THIS PAGE HAS A TEXT-ONLY VERSION FOR BLIND USERS
SHARE THIS PAGE

Sound actions by category: Officialdom

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.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
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
OTHER RECORDED ANNOUNCEMENTS
British Library lift voice A recorded voice in a lift tells visitors to the British Library what's on each floor. 1:46 2009
QUEUING SYSTEMS
Argos queue Automated queueing system tells Argos store customers when to collect their goods. 0:51 2009
NON-VERBAL SIGNALS
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

British Library lift voice 1:46

Classification: Officialdom > Other recorded announcements

Recording date: 2 April 2009

Description: A recorded voice in a lift tells visitors to the British Library what's on each of four floors (excluding the lower ground floor). Such announcements were once a feature of department store lifts, and one such formed part of the theme tune for the 1970s BBC sitcom 'Are You Being Served?' But after visiting several department stores in London recently, it seems this helpful feature may live on in the British Library alone.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics and PA-3SX preamp. Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Additional notes: None.