 or 14 years old, anyway my older brother came back to the house with a mate and they asked me to make them a brew. When I got back into the living room he had turned EVERY channel on the t.v. (back then they had 5 knobs on the front of the telly for tuning in), into you guessed it tales of the unexpected, bastard.

The best thing about a show like this is was who they got to appear. More often than not they were well known faces from TV and film both in the UK and America as well as new faces who would be become established household names in their own right.

We had it here in Norway too. Man that brings back the memories!! Being norwegian, we had our own sauna, and after that it was Roald Dahl-time. (His mother was norwegian you know.. :-)

cool theme song and cool show

I still got spooked now... *shivers*

That woman dancing, totally mesmerizing.