A suite of cues to accompany shots of Federation craft and personnel from all four seasons of the BBC science fiction series Blake's 7.

The ruthless, authoritarian Terran Federation was the principal antagonist in Blake's 7, spearheaded by Supreme Commander, and later President, Servalan (before things got complicated in the final season!).

Starting with a corrupt administration, ruthless bureaucracy and rigged justice system in the opening episode, supported by a brutal military, the Federation's actions were scored by Dudley Simpson.

Simpson created a short-lived motif for Servalan in the first season (you can hear it in the episodes 'Project Avalon' - 04:32 in this video - and 'Deliverance') then in later seasons often scored Servalan with low and mid register legato flutes, to emphasise the sensuality of Jacqueline Pearce's iconic performance, which furthered the compelling tension of the character.

The helmeted Federation troops were typically scored by variations of Simpson's stark and insistent 'Federation March', which was founded on a relentless rhythmic thump and low register brass - there's a minimalist brutalism to Simpson's 'Federation March' unlike John Williams' more famous 'Imperial March' from Star Wars. The 'Federation March' was released as a B side accompanying the show's main title theme:    • Blake's 7 - Federation March (7" Viny...   Within the show, you can hear its first extended statement in 'Seek-Locate-Destroy' from Series A and it recurs throughout the rest of the show, especially in Series D (although some times it gets used for other martial threats - the System guards in 'Redemption' or Zerok guards in 'Gold').

For more on Dudley Simpson's music for the show, please see Tim Dickinson's superb Watching Blake's 7 blog:

https://watchingblakes7.wordpress.com...

This video is part of a wider project to celebrate the music of Blake's 7. Blake's 7 was created by Terry Nation and broadcast by the BBC across 1978-1981. The clips in the video feature the actors (in order of appearance) Gareth Thomas (Blake), Robert Beatty (Bran Foster), Robert Halsey (Tel Varon), Susan Field (Alta Morag), Jeremy Wilkin (Dev Tarrant), Jacqueline Pearce (Servalan), Stephen Greif (Travis), Jan Chappell (Cally), Julian Glover (Kayn), Kathleen Byron (Clonemaster Fenn), Brian Croucher (Travis), Michael Sheard (Klegg), Steven Pacey (Tarrant), Paul Darrow (Avon), Josette Simon (Dayna), Ben Howard (Mori), Rio Fanning (Deral), Ric Young (Ginka), Michael Troughton (Pilot Four-Zero), Sarah Atkinson (Franton), Lorna Heilbron (Sula), Peter Clay (Chesku), Malcolm Stoddard (Leitz), Robert Morris (Major Hunda), Barbara Shelley (Dr Plaxton), William Lindsay (Captain), Og (David Boyce), Peter Byrne (Justin), Mark Barratt (Captain), David Neal (Gerren), Daniel Hill (Chasgo), Peter Craze (Assistant), Stephen Yardley (Reeve), Glynis Barber (Soolin) and Roy Kinnear (Keiller).

The Stardrive sequence is indebted to Horatio Chinn's outstanding Federation pursuit ship model at:

   • Blake's 7 Federation Pursuit Ship