Sound action recordings are of sounds designed to affect people, including situations where many make sounds together towards a common goal. Often they're of voices, but they also include sirens, bells, fireworks and more.
193 steps Covent Garden | Station announcer's voice warns of the 193 steps to climb at Covent Garden tube station. | 0:22 | 2008 |
Bank lift voice | Recorded voice and beeps in a lift at Bank Underground station, City of London. | 0:59 | 2009 |
Bus conductor Strand | One of London's few remaining bus conductors calls out placenames at stops along the Strand. | 0:35 | 2008 |
Embankment Station arrival and Mind The Gap | A tube train arrives at Embankment Station and the iconic 'Mind the Gap' announcement is heard. | 1:44 | 2010 |
For your safety London Bridge | 'Stand behind the yellow line' safety announcement at London Bridge. | 0:14 | 2008 |
May be slippery Charing Cross | 'Inclement weather' safety announcement at Charing Cross railway station. | 0:18 | 2008 |
Mind the gap | 'Mind the gap' announcements at Monument Underground station | 1:12 | 2009 |
Platform announcer Victoria | Member of station staff broadcasts standard platform announcements at Victoria tube. | 0:40 | 2008 |
Service update London Bridge | Station announcer at London Bridge recites a list of weekend tube closures. | 0:32 | 2008 |
Surbiton to Waterloo | All the announcements on a train from Surbiton to Waterloo edited together. | 2:32 | 2008 |
Universal London bus voice | Passing over Waterloo Bridge, the pre-recorded voice that appears on nearly every London bus. | 0:48 | 2008 |
Voice synth Kings Cross | Software-based voice synthesiser makes an announcement at Kings Cross. | 0:25 | 2008 |
British Library lift voice | A recorded voice in a lift tells visitors to the British Library what's on each floor. | 1:46 | 2009 |
Argos queue | Automated queueing system tells Argos store customers when to collect their goods. | 0:51 | 2009 |
Big Ben 11am | Big Ben chimes 11 o'clock on a Saturday morning. | 1:14 | 2009 |
Broadmoor siren test | Test of a siren forming part of the Broadmoor maximum security hospital warning system. | 2:35 | 2008 |
Burglar alarm Brixton | A rusty, dented burglar alarm makes a racket in Coldharbour Lane, Brixton. | 1:00 | 2009 |
Canvey Island siren test | Test of a flood warning siren in Canvey Island, Essex. | 1:29 | 2006 |
Coryton refinery siren | An eerie siren at the Coryton oil refinery near Canvey Island sounds at 25-second intervals. | 3:53 | 2010 |
East Tilbury buoy | Wash from a passing motorboat makes the bell toll on a buoy near East Tilbury. | 0:23 | 2010 |
Heathrow alarms | Deep in Terminal 4 of Heathrow Airport confusion reigns when fire alarms go off by mistake. | 2:54 | 2005 |
Horseguards Parade clock | The clock at Horseguards Parade, Whitehall, strikes eleven in the morning. | 0:54 | 2011 |
Leicester Square carillon | Leciester Square's old Swiss Centre carillon or glockenspiel clock sounds at 6pm on a Saturday evening. | 1:36 | 2015 |
Mounted police whistle | A mounted policemen blows a whistle as he rides ahead of a military band marching along the Mall. | 1:25 | 2011 |
Noon at the Clockmakers Museum | Two grandfather clocks strike noon in the Clockmakers Museum at the Guildhall. | 0:50 | 2010 |
Noon bell Pinner | The church bell of St John the Baptist, Pinner, strikes noon on a Sunday. | 0:44 | 2009 |
Police training sirens | Police sirens with different tones sound intermittently at a police training establishment. | 1:45 | 2010 |
Rickmansworth steam engine whistle | A steam engine approaches and sounds its whistle as it travels to Rickmansworth. | 0:40 | 1998 |
School bell Nunhead | A primary school's bell sounds at 9am on the dot. | 0:30 | 2009 |
St Martins half hour | The clock of St Martins-in-the-fields strikes the half hour. | 0:24 | 2009 |
St Pauls bells | The bells of St Paul's Cathedral sound at 1:00pm, recorded from the garden adjacent to the south entrance. | 0:33 | 2010 |
Classification: Officialdom > Public transport announcements
Recording date: September 2008
Description: Station announcer's voice warns passengers waiting for the lifts underground that there's 193 steps to climb at Covent Garden tube station: 'the same height as a 15-storey building'.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics and PA-3SX preamp. Olympus LS-10 digital recorder.
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Additional notes: None.