Drag Racer is the snooker theme tune on T.V. and was written in 1976 by the Doug Wood band.
Drag Race was written and performed by the little-known Doug Wood Band in 1976, but since then it became better known as the theme song to the BBC’s snooker coverage.
In 1984, BBC Records released this instrumental piece as part of the EP record, ‘BBC Snooker Themes’. This version differs slightly from the original 1976 recording, as the sound of snooker balls have been added to the start of the track. For this reason, the copyright date is shown on the record as 1982.
The original track, without those modifications, can be found as track 6 of the CD ‘The Great Sporting Experience’, published by EMI in 1998. This version is credited to Doug Wood Group, licensed from Studio G.
BBC Sport no longer uses this particular track as the main theme of snooker coverage. Instead, it has been heavily updated and remixed a number of times. The 2003 version was entitled “147 Lockdown” by Sheldon Southworth – presumably in reference to British speed garage act, 187 Lockdown. The version currently airing is by Timo Baker of T Minus 50.
Since the coverage of the 2008 888.com World Snooker Championship, the BBC began to use the original version of Drag Racer again, during session breaks on their Interactive service. It is played over a caption of forthcoming matches. Although the entire track was used initially, tournaments after this date feature the track shortened and edited into a continuous loop.
