ROCK HISTORY - HARRY PITCH EPISODE 2

Episode one - RECORDED 2012

Harry Pitch (1 April 1925 – 15 September 2015) was a distinguished British harmonica player whose career spanned more than six decades. Best known for his evocative performance of the theme tune to the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, Pitch became one of the most recognizable harmonica voices in British television.
Born in Edmonton, North London, Pitch was largely self-taught. He began playing the harmonica as a child, developing a refined technique on the chromatic instrument. His musical ambitions were interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served in the Royal Navy. After the war, he pursued music professionally, quickly establishing himself as a versatile and reliable session musician.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Pitch built a reputation within the BBC and the wider British entertainment industry. He performed regularly on radio, television, and film soundtracks, becoming one of the country’s leading harmonica specialists at a time when the instrument enjoyed considerable popularity in light entertainment and popular music. His clear tone, expressive phrasing, and impeccable control made him particularly suited to melodic work.
Pitch’s most enduring contribution came in 1973 when he recorded the harmonica theme for Last of the Summer Wine, composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst. The wistful, gently nostalgic melody became inseparable from the series itself, which ran until 2010 as the BBC’s longest-running sitcom. Although many viewers knew the tune intimately, few initially knew the name of the musician behind it. Over time, however, Pitch’s association with the programme became widely recognized, and he embraced the affectionate nickname “Harmonica Harry.”
In later years, he continued to perform and make public appearances, celebrating the instrument he had championed throughout his life. Harry Pitch remains a notable figure in British light music history, remembered for bringing warmth and lyrical sensitivity to the harmonica.