Edinburgh man's music helps The Toffeemen celebrate end of an era

Johnny Keating’s version rang out across Goodison Park for the final time as Everton and Southampton players walked out for kick off on Sunday (Picture: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

Both teams emerged from the tunnel to the strains of the theme tune from the TV programme Z Cars, which ran for 801 episodes from 1962 until 1978. This was a popular series about mobile uniformed police and detectives in the fictional town of Newton, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool.

The version of this tune, adopted by Everton FC, was arranged by musician and songwriter, Johnny Keating, who took it to number five in the music charts. Johnny was born here, in Bakehouse Close, off The Royal Mile, in 1927 and the 28th of this month will be the tenth anniversary of his death at the age of 87.

Johnny played piano and trombone and taught himself how to arrange and compose when he was in his early teens. In the early 1960s he, and songwriter Johnny Worth, moulded the career of the British pop star, Eden Kane, writing and producing a string of top ten hits for him. They also wrote and produced several hits for Adam Faith, Petula Clark, Anthony Newly and Sammy Davis Jr, among others and Tony Bennet said that Keating’s arrangement for his version of The Very Thought of You was the best arrangement he ever sung to.

Music heavyweights such as songwriter Burt Bacharach and the Beatles producer, George Martin, were fulsome in their praise, calling him one of the greatest all-round musicians of the 20th century. He wrote a classical piece called Overture 100 Pipers and another called Hebridean Impressions which was first performed at the Royal Albert Hall as he conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. One of his futuristic works, the 1972 album Space Experience with its innovative sound techniques led him to get the musicians to swear to secrecy as to how the effects had been realised.

Closer to home, he was a lifelong Hibs fan and, according to his family, he wanted to be cremated wearing his Hibs club tie. In 1973 he produced two songs for the club Give us a Goal, Glory to the Hibees on the A-side and Turnbull’s Tornadoes on the B-Side, both of which were recorded by the team of the time.

I well remember being invited to a small commemoration event in the Stella Maris Club in Leith after his ashes were placed beside his mother and father’s ashes at Mount Vernon. The reception was arranged by Willie McEwan, now a Labour Councillor in Midlothian and John Gibson, formerly of this paper, was also there, waxing lyrical about Keating and the Hibs – while filling his plate with mince pies!

There is no doubt that Johnny Keating had an international reputation of some renown and was recognised by his peers in the music industry as one of the greats. And it was while watching the Everton game on the telly last Sunday and hearing the Theme from Z Cars tune blasting out the sound system in the stadium that I resolved to devote my column today to the works and achievements of Johnny Keating.

I have no doubt that when Everton move into their new stadium next season, the teams will still run out on to the pitch with Keating’s music ringing in their ears!