- "Anything Can Happen In The Next 12 Inches!"
— The album's tagline
With a potential comeback (plus a new generation of fans) looming on the horizon, several classic ITC programs were revamped and recharged with the power of dance music. By sourcing vocal clips from various episodes, they were spliced and looped to suggest the characters were 'rapping', while backed by fast-paced tunes. The original theme song tunes were retained, albeit speeded up or slowed down.
Released in mid-1990, the Power Themes 90 album included six tracks based on Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced programs. Foremost among them: Thunderbirds Are Go.
Thunderbirds Are Go[]
- The single Thunderbirds Are Go (performed by "FAB Featuring MC Parker") spent 8 weeks in the Official UK Singles Chart Top 100, peaking at number 5 on July 21st, 1990.
- At least 10 different releases are known to exist, including a picture disc by Telstar and a promotional single-sided flexi disc by Kellogg's.[1]
- The 12 inch Maxi Single has 4 different versions of the track: "Straight Run", "Pressure Mix", "Rescue Groove Turbo Mix", and "Vision Mix".
- A music video and magazine interview were released to coincide with the song, showcasing new footage of "MC Parker" as a disc-jockey.
Audio & Visual Sources[]
As with most remixes of the Thunderbirds theme, several clips of characters talking were sampled from the series:
- Parker's heavily sampled "Not so loud, m'lady!" came from The Impostors.
- Brains' exclamation of "Hardcore, Scott!" originates from Pit of Peril, though the accompanying footage was lifted from Day of Disaster.
- Scott Tracy's thrilled "FAB!" was also lifted from Pit of Peril.
- Scott later orders "Brains, call the boys! This is a job for International Rescue!" This came straight from Atlantic Inferno.
- Penny's "Are you going to tie me up?" is from The Man From MI.5, as is Carl's response "You bet I am!".
- Jeff's "Keep this frequency clear." is another line from Pit of Peril.
The most frequently used source for the audio clips is however the Century 21 audio story Introducing Thunderbirds:
- "Watch your eardrums! She's about to lift off." (Jeff)
- "We like it, don't we, Parker?" (Lady Penelope)
- "Yes, m'lady!" (Parker's reply)
- "Sometimes, Parker's little talent comes in very useful." (Lady Penelope)
- "Control to Thunderbird 3. Blast off!" (Jeff)
- "Why, it came out through the centre of the house!" (Lady Penelope)
The concluding exchange between Lady Penelope and Parker ("Oh, Parker? - Yes, m'lady? - Well done!") is from Parker, Well Done, a song written and recorded by Barry Gray in 1965.
Other Singles[]
At least two other tracks from the album were released as singles:
- The Stingray Megamix, performed by "FAB Featuring Aqua Marina", spent two weeks in the Official UK Singles Chart Top 100, peaking at number 66.
- The Prisoner, performed by "FAB Featuring MC Number 6", spent two weeks at number 56 in the Official UK Singles Chart Top 100.
VHS video tape
tracklist
