A couple of weeks ago I saw a cameo performance at Glastonbury of “Windmills of Your Mind” by Noel Harrison, which immediately transported me back to the chess game seduction scene between Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway in the classic 1960s film “The Thomas Crown Affair”. That particular “one hit wonder” is one of my favourite Sixties tunes and of course was performed by the son of actor Rex Harrison, who was a hero of the author, when as a six year old I saw him at the Odeon Cinema in Nottingham in the role of Dr Doolittle.

Trips to the cinema as a child in the 1960s were a treat and I can still vividly remember to this day seeing “Mary Poppins”, “Bambi”, “Jungle Book”, “Oliver Twist” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. As if the film was not enough, there was the excitement of the usherettes with their illuminated trays, serving tubs of ice cream with the little pale blue spade spoon in the intermission. And of course the whole experienced was prefaced by the Pearl and Dean commercials break, which was announced with that crescendo fanfare soundtrack!! The sound aspect of films seemed to be particularly important in the 1960s and for me this is reflected by the high calibre film theme songs / soundtracks of that decade. As a taster, in no particular order, this is my Top 10 Best Film Theme Songs & Soundtracks of the 1960s –

1) Noel Harrison “Windmills of your Mind” from “The Thomas Crown Affair” starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.

2) BJ Thomas “Raindrops keep falling on my head” from “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford as the loveable, cheeky bank robber outlaws on the run from the authorities, with Katherine Ross as their shared love interest.

3) Tom Jones “What’s New Pussycat” from the film of the same name, starring Peter Sellers as a demented psychiatrist. The part was perfect for the manic Peter Sellers!!

4) Shirley Bassey “Goldfinger” from the James Bond film of the same name, which saw Sean Connery cement his place as the best 007 in the third film in the franchise, aided by Honor Blackman as the Bond Girl.

5) Beatles “Help” from their second film of the same name, directed by Richard Lester.

6) Seekers’ “Georgy Girl” from the film of the same name was a quintessentially 1960s soundtrack, backed by a quintessentially 1960s cast of actors – Lynn Redgrave, Alan Bates, James Mason and Charlotte Rampling.

7) Cilla Black “Alfie” from the film of the same name, starring Michael Caine as the main protagonist, and ably supported by 1960s illuminaries Jane Asher ( girlfriend of Beatle Paul McCartney at the time ), Shelley Winters, Denholm Elliott, Shirley Anne Field, Vivien Merchant, Millicent Martin and Eleanor Bron.

8 ) Steppenwolf “Born to be Wild” in the road movie starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson. The lead soundtrack was supported by 1960s cult bands, The Byrds and The Band and also Jimi Hendrix.

9) Simon & Garfunkel “The Sound of Silence” from the opening credits of “The Graduate” starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft and Katherine Ross.

10) Simon & Garfunkel “Mrs Robinson”, also from “The Graduate”.

What are your favourite film theme songs & soundtracks from the 1960s?

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