Movie Music Monday – Chariots of Fire

It was on this day in 1981 that Chariots of Fire premiered in London. The movie is about two runners in the 1924 Olympics.

The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four of them. It won for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score (composed by Vangelis).

According to Songfacts.com, before his work on “Chariots of Fire,” Vangelis was best-known for his work with Aphrodite’s Child (a band that also featured the “singing sofa” Demis Roussos) and the duo Jon and Vangelis with Jon Anderson of Yes.

The Chariots of Fire theme was used in the classic scene where they are running in slow motion. The scene has been spoofed many times, usually with this music used to complete the joke. One of those spoofs came at the 2012 Olympics in London (more on that in a second).

The theme was released as a single and went straight to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1982. It is interesting that when the song debuted on the charts it was called “Titles.” Then, seven weeks later, the name was changed to “Chariots of Fire” and that was the name it held for the rest of its chart appearances. One reason for the name change was so listeners (and radio DJs) could identify it more easily.

What is truly unbelievable about this song is that not long after the soundtrack’s release, Vangelis admitted his total inability to read or write music. He wrote this one literally playing by ear!

In 2012 at the London Olympics, Rowan Atkinson brought back his Mr. Bean character as a member of the London Symphony Orchestra. The song would go on to accompany a very funny sketch with Mr. Bean as one of the runners. Enjoy.