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 > 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.