The most unusual record in my collection is this soundtrack for a movie I’ve never seen! About a decade ago, I bought a bargain box-set of 8 CDs titled Chillout Moods (2001). It was ridiculously cheap and the music was so diverse, it was a very broad definition of chill-out! Anyway, one of the tracks caught my attention. ‘Theme from Full Circle’ by Colin Towns. I’d never heard of the supernatural horror film Full Circle (aka The Haunting of Julia in the US), which starred Mia Farrow and Keir Dullea, based on a novel by Peter Straub. Having read the summary, it’s not my cup of tea. Before I found out what it was the soundtrack for, the music stunned me. The music was a merger of vintage synthesisers and piano, with a sinister swooping bassline, a memorable simple tune, haunting atmosphere, and a build-up into a high-pitched cry of synths, before dwindling away.

Some years later, I thought to find out if there was a soundtrack album, which would hopefully contain similarly spectacular music. Colin Towns, who composed and recorded the music based on the screenplay, released the album on Virgin Records. The CD was out of print, but by this time I had a turntable, so I bought the record on eBay (there was only one for sale, but it wasn’t expensive). The creepy front cover artwork includes a cymbal-playing clown toy. On the back is a photo of Colin Towns, with long hair, a velvet jacket, flares and patterned high-heeled boots. The credits reveal that this album was almost a one-man operation, with Towns doing ‘all instruments, voices, percussion’ and was the producer. Also credited are an engineer, tape op, executive producer and additional percussionist.

The album is almost completely instrumental. With pleasing symmetry, the main theme returns as the last track, more uplifting to give a sense of closure, plus that gothic choir / bell sound (not a technical term!) for a spooky finish. That sound continues in my head, long after the needle has lifted from the record. The other tracks feature a range of moods, some of them unnerving, others are contemplative. One track has a sudden loud clash of sounds, which was very surprising the first time I heard it. Some of the more disturbing electronic sounds on the album remind me of ‘Timesteps’ by Wendy Carlos (an extract of this is on the soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange, but it’s worth listening to the whole piece of music).

Much later, I discovered that one of the many works Towns composed for the screen was the music for the 90s children’s TV series The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends. I remembered this music very well. Strange as it may seem, because the genre is totally different, I recognise some similarities between the style of the two soundtracks.

So, to come ‘full circle’ in my review – I wouldn’t say this album is obscure, as such, but you probably wouldn’t find it in many record collections. I love it though, and if you have a similar music taste to mine – old-school synths, piano, moods, sinister edge – you might love it too.