Music byBruce Smeaton

Special thanks to Dave Hetherington and theNew Harlem Jazz Band with John Ellis and John Withers

David Atkins provided the choreography for a number of dance numbers (including one that runs under the film's end credits), and the jazz band is featured on screen in the biggest dance routine:

Bruce Smeaton:

1981-83 were years when Bruce Smeaton was much in demand for the scoring of feature films and high end television drama.

As well as the period- and jazz-inflected Squizzy Taylor, he did Monkey Grip in 1982, together with the TV mini-series 1915, and in the United States, Barbarosa with director Fred Schepisi

Back at the beginning of his career, in 1973, Bruce Smeaton had composed two of the segment scores (The Husband and The Priest) for the portmanteau feature film Libido (and also the music for the ABC TV miniseries Seven Little Australians), before doing the score for Peter Weir's The Cars That Ate Paris, and then moving on to do David Baker's The Great

Macarthy.

Smeaton became a major award-winning Australian composer for film and television, who immediately after working on Picnic at Hanging Rock would go on to work on a series of classic Australian feature films, including Fred Schepisi's The Devil's Playground and The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith.

Working with Schepisi on The Priest episode for Libido helped prepare Smeaton for the more expansive score he did for The Devil's Playground, and it's arguable - because his work on Picnic tended to be overshadowed by the pan flute gambit - that the film was the first real chance for Smeaton to do an expressive work that aided the atmosphere and emotion of a fully effective drama.

With The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Smeaton continued in expansive mode, and because of the film's substantial budget, the score was one of the few in the early revival that could afford to be laid down at the old Anvil Studios near the village of Denham in Buckinghamshire, with a British orchestra, the National Philharmonic, formed exclusively for recording purposes.

Smeaton would continue to work with Schepisi, after the director went to Hollywood (Barbarosa, Iceman, Roxanne), and he also became involved in various television shows, such as The Boy in the Bush, A Town Like Alice, 1915, and Five Mile Creek.

Around the same time as doing the score for the 1981 animated feature Grendel Grendel Grendel, Smeaton also did the underscore for (…maybe next Time) and The Earthling (or at least the version designed for the Australian cut).

Smeaton's relatively short wiki - at time of writing - is here.

(Below: Bruce Smeaton in 1988)

(Below: Smeaton as he turns up in the DVD 'making of' for Picnic at Hanging Rock):

(Below: in the 'making of' for Summerfield. Adding the hat changes everything)

The score was released on LP:

LP Astor ALPS 1073 1982Music by Bruce Smeaton Produced by Bruce Smeaton Recording Engineer: Robin Gray Recorded at Allan Eaton Sound, AustraliaNHJB - New Harlem Jazz Band: Sandro Donati - Trumpet, Bob Gilbert - Reeds, Chris Ludowyk - Trombone, Neil Orchard - Piano, Chris Farley - Banjo, Bill Morris - Tuba, Richard Opat - DrumsTrio - Dave Hetherington: Clarinet, John Withers: Banjo, Alan Stott: Sousaphone, John Ellis: Bass Saxaphone All titles published by Chappell

SIDE 1:

1. Theme From Squizzy Taylor (2'06") Dave Hetherington with NHJB & Orchestra2. Richmond Rag (3'10") NHJB3. In The Pink (1'42"), Dave Hetherington with NHJB and John Ellis4. Unnatural Urges (Variations Of Theme) (1'58") Trio5. Lapse Of Luxury (2'21") Orchestra.6. All Them Bubsies (3'06") NHJB.7. Dolly Dear (Variation Of In The Pink) (1'16") Guitar and Orchestra8. Melbourne Bitter (5'13") NHJB9. Sumpin For Nuffink (Variation Of Theme) (1'01") Trio

SIDE 2:

1. Squizzy Taylor (2'55") NHJB2. The Fitzroy Push (2'23") NHJB with Dave Hetherington and John Ellis.3. La Lounge Lizard (3'04") Trio4. Dead All Over (3'32") Orchestra5. Ida Up, Ida Down (Variation Of In The Pink) (0'57") Trio and Orchestra6. Coburg Castle (Variation Of Theme) (1'33") Trio7. In The Red (Variation Of All Them Bubsies) (4'55") Trio (Not shown on LP cover)8. Collingwood Clover (3'20") NHJB9. Just So Long (Variation Of Theme) (1'10") Trio and Orchestra

The main theme was also released on 45:

Side A:

Theme From Squizzy Taylor (2'06") (Bruce Smeaton) (Chappell) Dave Hetherington with NHJB and Orchestra, The New Harlem Jazz Band

Side B:

Richmond Rag (3'10") (Bruce Smeaton) (Chappell) NHJB, The New Harlem Jazz Band

The main theme also turned up as track 17 of a CD compile of Smeaton's music, CA/CD 836 224 4/2 1992: