h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I heard it first about 1985 - 1986.

To my knowledge it is mostly an instrumental track but there may be some "singing".
About 105 - 115 bpm I reckon.
You have eight quavers/eighth notes filling each and every bar. Each of those notes makes a beepy sound. The "melodic idea" of those beeps occurs over two bars and keeps repeating.
Every four bars or so a very whiny strange voice goes "oooh weee!" I don't know if it's an instrument making that sound or a human but the "oooh weee!" sound is very distinctive.

Dr Who theme tune?

The Mary Whitehouse Experience theme.

Songs of the humpback whales?

KDP: Not Doctor Who theme! We call Doctor Who "Gungadin" in this house because the tune goes:

A-Gungadin, A-gungadin, A-gungadin, A-gungadin.



Q: Wow, I can see why you thought it might be the Mary Whitehouse theme! That tune sounds like "Jack to the sound of the underground". It's not that one. If it was, I would've been H.A.P.P.Y.

Groob's search for his mystery tune goes on...

I thought that this would be solved by now. I can't let it go.....

I can only come up with these, which I'm afraid don't tick all the boxes, but might be a reasonable jumping off point:-

Jan Hammer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UmOY6ek_Y4

Harold Faltermeyer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dASqLXiuomY

Herbie Hancock (most likely, but a bit early) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHhD4PD75zY

PP.

Not those, PP.

I looked at the Jan Hammer one on YouTube and saw one of the related vids with the title, "Miami Vice - 30 Years On" and thought, "surely not?!" then realised. 30 years!

I can only think of "Video Killed the Radio Star", but that has lots of lyrics and is slightly too old.

No. VKTRS was a fave at the time. I'd never forget that!

If anyone can find the song I will buy them a beer.

Maybe it's something by Georgio Moroder. http://youtu.be/2QgN_45Nv3Q

Or possibly (my personal favorites) Tangerine Dream.

Phaedra 1974 http://youtu.be/7ndOHPxYGQM

I like the TD one. Will listen again. Thanks.

The Georgio Moroder one is interesting. If you take that very distinctive bassline and replace it with beeps then it almost matches the beeps on my mystery tune!

You might browse through other tracks by both artists.

Have you thought of any more clues? Is there any particular context you associate with this mystery earworm?

This must be the most beepy song I know, Popcorn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfdLh0MHqKw


But don't miss the heavy metal version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O775dHUHxLs

Thanks for that. That's another one I was thinking of but had no idea of its title or artist.

This is too late for 1985, and not nearly fast enough in BPM, but it does have some plinky piano on top of electronic backing track and a strange whiny voice cropping up: Moby's Porcelain:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13EifDb4GYs

Here's a link that works in the US.

http://youtu.be/IJWlBfo5Oj0

Let's go back to the beginning

>>You have eight quavers/eighth notes filling each and every bar. Each of those notes makes a beepy sound.

Beepy like what? Like your bios beeping? A car horn? Other?

Are any of the notes actually silence, or are you saying it's a continuous onslaught of beeps?

I have started my search for the correct beep.

1974 but it has some of the right elements I think. Thanks for posing the question in the first place. If you hadn't I would never have re-discovered this. I sold my vynil copy years ago. I wonder if it is available on CD?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=349zYW4N_1c

PP.