LAS VEGAS (Animal Magic Theme) - By Laurie Johnson Arr. Gerry McColl

The signature tune, "Las Vegas", was orginally performed by Group Forty Orchestra, and written by Laurie Johnson for KPM in 1960. and used as the Theme Tune to the long running Children's TV Series 'Animal Magic'.

Laurence Reginald Ward Johnson MBE (1927 – 2024) was an English composer and bandleader who wrote scores for dozens of film and television series, described as "one of the most highly regarded arrangers of big-band swing and pop music" in England. Much of Johnson's music was written for the KPM music library, for which he composed and conducted between 1960 and 1965.

In 1961, Johnson entered the UK Singles Chart with "Sucu Sucu", the theme music from the UK television series Top Secret. It was in this area of television scoring that he was to be most prolific, and in 1965 he left KPM to work directly for various television companies. From the 1960s to the 1980s he composed over fifty themes and scores, including the theme used on This Is Your Life (entitled "Gala Performance"), The Avengers (from 1965), Animal Magic (entitled "Las Vegas"), Jason King, The New Avengers and The Professionals. He was one of the founders, with Albert Fennell and Brian Clemens, of Mark One Productions, the television production company responsible for The New Avengers and The Professionals.

Johnson's film scores included: The Good Companions, The Moonraker (1958), Tiger Bay, Dr. Strangelove, First Men in the Moon, You Must Be Joking!, And Soon the Darkness, Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter and Diagnosis: Murder (the 1975 Christopher Lee film). The 1970 television film Mister Jerico involved many of the original Avengers team, including Patrick Macnee.

Animal Magic is a BBC children's television series which ran from 13 April 1962 to 8 March 1983 from BBC Bristol. It began fortnightly and was transmitted weekly from 1964.

The presenter was Johnny Morris. The show combined jovial voiceovers applied to various animals from Bristol Zoo with some basic educational features.

The signature tune, "Las Vegas", performed by Group Forty Orchestra, was written by Laurie Johnson for KPM in 1960.

Gerry McColl - arranger (1937-2017)

Gerry McColl was born in Glasgow in 1937. He was in the RAF, as a conscript, from ’55 to ’57, and learned Trombone in a station (voluntary) band. After demob, the music bug got him and he joined an Army band in 1959, as a trombonist/guitarist. In 1989 he left the Army as Director of Music of the Band of the Life Guards, in the rank of Major.

This particular arrangement was requested in 2009 and made by Gerry McColl and adapted for the Hale Light Orchestra in the UK.

Music Notation - Sibelius 7.1
Sounds - Noteperformer 5
Audio Mastering - Bandlab
Produced with CyberLink PowerDirector