'This is "Sailing By" composed by Ronald Binge in 1963, and performed by
the Alan Perry/William Gardner Orchestra, and is the version used by the
BBC for its late night shipping forecast.
Sailing By is played every night on BBC Radio 4 at around 00:45hrs
before the late Shipping Forecast. Its tune is repetitive, assisting in
its role of serving as a signal for sailors tuning in to be able to
easily identify the radio station. It also functions as a buffer —
depending on when the final programme before closedown finishes, Sailing
By (or part of it) is played as a 'filler' as the shipping forecast
starts at 00:48hrs
precisely. The initial reason for its introduction was because of the
indeterminate finish time for the preceding Midnight News, leading to
filling music being played until the Shipping Forecast was due to start.
Sailing By was added to allow for a clear break between the end of the
music and the start of the forecast.'
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