Original Music Score byFrank Strangio

Music Advisor to theNew South Wales Film Corporation Phil Matthews

Original Music recorded atFast Forward StudiosMusic ProgrammingTrevor CourtneySound EngineerJohn FrenchAssistant EngineerGlen Lord

'Playing with Fire'Composer Frank StrangioLyrics Eve DembowskiPerformed by Lisa Edwards

'He's Got It'Composed by Ashley HendersonPerformed by Short CircuitProduced by Trevor Courtney

& John FrenchEngineered by John French

& Dave HerzogRecorded at Fast Forward

& Quicklick RecordersPublished by Phantom Power Music

'Down The Road'Composed by Dave Hogan, Manny Seddon,

Nick Guslev, Mick BartonPerformed by Southern LightningProduced by Trevor Courtney

& John FrenchEngineered by John FrenchRecorded at Fast ForwardPublished by Phantom Power Music

Music courtesy of Mushroom Records

'Shine'Kids in the Kitchen, G. Dorman

'Current Stand'Kids in the Kitchen, Carne/Carranza/Coia/Curnow/Harnath

'Cynical'Kids in the Kitchen, Carne/Woodhead/Dorman/Harnath/Curow

'Small Brave Land'The Expression, Harran/Dowling

'Talking to a Stranger'Hunters + Collectors,Archer/Crdosby/Falconer/Miles/Seymour/Perano/Tosti-Guerra

'My Heart's on Fire'MachinationsDoyle/Swan/Starr/Loneragan/McLean

© Mushroom Records/White Label Records/Mushroom Records Music Pty. Limited 1986

Lyrics for song over which runs over opening credits sequence.

In his DVD commentary track, director Brian Trenchard-Smith says the production team made a deal with Mushroom Records for "basically eight grand" or so, to gain access to the Mushroom catalogue - not the top hits, but hit bands of the time with their "also ran" numbers, "and we got a nice mid-80s score as a result" - he mentions the Hunters and Collectors' song that's featured as probably one of the better known ones they were able to license as a result.

Later he makes a joke about his coverage having a music video look, in the hope of scoring a gig directing music videos, but says he was considered too old at 35: "There is no justice, whaddya say?"

Lyrics for the opening song:

Over images of Ned Manning's character Crabs running around Sydney's suburb of Botany, including the oil refinery, we hear what was a minor hit for Mushroom in the 1980s, "My Heart's on Fire".

(Male voice):This time he's runningOut the door(Female voice):Don't believe him(Male voice):This time (echoed repeat) he's runningOut the door(Female voice): Don't believe him(whispered Why …)(Male voice): … Don't I believe him …(whispered Why …)(Male voice):My heart's a fire …Every time I hear his wordsMy heart's on fire(The voices merge and blur)Spinning all the time, He leaves me hanging with my spine vibratingSpinning all the time,He keeps me hanging on.(Male voice): Never met a man like this before(Female voice): Donʼt believe him(Male Voice): And now he brings me to my feetNever met a man like …This before(Male voice):My heart's a fire …Every time I hear his words

My heart's on fire(The voices merge and blur)Spinning all the time, He leaves me hanging with my spine vibratingSpinning all the time,He keeps me hanging on.(Female voices): Hanging onSpinning all the time, He leaves me hanging with my spine vibratingSpinning all the time,He keeps me hanging on.

(Song lingers beneath sound effects, with endless repeats of the key lyrics, as Ned Manning's character jogs through a trashed road in a Sydney suburb and Krazy Kowboys in a hotted-up motor drive through the street)

Lyrics for the song which runs over the end credits:

Underscore composer Frank Strangio's song Playing with Fire, lyrics Eve Dembowski, vocalist Lisa Edwards, runs over the end credits:

(Female voice):He's running for his lifeHe's playing with fireHe's running to the fightHe's playing with fire ...('fire' echoes)

Oooh …

(Synth instrumental featuring guitar takes over)

(Female voice):Everyone plays by the rulesNever question, blindly follow rulesHe sees white where they see blackHe feels the pressure on his backHe's running, runningHe's running, running

Running for his life

(Chorus repeats the line, and then carries on with female voice):He's running for his lifeHe's playing with fireHe's running to the fightHe's playing with fire …

(Female voice):Looking out through different eyesPressure mounts as he perceives the lies

Undercover of the darkHe knows there'll be no turning backHe's running, he's runningHe's running, runningHe's running, runningRunning for his life

(Chorus joins in with female voice):He's running for his lifeHe's playing with fireHe's running to the fightHe's playing with fire

(Female voice):Looking out through different eyesPressure mounts as he perceives the liesUndercover of the darkHe knows there'll be no turning backHe's running, he's runningHe's running for his lifeHe's playing with fireHe's running to the fightHe's playing with fire … ('fire' echoes, and the instrumental takes over until the song then quickly ends in the DVD version)

Composer Frank Strangio:

Frank Strangio started his feature film career with Dusty. At one point,

he released a compile of his film and television work, but perhaps significantly, it didn't include his work for his second feature, BMX Bandits, which he did with director Brian Trenchard Smith.

The pair resumed their working relationship with Dead-End Drive-In, but that underscore also didn't end up on Strangio's album compile:

This was a promotional CD and is now rare.

At time of writing, Strangio still had a personal website here. It contained this biography:

Italian born Frank Strangio was raised in the United States and migrated to Australia as a teenager. He attended the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music and is a graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. While living in Boston Frank studied Composition privately with composer Michael Gibbs and piano with Madame Margaret Chaloff and Ray Santisi.Upon his return to Australia, Strangio began composing music for myriad projects, from Corporate films and presentations to Commercials for TV and Radio. His first feature film score was forDusty, by director John Richardson, and was the winner of the Best

Music Award at the 28th Asian Pacific Film Festival. Dusty was an orchestral score featuring members of the MSO.This was followed by cult classics BMX Bandits, (Nicole Kidman's first film) and Dead End Drive-in, both directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith. It is said that Dead End Drive-In is Quentin Tarantino's favorite Trenchard-Smith flick. Following this, Frank composed the music for the Craig Lahiff film Fever, featuring the late Bill Hunter and Gary Sweet, and received an AFI Nomination for Best Film Score.Strangio has gone on to compose many other film scores including Paradise Found (directed by Mario Andreacchio) starring Kiefer Sutherland and Nastassja Kinski. The score was recorded at Angel Studios in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra and at Waveband Studio in Melbourne. The score was nominated for Best Soundtrack Album at the Australian Screen Composer Guild awards.Strangio composed the orchestral score to Andreacchio's The Dragon Pearl starring Sam Neil. This was the first official Australia China co-production and was filmed at Hengdian World Studios in China. The score was recorded by the Slovak National Orchestra.Frank has also composed for many documentaries and television series including the inimitable 'Round The Twist, which was awarded an AFI Award for Best Children's Program for the episode "The Whirling Dervish". The episode "Little Squirt" won the Le Prix Jeunesse and was nominated for an Emmy Award.The series Mortified scooped several awards as well:Gold Medal winner at 2007 New York Festival of Int'l TV Programming and Promotion Youth ProgramsGrand Award winner for Best Youth ProgramNomination for Banff World TV Awards2007 International Emmy Nomination2006 First Prize at Chicago Int'l Children's Festival2006 AFI winner for Best Children's TV SeriesMore recently, Frank composed the dark, electronic score to Leigh Sheehan's teen thriller, Six Plots.

Strangio was a synth man for many years and provided a note on this aspect of his work:

In a bid to expand his musical horizons and compositional technique, Strangio invested in the legendary Synclavier

Digital Music System.The Synclavier was, undoubtedly, the most advanced music technology of its time and was championed by such musical luminaries as Sting, Frank Zappa, Quincy Jones, Mark Knoefler and film composers Danny Elfman, Alan Silvestri, Howard Shore and too many others to list here.Strangio states that "the beauty of the Synclavier is not only its unique sonoric qualities, but its human interfaceability", thus enabling him to compose intuitively, efficiently and quickly." the beauty of the Synclavier is not only its unique sonoric qualities, but its human interfaceability."

AWARDS & NOMINATIONS2007 New York Festival of Int'l TV Programming and Promotion Gold Medal Winner for Best Youth Program - Mortified2007 New York Festival of Int'l TV Programming and Promotion Grand Award Winner for Best Youth Program - Mortified2007 Banff World TV Awards Nomination - Mortified2007 International Emmy Nomination - Mortified2006 First Prize at Chicago Int'l Children's Festival- Mortified2006 AFI Award Winner for Best Children's TV Series - Mortified2006 Australian Guild of Screen Composers Nomination for Best Original Song for the Screen (with Joe Creighton)2000 AFI Award Winner for Best Childrenʼs Program - Round The Twist1993 Emmy Award Nomination for Best Children's Program - Round The Twist (series 2)Winner of Le Prix Jeunesse for Best Children's Program - Round The Twist (series 2)1986 Penguin Award for Best Music - The Lancaster Miller Affair1988 AFI Award Nomination for Best Music - Fever28th Asian Pacific Film Festival Award for Best Music - Dusty

The site also provided this filmography:

Feature Films:

Six Plots (2012)The Dragon Pearl (2011)Under a Red Moon (2008)Elephant Tales (2006)Paradise Found (2003)Dalkeith (2002)Young Blades (2001)Muggers (2000)Dags (1998)Under The Gun (1995)Iron FistSex is A Four Letter Word (1995)Lex & Rory (1994)Get Away, Get Away (1993)Voyage Into Fear (1993)Strangers (1991)Bony (1990)A Kink In The Picasso (1990)Fever (1988)The Dreaming (1988)Living Forever (1987)Coda: A Symphony of Evil (1987)Contagion (1987)Dead-End Drive In (1986)The Blue Lightning (1986)BMX Bandits (1983)Dusty (1983)

Television Series & Mini-Series

Mortified (2006/2007)Power Rangers Ninja Storm (2003)Round the Twist (1993-2001)The Genie from Down Under (1998)The Genie from Down Under (1996)Glad Rags (1995)Snowy River (1994)

Under The Skin (1993)Bay City (1993)Songs of Innocence (1992)Lift Off (1992)Bony (1992)Flair (1990)The Lancaster Miller Affair (1986)The Harold Holt Mystery (1985)Glass Babies (1985) Television Movies

Strangers (1991)Bony (1990)Living Forever (1987)The Blue Lightning (1986)

Documentaries

P.S. I Love YouPeru - The Land of the Llama ReunionThe World's Greatest CommercialsThe Tree Kangaroo: Forest RecluseThe Beast that Man ForgotThe Adventures of the Quest seriesThe Wild Yak of Tibet The Destroyers 100 Years of Australian FootballRex Hunt Fishing AdventuresThe Worlds Greatest CommercialsThe Australian Football Program Rex Hunt's Fishing World Monuments To Man A Walk In The Sea The Researchers EscapeThe Dream Merchants of AsiaCrocodiles: The Deadly Survivors The Enterprise

Wildcat & Pipedreams On The Line Living Forever The Brisbane LineJerusalem of Heaven & Earth      Australia's Hidden WealthJourney to Hainan Triumph of the NomadsThe PintubiThe Mississippi ChallengeThe Wharfie

(Below: Frank Strangio)