From Devon to Sydney

When the Star Wars movies first began, I was alive if not interested. Space did fascinate me, but I was far too young in the mid 70's to choose the movies my parents escorted me to and they were unlikely to pick anything containing fighting scenes. They would generally take me along to a happy Disney movie - one especially made for kids. The first memory I recall was from when I was at a holiday camp in Devonshire with my aunt and cousin. The theme tune was played one night. I recognized it as something familiar and pleasant, that I would have heard on TV or radio previously. I had still not at that time seen any of the movies.

I promptly forgot about the track, having wished to purchase a copy but never having gotten around to it. It was not until the original movie was later viewed on TV that I began to take any further interest. I recalled that piece of music that I had so much liked before, which brought back memories of my vacation. It had become popular in the era before I was aware of the movies themselves.

Once again, I did not purchase the music nor take an enthusiastic interest. Star Wars slipped away from my mind, not resurfacing until the second trilogy began to appear on the scene. By this time, I had a son. Together, we watched the original trilogy. There was that dramatic music again. My son was taken by the Imperial March tune, but I stuck fast to the main theme with my interest.

Soon, everything erupted in Star Wars. My son and I became great fans of the six movies, watching them both on TV and at the cinema, and also at special screenings at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, where they held a special Star Wars exhibition. In the exhibition was that same piece of music. Once again, my mind flashed back to the holiday camp era and I began to wonder why I had not taken more interest in the actual movies at that time. I assume that music was more important as well as memorable for me in those days, as it is now.