Diamond Field "RTR Countdown Theme"

Out now - the 2022 remake of Peter Blake's mid-1980s "RTR" (Ready To Roll) TV show theme by Diamond Field.

Peter Blake is an acclaimed New Zealand musician and composer. His work at Television New Zealand over four decades saw him produce many local music shows as well as composing theme music for TV drama and documentaries, and opening titles.

Starting in the mid-1970s, local Top 20 chart show Ready to Roll (or RTR for short) became one of New Zealand’s most watched shows. The original theme music for RTR was the 1974 Commodores’ instrumental track ‘Machine Gun’. In 1983 Blake created a new and contemporary theme for the show using synthesizers which was used up until 1987, when it was updated. The 20 second intro which was quickly scored to a supplied animation concept and featured state-of-the-art video game style graphics. The titles build up to the appearance of the RTR logo and end with a preview of artist clips that would be featured that night. The music was created with a MIDI’d Mini Moog, a Roland MSQ-700 sequencer, Roland 808 drum machine and Prophet 5 synthesizer. The RTR theme, like much of Blake’s other work, became ingrained in New Zealand’s pop culture psyche and for anyone who grew up hearing it, will instantly trigger a shot of nostalgia.

That nostalgia is also the reason why this 2022 remake exists. The RTR theme was only ever 20 seconds in length but I always wondered what a full length version may sound like. In 2020 I got in touch with Peter and asked if I could do a remake of the theme, adding to it and creating a full track. He was cool with it here it is finally. I tried to keep as close as possible to the original sounds and vibe used in the original and simply flesh it out. I’ve also made this fun video with the opening titles that were used between 1983 and 1987, featuring the Top 20 countdowns from September 10th 1983 and February 23rd 1985, and the Top 10 from September 24th 1985. I hope you enjoy it!

• Watch the original RTR opening sequences courtesy Rob McConnell on YouTube
• RTR opening titles overview at NZ On Screen