Sailing By

"Sailing By" is a short piece of light music composed by Ronald Binge in 1963, which is used before the late Shipping Forecast on BBC Radio 4.

It also functions as a buffer: depending on when the final programme before closedown finishes, "Sailing By" (or part of it) is played as a "filler" as the forecast starts at 00:48hrs precisely.

Besides its intended function, "Sailing By" is thought of affectionately by many British radio listeners, as it is considered a soothing accompaniment to bedtime.

The lead singer of the Britpop band Pulp, Jarvis Cocker, chose "Sailing By" as one of his Desert Island Discs, saying for many years he had used it "as an aid to restful sleep".

[6] It is also available as track eight on the CD Elizabethan Serenade: The Best of British Light Music, produced by Naxos and performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra.