Theme from The Persuaders


Theme from The Persuaders is a 1971 instrumental by British composer John Barry, written for the ITC action-comedy television series The Persuaders! starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis. Issued in the UK as a 7-inch single by CBS Records in September 1971, the track reached the UK top 20 and became one of Barry's best-known compositions.

Background and composition

Barry was commissioned to provide an "international, elegant" signature for the 1971 television series The Persuaders!, starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis. In later recollections he linked his approach to a lesson he drew from Anton Karas's score to The Third Man: that a single, unusual timbre carrying a simple melody can have greater impact than sheer orchestral weight.
For The Persuaders! he therefore set out to "catch the viewer's ear instantly" with a heady bass line, scraping harmonies, and a simple solo melody on the cimbalom, performed by British multi-instrumentalist John Leach. The instrument's metallic resonance became the theme's signature sound, establishing the cue's distinctive identity. Barry's preference for unusual lead timbres paralleled his broader philosophy of using colour and economy over orchestral density.
To modernise the sound, Barry doubled the cimbalom and bass lines with Moog synthesizer, electric harpsichord, and strings, creating what critics have described as a sleek yet slightly melancholic texture—typical of his early-1970s "elegant melancholy" style.

Recording and release

The theme was released in the United Kingdom by CBS as a 7″ single on September 17, 1971; multiple national variants followed.

Chart performance

Chart Peak position
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)13

Reception and legacy

Writers have frequently singled out the theme as a quintessential work in Barry's television oeuvre, noting how it marries pop immediacy with orchestral colour. In an appreciation for the Film Music Society, Jon Burlingame called The Persuaders! theme a standout among Barry's television work for the period.
The cue has remained popular in retrospective surveys of Barry's career and is regularly cited for its distinctive cimbalom lead and hybrid orchestral-electronic palette. A 1998 review of a live Barry concert singled out the theme as one of the "surprising audience favourites" for its "1970s TV theme" status and enduring appeal.
The theme also experienced commercial success: according to Classic FM, the single version featuring Moog synthesizer elements became a hit in several European markets, helping cement the series' cult status on the continent.
In academic overviews of Barry's television work, the theme is cited as part of his transitional phase from 1960s cinematographic spy-jazz toward more modern, synthesiser-inflected orchestral scores—a fusion that would define his film work throughout the 1970s and beyond.

Personnel