TV theme songs are ubiquitous. Created for the occasion or "borrowed" from existing tracks and given a new life, they are forever tied to the series that runs them.
But sometimes the artistic process runs the other way around, with a songwriter so moved by what they see on screen they write a show into their music.
Here are 10 songs that were inspired by a series – or personality – from the small screen.
Electric Lash (The Church): A 1983 hit for the Brisbane post-punk band, Electric Lash was written after lead singer Steve Kilbey met newsreader Jennifer Keyte at radio station 3XY and fell in love. The pair formed a relationship that lasted years, and several other songs were inspired, Kilbey says, by the woman he immortalised as "the voice of the girl on the radio".
Nikki Webster (Nerf Herder): Already firmly in the TV realm after writing the theme song to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Nerf Herder showed their small-screen addiction after the band were so impressed by Nikki's flying entrance to the 2000 Olympic Games they wrote a song about her. The lyrics, however, are just plain odd. "Can I take you home? Lock you in a cage? Poke you with a stick and feed you mayonnaise?" Ummm … no.
Aloha Steve And Danno (Radio Birdman): One of the seminal Australian punk songs of the 1970s, this driving surf-drum-backed anthem has been a mainstay of the local indie circuit for decades. And it's all thanks to the series "Hawaii Five-O". How many punks through the years would know "Book 'em Danno, murder One" isn't just a catchy chorus, it was Detective Steve McGarrett (played by Jack Lord) ordering his partner around?
Cool For Cats (Squeeze): A late 1970s hit for the British band, this dominated the top tens internationally and paid a noticeable tribute to a British cop show right in the middle. "The Sweeney's doing ninety 'cause they've got the word to go, they get a gang of Villains in a shed up at Heathrow". They even finish up with the lament that meeting a girl isn't always easy. "It's not like that on the TV, when it's cool for cats, it's cool for cats!"
The Bold and the Beautiful (The Drugs): When Sydney pop punk outfit The Drugs wrote a song about their favourite daytime soap, they thought it was a bit of fun, something their fans might get a laugh from. Then Bold and the Beautiful star Ronn Moss heard the tune and liked it so much he flew to Australia to play guitar (and himself) in the video clip and a legend was born.
Five Colours In Her Hair (McFly): Despite being best known as one of the main songs in Heath Ledger's teen-romance film Ten Things I Hate About You, this catchy tune owes its existence to a small-screen offering, the British (and later American) teen drama As If. To be specific, the character "Sooz", played by Emily Corrie, who had (as the title suggests) distinctive hair.
Games Without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel): This was an international hit, features Kate Bush singing in French at one point and is widely linked to the American boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Gabriel got his inspiration, however, from a European game show where contestants dressed in bizarre costumes to compete. When the show came to England – and later Australia – it was known as It's A Knockout.
Survivor (Destiny's Child): No prizes for guessing which TV show Beyonce Knowles was thinking of when this songs was written. Queen Bey, legend has it, was moved to pen the lyrics after Destiny's Child had a particularly rough year and lost three members, one after another. She read a review pointing out the similarity to the reality series… and a song was born.
Ralph Wiggum (The Blodhound): "Me fail English? That's unpossible!" With quotes like this it was only a matter of time before someone wrote a song dedicated to the misunderstood genius that is The Simpsons character Ralph. And what better way to honour him than lyrics that are a surreal collection of Ralphisms? Among them: "I'm Idaho, you smell like dead bunnies! That's where I saw the leprechaun."
Married With Children (Oasis): Part of the legendary album Definitely Maybe, this song came to life after Noel Gallagher, who was enjoying a complicated life with his then girlfriend, one day found himself watching an episode of Married With Children. "I looked at them two in the show," he later said, "and looked at us two and I thought: that's us, that is!"
