The Queen Street Gang

It took me several years for the penny to drop. The theme tune is Keith Mansfield's Soul Thing which is or was published by Keith Prowse Music the well known Music Library. Clearly the show was popular with the schoolboys who formed the band Uriel. I don't know which version of this tune was performed but it is almost not Queen St Gang theme which turned up on the Arzachel LP which was released in June 1969. The band Uriel was paid £250 to record an LP for Peter Wicker who put the LP out on small record label but as the band were contracted to Decca their name was altered to Arzachel and the names of the musicians were changed with ficticious biographies. The composition is correctly credited on the LP but back in 1978 when I found the LP i had no idea what ruminations needed to be unravelled about the origins of the music created by the schoolboys who recorded the LP. Steve Hillage and Dave Stewart of Egg and Hatfield were in the band and the others became drum roadie for Pink Floyd and other pursuits. In conclusion Queen St Gang theme was inspired by the TV teatime show and sadly not the theme itself for the show. It is also superb and may well have inspired the French band Air.

I was 10 years old when I watched this show & I loved it so much. I.wanted to be Phillippa & I had a crush on Speedy. I was so obsessed with the show that even now at 65 I totally remember the theme song. I so wish it was available to watch somehow, but I read on the net that the show has been lost. Such a shame because it was my all time favourite show growing up. I agree with the person who commented that they were like pre-adolescent MacGyver's, that could explain why I loved that show too & have the box set plus all the movies.

I have added it to my IMDb watch list in the hopes that by some miracle a copy of it is found & added to YouTube. Just a heads, up if you loved the theme song as much I do, it is available on YouTube under Arzachel - Queen St. Gang. I think it's called Soul Thing. You should listen to it & just feel the childhood memories flood into your whole body. Seriously it gave me goosebumps!

Okay - I have been asked to cast a vote, but after all these years (I was 10 when I saw it) I can only pass judgement on how I felt back then. Being the target audience for this series, I couldn't wait for each episode. The series featured a bunch of school kids who for a number of contrived reasons (but plausible for gullible kids) got involved in espionage and all things 007. One episode sticks in my mind where the kids are locked in a cupboard while the bad guys have left a burning-candle-under-the-rope type death for the kids who using vinegar, a tube of rolled paper and some baking soda, extinguish the candle-flame with CO2 gas. More of this scientific McGyver-type stunts were performed with absolutely no "don't try this as home kids" riders. Great stuff! Looking at IMDb I see none of the child actors turned in any heavy-duty roles in later life. This is a milestone series in my childhood and though the exact plots etc. remain vague and hazy, the feeling of excitement in watching the series is still very strong.