The Lounge Bar Orchestra

‘Wonderfully immersive.’

Record Collector Magazine

‘A joyous excursion into a world of moody harpsichords, widescreen brass and sweeping strings.’

Shindig! Magazine

‘Immaculately-realised’

We Are Cult

In 1974, the year before his suspicious disappearance from a woodland carpark, Reg Omeroyd took Ousewater Television’s Lounge Bar Orchestra to the height of their powers. Working 18 hour days in the draughty former aircraft hanger that was their studio, this ramshackle bunch of journeymen musicians recorded a host of long forgotten favourites. Overcoming the mediocre abilities and recalcitrant attitude of his charges, Omeroyd was able to realise his sonic vision and distill the unique atmosphere of such tv shows as Inspector Yoohoo Calls, Operation 222 and Wake up to Craft.

With rumours swirling around him, Omeroyd, a consummate professional of the old school variety, put aside accusations that he was an East German spy to compose what he described as his “most forgettable collection of ordinary tunes.” As the world teetered on the brink, with war in Vietnam and Nixon disgraced, Omeroyd sprinkled his own brand of highly suspect magic across Ousewater Television’s shows and, in the process, created a pure form of dark escapism that seems wholly at odds with his alleged communist beliefs.

Now, available here for the first time in over forty years, Pilot Episodes (Ousewater Television, season 1974 – 1975, theme/underscoring selection) comes to you in glorious coloured and traditional black vinyl, complete with the original sleeve notes.

‘A unique, vital force in contemporary pop music.’

Louder Than War

The Room of Wrong Reflections’ was a gothic horror, broadcast on ITV for Christmas 1972. This dark and claustrophobic story concerns a wealthy young woman with a secret room, constructed entirely from mirrors, inside which she communes with strange spirits from another dimension.

Directed by John Hough, and starring Candace Glendenning and Ralph Bates, the programme received unanimously positive reviews. However, ‘The Room of Wrong Reflections’ is sadly now missing from the archives and believed wiped.

Fortunately, what do survive, are a handful of production stills, alongside the show’s exquisite score. Composed by the legendary Reg Ormeroyd and performed by The Lounge Bar Orchestra, this soundtrack is regarded as a classic of early 70s horror. Now, after 50 years, this masterclass in suspense and unease can finally be heard again.

The A side features the title theme, which swings from creepy to majestic and back again. Meanwhile, the flip showcases 5 pieces of beautiful and otherworldly incidental music. You won’t have heard anything quite like this before.

Over recent years, author and journalist Greg Healey has been diligently working to uncover the long forgotten work of Reg Ormeroyd. The fruits of this labour include the acclaimed album Pilot Episodes, as well as the theme to the 1971 BBC thriller E.N.D.A.N.G.E.R.M.E.N.T. (released on Heaven’s Lathe in 2021). Now, we’re thrilled to bring you The Room of Wrong Reflections – the first EP to come out on Heaven’s Lathe.

Sleeve notes by Graham Duff.