When I first heard this I thought – because of the band’s name Reparata and the Delrons, very Fireball XL5 or Space: 1999  – the ship must be a space ship. Of course the clanking bell should have let me know it was perhaps a river boat.

Though the song didn’t even make the US top 100 it reached no 13 in the UK.

Reparata and the Delrons: Captain of Your Ship

So today it is Gerry Anderson who has died.

Though he had produced television programmes earlier I was first aware of his work with Fireball XL5 – mainly due to the theme tune (which one of my mates had running through his head during a University term exam years later.) Then came Stingray and the iconic Thunderbirds.

After that, through Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Joe 90 I was perhaps a bit too old.

However, when these series were repeated in the 1990s my own sons were the perfect age to enjoy them – and the toys! (We still have those toys somewhere.)

Anderson moved on from the puppetry and “Supermarionation” of these fondly loved shows with the live action UFO and Space 1999. Those of a cruel disposition jested that the actors here were more wooden than the puppets had been.

All have dated perhaps badly (but nothing dates as quickly as the future.)

I was watching the BBC news channel when I heard the news. Emily Maitlis tried to interview Brian Blessed (who’d worked with Gerry a few times) over the phone. That was a mistake. Despite trying, she couldn’t get a word in edgeways.

Many will remember Gerry and his creations with a great deal of fondness.

Gerry Anderson, 14/04/1929-26/12/2012. So it goes.