Music Time (BBC)

Music Time was a BBC schools television series which ran from autumn 1970 to spring 1991, with repeats airing until summer 1994. It was presented initially by Mari Griffith and Ian Humphris, from 1977 by Kathryn Harries and Peter Combe and then from 1983 by Jonathan Cohen and Helen Speirs. From its inception until summer 1983 it was transmitted on BBC1; subsequently it was on BBC2, and for most of its run it was transmitted on Mondays and Thursdays.

Format

The series was aimed at primary school children aged between 7 and 9. It taught singing, instrumentation, and basic elements of music theory and performance through simple, easily understandable songs. These often formed part of a production intended to be performed by schools, and usually performed at the end of the series (though in later years, as with Tarfa and the Trolls, the full performance was sometimes at the beginning of the series). This would often be a pantomime in the autumn term. The series also included animated films (usually produced by Bura and Hardwick based on familiar classical works such as Coppelia, Lieutenant Kije and Hary Janos. These were sometimes shown in their own right on BBC2 in the early evening.

Music Time (song)

"Music Time" is the sole studio track released on the live Styx album, Caught in the Act. It peaked at number 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

When the concert was released on DVD, the video for this song was included. The theme is cartoonish and cheerful, with bright pastel sets and oversized props. The video features singer/songwriter Dennis DeYoung in various costumes (including a classic hobo look, and a fast food uniform), singing and acting out the lyrics. ("My job is boring," he sings, as he pulls the switch on a condemned man in the electric chair, "I'm overworked and underpaid.") The opening and closing scenes show aliens watching the main body of the video, and singing a refrain of "Hey everybody, it's music time!"

Styx singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw made no secret of his dislike of the song, and by the time the video was shot, Shaw had in fact left the band. This is why most of the scenes appear to depict a four-man group, and the guitarist playing Shaw's solo is only shown from the torso. Though he was no longer an official member of the band, Shaw allowed himself to be filmed separately from the others, in New York (where he was working on his first solo album), while the rest of the production was filmed in Los Angeles. He refused to participate in one comedic scene in a restaurant, in which the band members's heads appeared on dinner plates and in salad bowls.