Sporting Occasion - BBC Wimbledon theme - Iain McGlinchey, Paramount 450

One of the curious things about the BBC is that when combined with some of the traditional British institutions, you can get an insight into the past. They don't come more traditional than the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Every year we still hear this wonderful piece of music on TV in the UK to accompany the Wimbledon Tennis Grand Slam. Written by Arnold Steck, the pen name of Major Leslie Statham, bandmaster of the Band of the Welsh Guards (1905-74), it opens a window into a different era.

It has regularly been played to close the day's play every year on the BBC since the 1960's and has become part of our popular cultural heritage. Here it is played in full on the Paramount 450 virtual organ. It's not often I get to play in my shorts either :-)

Players featured:
Fred Perry, Bunny Austin, Virginia Wade, Bjorn Borg, Martina Navratilova, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Roger Federer 2003, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Sir Andy Murray, Roger Federer 2017.