Cirrus@Austlit

A collection of 14 songs from five of the Don Battye/Peter Pinne children's musicals. All date from 1973 to 1980s and were previously unreleased. The CD was named as one of the top ten show tune releases in the USA during 2000.

The tracks are : 1. 'Pantomime' ; 2. 'From a Paper Boat'/'It's the Custom Here' ; 3. 'At the Fair' ; 4. 'Back Up on Top' ; 5. 'No One's as Handsome as Me' ; 6. 'Let the Sun Put a Smile in Your Hand' ; 7. 'Silver Sequin' ; 8. 'Lullaby' ; 9. 'Terribly, Terribly Me' ; 10. 'Happy Shoes' ; 11. 'Will She Love Me?' ; 12. 'Great Big Country Shoehouse' ; 13. 'Right Hand Man' ; 14. 'All the Colours of the Rainbow.'

Especially written for English audiences, this pantomime-style spoof of the original Australian drama series was 'played strictly for laughs' with intentional overacting and sets that sometimes wobbled (satirising the urban myth that the television series did this in some scenes).

Songs from the show include : 'Not Above the Law,' 'I'll be a Star,' 'Trouble,' 'I'm Innocent,' and 'Style' (all sung by Lily Savage) ; along with 'I Feel Like I Want to Boogie,' 'I Never Told Him I Loved Him,' 'Give Me a Man' and 'Why Not For Me?'

A daily television drama series set in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough, Neighbours chronicles the lives of the residents of Ramsay Street. The series initially revolved around three families: the Ramsays (at number 24 Ramsay Street), the Robinsons (at number 26), and the Clarkes (at number 28). The scope of the series has since broadened to include new Ramsay Street familes.

Sons and Daughters explores the dramatic incidents in the lives of the wealthy Hamilton family and the working-class Palmer family. The premise that underpinned the show's early years concerned the character John Palmer, on the run from the Melbourne police, who suspect him of murder. He travels to Sydney and falls in love with the wealthy Angela Hamilton, but they are later revealed to be twins who were separated at birth and raised separately: John raised by the wise former prostitute Fiona Thompson before returning to live with his father and Angela raised by her mother, who subsequently married into money. More wealth later arrives through the introduction of the Morrell clan, who have managed to marry their way into the Hamilton family.

Chopper Squad follows the adventures of a helicopter surf rescue team based on Sydney's northern beaches, as they deal with various difficult rescues and occasionally come into close contact with desperate criminals.

The program suffered from long hiatuses between the pilot and series one, and between series one and series two. Furthermore, Don Storey notes, in his Classic Australian Television, that

Unfortunately, the quality of the scripts varied immensely. Some episodes had excellent dramatic narratives, and the viewers would be on the edge of their seats watching the rescue process. Other plots were contrived merely to justify the use of a helicopter, or to show off some other facet of the surf rescue operation, or were just corny. This variation in quality occurred not only from episode to episode, but quite often within an episode.

However, Storey concludes that

If the scripts left a lot to be desired, the same could not be said for the other aspects of the programme. The actors all gave good performances, and the technical quality is excellent by any standards. Extensive external location work was used, with internal sets being kept to a minimum. The camerawork is second to none, highlighting the magnificent scenery of the Sydney coastline to great effect.

Albert Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, notes that 'World distribution rights to the series were bought by Paramount Pictures, which sold the production to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Britain'.

Revue.

Advertised as 'a light hearted trip around the world of song, fun and dance', the revue comprised sketches by Peter Pinne and Don Battye, with the musical program made up of well-known songs (apart from one original Pinne/Battye composition, 'Fasten Your Seatbelts').

Based on the favourite story by Hans Christian Andersen (q.v.), this 'children's Toyland musical," was created by Pinne and Battye as a follow up to their previous production Billabong Bill (1976). The story follows the adventures of a little tin soldier who is thrown out of a window by a wicked goblin. The soldier lands in a gutter and heads towards the sea. The original fairytale ending, in which the soldier is melted in an oven, has been changed so that he and the ballerina eventually get together.

Children's musical

Set in the Australian bush with a conservation theme, the story sees a water hole being polluted by the Useless Chemical Company. Bill, with the help of his animal friends, helps stop the contamination.

Revue.

Set in a variety of imaginary locations, including Elfland, a shoemaker's shop, King Jolly's throne room, Silver Sequin's Shop, a town street and a Big Country Shoehouse, the musical involves a large cast of actors, a number of which can be played by children. The central characters are: Slipper (Head Elf), Silver Sequin (the evil richest lady in town), Mr Buckle (a shoemaker), Carolinda (His daughter), Jingles (a good apprentice shoemaker), Lord Lopside, Dame Squeaky, Nasty Neville (Silver Sequin's Henchman), King Jolly and a host of elves.

The story revolves around a Shoemaker of the Year Award, sponsored by King Jolly. Silver Sequin means to win the prize, by any means possible, so that she can have the opportunity to wrap the king around her little finger, and also have all the knights grovel at her feet. The only person standing in her way is the kindly Mr Buckle. His shoes have recently started to become better than hers... but when Sequin finds out that he is not making them she wants to find out who is. Even Mr Buckle doesn't know. Apparently all he does is cut the leather and leave it out overnight. Next morning beautiful shoes have been made. When Sequin hides herself in Mr Buckles' shop she finds out that the shoemakers are elves, and that it is Slipper who holds the key to their magic. She kidnaps the head elf and starts to plan her victory. Meanwhile Mr Buckle and the other elves must find the skill and self confidence to make a pair of winning shoes without the help of magic. The elves learn that even magic is no substitute for trying with all of your might to do your best. Mr Buckle, too, learns that he is a much better shoemaker than he thought, and wins the award on his own merits. Even Sequin learns a lesson, and becomes a better person for it.

The songs originally written for the show were : 'We Are There' (Slipper and Elves), 'It's Not Much Fun' (Buckle and Carolinda), 'Work' (Slipper and Elves), 'Happy Shoes' (Lord Lopside, Mr Buckle, Carolinda and Jingles), 'By Appointment to His Majesty the King' (Sequin and Jingles), 'Happy Shoe Tap' (Elves), 'Every Week I Come To Town' (Dame Squeaky), 'Without Him' (Elves), 'Papa' (Carolinda), 'We're Going To Search' (Elves, Mr Buckle, Carolinda and Jingles) and 'You'll Never Get Anywhere Unless You Try' (Slipper, Mr Buckle and Elves).

Chamber Musical.

Sweet Fanny Adams tells the story of two rival whorehouse madams, Kitty Lang and Fanny Adams, and their battle to win control over Sydney's Palmer Street beat in 1934. Described by Tony Sheldon (record cover notes) as 'rude and raucous' the production was very much a pub theatre show, with whole scenes composed of double entendres and the 'tone of the evening... unabashedly wicked.' The narrative is set in three locations : Act 1. The Court ; Act 2. Fanny's Place ; and Act 3. Kitty's Place. The other characters include : Dick Adams, Nellie, Charlie and the Judge.

The songs incorporated into the story were : 'Every Monday Morning' (Fanny, Kitty and Judge), 'High Class' (Fanny and company), 'Sweet Fanny Adams' (Dick and company), 'Nellie' (Nellie and Judge), 'Puttin' on the Hard Word' (Dick), 'You've Gotta Prove You're a Man' (Kitty), 'Our House' (Fanny and company), 'The Big Sting' (company), 'It's My Street Now' (Kitty and company), 'Graft and Corruption Game' (Fanny and company), 'Give it a Go' (Nellie, Charlie and company), 'Our Brawl' (company), 'Those Girls' (company), 'I Love You' (Charlie), 'Just So Long as He is There' (Fanny) and 'From Now On' (Fanny and Kitty).

Revue.