The swelling theme tune to the BBC tv drama The Onedin Line - now enjoying a re-run on Freeview - was the unmistakable sound of Sunday evenings to generations of people in the 1970s.
Whether it was school or work the next day, the excerpt from Khachaturian's Adagio from Spartacus that opened each episode was like a factory hooter that announced the weekend was over and a return to the daily grind. At a time when there were literally only three television channels to choose from, it regularly drew audiences in their tens of millions.
For people in Liverpool, the long-running series had special resonance as it was set in the city when it was at its 19th century height as a trading port - although none of it was actually filmed here. Instead, various locations around Devon and Exeter were used for the outdoor scenes, which had the strange effect of making Liverpool look like a sleepy fishing village instead of the economic powerhouse, second only to London, it was in the period in which the drama was set.
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The Onedin Line, created by Liverpool writer Cyril Abraham, was inspired by the ship-owning Baines family, who lived in Duke Street. The classic tall ship used in the opening credits was the 1900-built Kathleen & May, one of the last survivors of Britain's coastal sailing fleet.
The Kathleen & May was called Charlotte Rhodes for the BBC drama series, which ran from 1971 to 1980. It told the story of the mutton-chopped Captain James Onedin, who at the beginning of the series decides to strike out on his own and launch his own shipping line to transport goods from overseas into Liverpool, rather than be exploited by greedy ship owners.
He obtains the Charlotte Rhodes sailing vessel, but at a price he wasn't expecting - the only way he can get his hands on it is to enter into a joint partnership with the daughter of the ship's owner, which is sealed by marriage.
The series - which ran to 91 episodes in all - starred Peter Gilmore, Howard Lang, and Anne Stallybrass, and also helped launch the careers of Jane Seymour, Jill Gascoigne and Kate Nelligan. Working at sea unnerved some of the cast but newcomers were told not to be embarrassed if they were seasick.
While they couldn’t afford to stop filming each time an actor or actress felt queasy, there was always a bucket nearby.
In a case of life imitating art, Gilmore – who died in 2013 at the age of 81 – went on to marry Anne Stallybrass, who played his first wife in the series.
The Onedin Line is currently being repeated on Talking Pictures TV
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