When David Lowe composed the BBC news theme tune in 1999, he set out to find a sound that was unique and instantly recognisable. He played around with drums, pips, clicks and chords until he landed on the tune we know today.
At the time, people would ask for extended mixes, or for the snippet to be released as a dance track, but nothing came of it. Could he ever have guessed that 25 years later hundreds of sweaty, sunglasses-clad festivalgoers would be dancing in a tent to a drum’n’bass remix? “Absolutely not,” he says, chuckling.
