Eye Level
{{Short description|1972 single by the Simon Park Orchestra}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Eye Level
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Simon Park Orchestra
| album = Eye Level[http://www.discogs.com/Simon-Park-Orchestra-Eye-Level/release/742018 Discogs - Eye Level album]
| B-side = Distant Hills
| released = 3 November 1972
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Orchestral
| length = 2:20
| label = Columbia Gramophone Company
| writer = Jack Trombey
| producer = Simon Park
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
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}}
"Eye Level" is a 1972 single by the Simon Park Orchestra. It was produced originally for the De Wolfe Music Library and selected by Thames Television to be the theme tune for their Netherlands-based detective series Van der Valk.
Overview
The work was originally intended as library music,{{cite episode|title=One-Hit Wonders at the BBC|network=BBC Four|airdate=17 April 2015}} and was loosely based on a German/Dutch nursery rhyme called Jan Hinnerk (in German)[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn23kxCKcIo YouTube clip of 'Jan Hinnerk' (in English)] or Catootje (in Dutch), which in its turn took the opening bars of Non più andrai from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro.
Dutch composer Jan Stoeckart adapted the original tune and wrote a new top line under the name of Jack Trombey, while Simon Park arranged it for his own orchestra and conducted the recording. The track was fully entitled "Eye Level (Theme from the TV series 'Van Der Valk')".{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 417}} A song based on the music with lyrics added was called "And You Smiled", performed by Matt Monro.
The tune became popular with audiences and Columbia Gramophone Company issued it as a single (catalogue number DB 8946) with the theme to Granada Television's drama series Crown Court, entitled "Distant Hills", on the B-side. The record entered the UK chart for just two weeks in late 1972. Almost a year later, the record was re-issued and in September 1973 it became a hit, with four weeks at No.1 and a further 20 weeks in the top 50.[http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/simon%20park%20orchestra/ Official Singles Chart - Simon Park Orchestra] Total sales were 1,005,500, gaining the award of a platinum disc and becoming one of the 12 best-selling singles of the 1970s.{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/333 333]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/333
}} In Ireland, the song was also a hit, reaching No. 3 in the charts there.[http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement Irish Charts database] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602061251/http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement |date=2009-06-02 }} In 1974, Stoeckart released his own version under the name Jack Trombey's Brass.[http://www.austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Jack+Trombey%27s+Brass&titel=Eye+Level&cat=s Jack Trombey's Brass - "Eye Level"]
In the US, it was used as theme music in 1970s TV and radio commercials for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. It was also used for TV advertisements for Alton Towers, in its pre-Luna Park mode of gardens, fronted by Frank Muir and in the 1980s for Oranjeboom lager using "tulips" for "your lips" as "wrap tulips around a pint today". "Eye Level" was issued as a single in the United States on Vanguard Records (catalogue #35175). Though it failed to chart on the Hot 100, it did make No. 29 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in January 1974.Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-1993. Record Research. p. 184
Track listing
- "Eye Level (Theme from the TV series Van Der Valk)" (Trombey) 2:20
- "Distant Hills (Theme from the TV series Crown Court)" (Reno / Haseley) 3:02
Chart performance
=Weekly Charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" border="1"
!scope="col"| Chart (1973-74) !scope="col"| Peak |
| scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite book|first= David |last= Kent |authorlink= David Kent (historian) |title= Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 |publisher= Australian Chart Book |location= St Ives, N.S.W. |year= 1993 |isbn= 0-646-11917-6|title-link= Kent Music Report }}
| style="text-align:center;"|13 |
|---|
| {{singlechart|Ireland2|3|song=Eye Level|accessdate=2 March 2019}} |
| scope="row"|UK Singles Chart
|align="center"|1 |
| scope="row"|US Billboard Adult Contemporary
| style="text-align:center;"|29 |
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Chart (1974) ! Rank |
| Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web|url=https://imgur.com/a/dY7i5IF|title= National Top 100 Singles for 1974|publisher= Kent Music Report |issue= 29 |via= Imgur |date= 30 December 1974 |access-date= 15 January 2022 }}
| style="text-align:center;"|61 |
Sales and certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=Eye Level|artist=Simon Park Orchestra|type=single|award=Platinum|salesamount=1,010,000|salesref={{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/daft-punks-get-lucky-becomes-one-of-the-uks-biggest-selling-singles-of-all-time-2315/|title=Daft Punk's Get Lucky becomes one of the UK's biggest selling singles of all-time!|last=Lane|first=Daniel|date=27 June 2013|publisher=Official Charts Company|accessdate=6 May 2014}}|id=2179-3466-1}}
{{Table end}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2020}}
Category:UK singles chart number-one singles
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:Vanguard Records singles