Varèse Sarabande celebrates the beloved 
animated adventure Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit with a collectible picture-disc edition of the original motion picture soundtrack. Scored by Julian Nott, the album also features music from Rupert Gregson-Williams, James Dooley, Lorne Balfe, and Alastair King and is produced by legendary composer Hans Zimmer. Arriving on September 18, the album is available to pre-order today.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) is the fourth installment in the Wallace & Gromit series and the first to be presented as a feature-length film. A parody of classic monster movies, the film centers on the titular inventor and dog duo in their venture as pest control agents “Anti-pesto”, who find themselves battling a giant were-rabbit which is consuming the town’s vegetables.
Nott won an Annie Award® and an International Film Music Critics Award for his work on Curse, which also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. Additionally, Nott, whose other credits include Peppa Pig, earned an Ivor Novello Award® for the 2009 Wallace and Gromit film A Matter of Loaf and Death. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit marked Aardman Animations’ second feature length movie after 2000’s Chicken Run.
Julian Nott’s relationship to the world of Wallace & Gromit goes back to the animated universe’s origins of 1989’s A Grand Day Out, with Nott and animator Nick Park having originally met as students at the National Film and Television School in London.
In an interview with Classic FM, Nott explained: “[Park] bravely decided to make this animation film. The first installment of A Grand Day Out [With Wallace & Gromit]. He was a one-man band, so it took him something like eight or nine years to complete.”
Nott’s involvement came shortly thereafter: “One day, we were all eating lunch when the animation tutor came in and shouted, ‘Are there any composers in here? Because I need one.’ That was it. I put my hand up, as it were, and got matched up with Nick, before I’d even seen the film.”
Nott also spoke about how the iconic theme for Wallace & Gromit came to be, and how his improvisatory spirit helped spur its creation into action. He explained: “I’d like to say that the theme tune for Wallace & Gromit was carefully thought through and took months or weeks to create. In fact, what happened was that we had the music session starting at 10 o’clock the next morning and I hadn’t actually got around to writing the title or credits music until about three in the morning. I’m a great improviser. That’s what I’ve spent my life doing and it’s how I came into music when I was a kid. I still do a lot of improvisation now—it’s my greatest pleasure. I just sit at the piano and play something, making it up on the spot. That’s how a lot of my composition arises. I just bash away at the piano and something comes.” That, believe it or not, is how the musical themes most closely associated with the iconic Wallace & Gromit first emerged. Now, they’re a seminal part of animated film history.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Vinyl Picture Disc)
Tracklist:
Side A:
1. A Grand Day Out (1:52)
2. Anti-Pesto to the Rescue (3:19)
3. Bless You, Anti-Pesto (1:56)
4. Lady Tottington & Victor (2:05)
5. Fire Up the Bun-Vac (1:46)
6. Your Ladyship (1:07)
7. Brainwash & Go (2:26)
8. Harvest Offering (2:29)
9. Arson Around (2:23)
10. A Big Trap (3:25)
11. The Morning After (1:45)
Side B:
1. Transformation (4:04)
2. Ravaged in the Night (1:42)
3. Fluffy Lover Boy (4:39)
4. Kiss My Arrrtichoke (4:30)
5. Dogfight (3:38)
6. Every Dog Has His Day (2:42)
7. All Things Fluffy (1:09)
8. Wallace & Gromit (1:09)
About Varèse Sarabande:
Varèse Sarabande is one of the leading and most prolific producers of film and television soundtracks. The label was formed as a merger between Varèse International Records (named for composer Edgar Varèse) and Sarabande Records (named after a musical dance form). Initially a classical label, Varèse Sarabande has released thousands of soundtracks and new recordings of classic film scores conducted by celebrated composers with the world’s best-known orchestras since 1977. The label upped the ante for fans by creating the Varèse Sarabande CD Club—releasing exclusive limited-edition deluxe soundtracks featuring rare and long-requested titles. The CD Club ran initially from 1989–92 and was restarted in 2001, and Varèse continues to create Deluxe Editions of cherished scores that might otherwise never see a release. Since joining Concord in 2018, Varèse Sarabande continues its mission to release new scores, high quality vinyl and Deluxe Edition soundtracks.
For more info, visit VareseSarabande.com and follow on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
About Craft Recordings:
Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., and Joan Sebastian. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Daddy Yankee, Evanescence, Alison Krauss, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation—ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers.
Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com and follow on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
