Neighbours Theme Song 2023 Arrangement

With the reboot of Neighbours just around the corner, Jamie Messenger has once again been tasked with arranging a new version of the Neighbours theme song. The Neighbours theme has been through many different incantations since the original Barry Crocker version all the way back when the show started in 1989. The theme was composed by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent, and has now been arranged 10 times over the years.

Typically there are three versions of the theme song. The opening credits and two versions of the closing credits to allow for either short or long version of credits.

This is the second time Jamie has arranged the theme song. The first time was the 2020 version sung by Bonnie Anderson. Bonnie was at the time playing a character on the show (Bea Nilsson). Her character had done a number of on-screen performances as a singer. This led producers to the decision that she would be a natural choice for singing the 9th version of the theme song. Messenger arranged the track in a bright summery style featuring jangly guitars and adapted the chord progression in a more modern pop feel.

For the 10th version of the theme and the reboot of Neighbours Messenger went back to the original Barry Crocker version and wanted to incorporate some of the harmonic language from that version, in particular the B-section of the theme. Messenger wanted to tap into the nostalgia for the return of a much loved show, but updating it for a modern audience. The backing still featured bright electric guitars, but this time with a Hip-Hop influenced beat. Jamie chose Chris Sebastian to sing the vocals. Chris was sent a demo of the track and he recorded his now signature vocal along with some stunning backup vocals for the 3 versions of the theme song.