David Cameron's Downing Street Hum Proves Online Hit With Musicians

David Cameron
David Cameron enters 10 Downing Street, London, July 11. Cameron leaves behind a mixed legacy. @indy100/Twitter

British Prime Minister David Cameron formally announced his resignation Monday. However, this momentous news was capped by an unlikely musical coda.

As he walked away from the cameras and back into 10 Downing Street, Cameron unselfconsciously hummed to himself, presumably forgetting that his microphone was still on.

Possibly the best thing that's happened for days - David Cameron's celebratory hum https://t.co/LTGjSA8rmM #TheThickOfIt

— Dr Anna Beck (@anna_d_beck) July 11, 2016

Musicians immediately seized the opportunity to remix the prime minister's merry tune. Thomas Hewitt Jones, an award-winning British composer, put together "Fantasy on David Cameron" for cello and piano in the early hours of Tuesday morning. His YouTube clip soon went viral.

Composer @thewittjones has created a musical fantasy for piano and cello, based on David Cameron's hum https://t.co/5HPBNlamuU

— Stephen Jones (@SteveJonesPA) July 12, 2016

Others compared Cameron's melody to Winnie-the-Pooh, Homer Simpson, and even the theme song from The West Wing.

.@David_Cameron humming a Winnie-the-Pooh style hum as he says goodbye to the cares of office. pic.twitter.com/kcydnLZBg4

— Robert Peston (@Peston) July 11, 2016

To those asking yes it does sound a little like the end of the West Wing theme: https://t.co/9hLcTPqKfA

— Vincent McAviney (@VinnyMcAv) July 11, 2016

Was Cameron a violinist on the Titanic in a previous life? I would love to know what tune he was humming as he walked back to Number Ten.

— MATT LUCAS (@RealMattLucas) July 11, 2016

Classic FM decided that a full orchestral analysis of Cameron's hum would be fitting.

"Let's start with the time signature. A brisk 3/4, with a crotchet roughly equalling 108 a minute, suggests activity. Positivity, even. But 3/4 is not the most immediately stable of signatures. It's easy to feel secure in 3/4, but for just a couple of bars it's disconcerting—especially when starting with an anacrusis," according to the radio station's comic description.

Chris Hollis, a composer from Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England, transformed Cameron's hum into an "evil anthem," inspired by the sci-fi Star Wars movies. The Facebook video of Hollis's composition, entitled "Cameron unveils brand new evil Tory theme tune," has been viewed over 500,000 times already.

"I'm a full-time composer and I'd just finished a session when I saw the clip of Cameron singing his little ditty on the news, and thought it's only a matter of time until someone writes music to that. And then, as I had a spare 15 minutes, [I] thought it may as well be me. I think the mood in the U.K. seems very low right now, so it was nice to see my little tune raise a smile or two," he told Press Association.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go