TRANSCRIPT
The theme music that became so familiar to British and Australian TV audiences from the 1970s through to the 2000s, heralding the start of Sir Michael Parkinson's chat show.
He's died at his home in the United Kingdom at the age of 88 after a short illness.
His career spanned seven decades in newspapers, radio and television and he interviewed some of the world's biggest names on his talk show, Parkinson.
One of those was Sir Elton John.
"And you'll write 10 or 20 songs in a session for an album and maybe one of those songs will come out, or maybe two and maybe none and it's only very few that the songs that I've written are special songs."
Elton John is among his former guests paying tribute, saying Michael Parkinson was a "real icon who brought out the very best in his guests".
Other high-profile guests include Sir Billy Connolly, Muhammad Ali, Madonna and Dame Helen Mirren.
Sir Michael was fond of spending time in Australia and did local versions of his chat show with prominent Australian guests such as the late former prime minister Bob Hawke.
Parkinson: "Performs like a playboy?"
Bob Hawke: "I have my moments."
One of his regular Australian guests was the late Dame Edna Everage, who once revealed to 'Parky' she'd only had a little cosmetic surgery.
Parkinson: "So I presume you've resisted the temptation so far (to have cosmetic surgery)?"
Dame Edna: "Very much so, I have, just a little tightening here and there. Nowhere that you can see!"
Britain's Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has called Michael Parkinson "a broadcasting giant who set a gold standard for the television interview".
