Royalty-Free “Benny Hill Theme” Style Alternative (Circus Minute)

I had been looking for a song in the style of the Benny Hill Theme (Yakety Sax). You know, that funny chase music. I wanted something with a funny vibe that would add humor to a video that had been sped up to look hectic and silly. Yeah, basically I wanted the Benny Hill Theme for the same reason that everybody else wants it.

Unfortunately, the video project I needed it for was commercial and I wasn’t even going to suggest licensing Yakety Sax for the video. Instead, I made my own version. Knowing that many people would be searching for the Benny Hill Theme song, I decided to share my song so that people can use it in their commercial videos as well. I’m releasing it as a royalty-free alternative to the Benny Hill Theme since Yakety Sax is not public domain.

That means you don’t owe me any money for using it and you can use it in any project you want. If you do happen to use it, please credit me and link to this post. Or tag me on Instagram/TikTok @OrionPlaysMusic

Feel free to share your finished video in the comments too. I’d love to see how you put Circus Minute to use.

Download

You can download Circus Minute, my alternative to the Benny Hill Theme, for free.

Other Royalty-Free Music for Videos

Aside from this Yakety Sax soundalike, I have created other royalty-free music you can use in your YouTube videos as well. I have a variety of musical styles and moods represented.

If you decide to use any of the tracks, the same policy applies. Simply link back to the post featuring the song you used and give me credit. I hope you can find a song that works for your project.

Royalty-Free Music for YouTube Videos

About Yakety Sax (The Benny Hill Theme):
The song first appeared in a recording in 1963 by Boots Randolph on Monument Records. Later, the song was featured in sketches of The Benny Hill Show. Thanks to Benny Hill, Yakety Sax is now associated with fast-paced video showcasing silly, comedic situations.

Many people who would like to use the Benny Hill Theme in their videos don’t know that they have to pay to use it. I created Circus Minute as a Benny Hill Theme soundalike.

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116 comments

      1. I couldn’t see how or where to add a new comment so this will appear as a reply to yours. Firstly, thank you for the Yakety Sax style music – perfect! So glad to have it. I have used it in a video made with members of our church for Sunday School. The piece is playing during a demo video for doing the craft activity. This is going out this afternoon at 3pm (UK time) for the children of our parish. I have asked Abi, who is one of the editors of the parish Facebook page, to add in the credit to the music. If she doesn’t manage to do this, I will be able to credit the music in a comment below the video anyway. Here is a link to the Facebook page, where the video will appear at 3pm.

        Reply
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  10. Hi Orion!

    Thank-you very much for the use of your Benny Hillalike / Yakety Synth 🙂

    I have used it to represent some general derp in my terrible Minecraft video.
    When it finishes uploading it will be available at https://youtu.be/cuFOKTJnmHc feel free not to suffer through it.

    Doctor Mitch

    Reply
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  14. Hi Orion, My wife and i made a funny short for youtube with your music, hope you get to see it, i will send you the link when its on youtube, we put a credit on the end to say its your music. Thanks.

    Reply

  16. Hi, great music, I am going to use this music in my daughter’s video and upload it to YT – and paste the link to this page in the description.

    Once I upload it, I’ll send you the link to the video

    Thanks.

    Sanjay

    Reply

  17. Hi Orion,

    We have put the video short on youtube…https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiW6XiMBaGm8AMpoyx1pr5w

    Thanks mate for the music..

    Reply

  19. Hi, we’re a new team developing our first game and we would like to use this song for commercial purposes. Is It free or should we pay any royalty?
    Thank you

    Reply

    1. As a gamer, you have piqued my interest! This version is free for commercial use with accreditation. So you can use it and include “Orion Williams” in the credits for the song. I have a higher quality version available using real instrument sounds. That one is available for a one-time payment and is good for use in one finished work (one game/film/etc.) I am interested in your project though, I’ve always wanted to contribute music to a video game.

      Reply
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  30. Thank you for your generosity, Orion.
    I used this for the fun, silly chase-scene in my first ever YouTube Minecraft Lego movie for kids and played it again at the story’s end.
    I hope you enjoy seeing how I’ve used your song.

    Reply

  31. I used it in a morning newscast in Indianapolis on WISHTV. The story was about goats running rampant in a neighborhood. Thank you so so so much!!

    Reply

    1. I’m glad the injuries weren’t worse and that everyone kept a good attitude about it, even to informing others of skiing safety. Thanks for the shoutout!

      Reply

  34. Hi! Thanks for this great find! I used your music in this video:

    https://youtu.be/7rkC3MkAovg

    It’s a dog training video where I send my dog out to find and retrieve objects to me (part of a dog competition sport). I used the theme whenever he fuddled the object or took a longer time to find the second object.

    Reply
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  41. By the way could do with sorting the redirect from the http:// version of your site to https:// version of your site. It’s not redirecting so as far as Google is concerned effectively having to copies of your website.

    Just wanted to help

    Reply

    1. I didn’t think I had an https version of the site, since I don’t have an SSL certificate. I appreciate your help in this, what should I do to resolve this? One instance of me is plenty, I’m sure. We don’t need different versions running around. 🙂

      Reply

  42. Thank you for the music. That was very generous of you and was an awesome version perfect for sped up videos.

    Reply

    1. Glad you found a use for it. Insane drone skills! I have a racing drone with a display and I almost couldn’t get up the nerve to fly it via the display, I’m residential, though. Anyway. Props to the pilot.

      Reply

    1. Great question, Ian. I never thought that far about the digital licensing side but I see the need for it. I offered it as a pretty casual way to share the song with others who needed something similar to Yakety Sax. But I also wanted to retain authorship of the song and receive credit for it and it’s distribution.

      That said, which of the Creative Commons licenses do you think best fit? Also, to be more formal about it, I guess I need to link to the license by which I offer it. It seems like more than I bargained for, but if someone helped me, I’m confident I could do it the right way. Thanks again for the question. Hopefully, I’ll learn more soon.

      Reply
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  64. Hi Orion! I’m an indie game developer, and I’m creating a cartoon mobile game about running and fighting other people in the supermarket. I’ve tried your song and it fits PERFECTLY with the game!
    Do you mind if I use it?
    The thing is, one of the villains is an “evil old woman”, that eventually transforms herself into a devil when she attacks the main character with her shopping cart. It’s just a funny cartoon gag, but I’ve been reading some of your posts and I see that you are very religious, so I wanna be sure that you’re comfortable with it. I can send you images if you want!

    Thank you very much! Your music is awesome!

    Reply

    1. Thanks for reaching out, Marc!

      There are a few things I want to respond to here.

      1. It’s so cool you are making a game! I was on a team (as a song creator) making a mobile game. I was very excited that my music would be featured in a video game. Video games are among my biggest interests/passions. That project failed, so sadly, my music is yet to appear in a game.

      2. If you are speaking of “Circus Minute”, you may use it however you want with no expectation of compensation on my part. I would just ask that you credit me where appropriate in your game. If it comes out on iOS, I will probably buy it. 🙂

      3. Despite not needing my permission, you were sensitive to my worldview and approached me with respect. That speaks greatly of your integrity. I’m humbled by your request. I wish you success and God’s blessing.

      Thank you, Marc!

      Reply

      1. Thank you very much, Orion!
        It’s a game that I’ve created on my own, but I’ve put a lot on effort on it. So I think it will surprise you!
        Currently it’s 95% done, I just need to correct some mistakes and finish the last details. So I hope this time your music will be featured in a videogame 🙂
        I’ll publish it on Play Store (Android) first, and later I’ll eventually publish it for iPhone (to develop for Apple you need some softwares that cannot be installed on a windows computer, so I’ll have to borrow a mac from some friend).
        The game will be free but it will have ads that people can watch to unlock skins for the characters. As I am an unknown developer, I think it’s the best way to go.
        I’ll credit you somewhere in the Settings Menu of the game.
        I’ll send you a link to the game once it’s published, and also the youtube video to advertise the game. (I’m not sure if I’ll also use “Circus Minute” for the youtube video, if I do I’ll credit you there too).
        Thanks again!

        Reply

  66. Hi Orion! I finally released the game!
    Here’s the youtube video (I didn’t use your song there, I ended up only using it in-game)
    https://youtu.be/xXadlYRnk8E

    Here are the links to download it:
    Android:
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.MarcSubiGames.MadnessInTheSupermarket
    iOS:
    https://apps.apple.com/es/app/madness-in-the-supermarket/id1576368916?l=ca

    In the Settings Menu there’s a Credit button where I mention you.

    I hope that you like it!
    If you have any comment, please tell me (Some people are telling me that the first chapter is quite hard and there are some levels that they had to repeat several times, I might have to lower the difficulty in the next update). Any feedback is appreciated! My mail is .

    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Congratulations, Marc! You are a game developer now. Thanks for the links and for helping my music to make an appearance in a video game. I downloaded it (thanks for the iOS release), and got through the first two levels. I bumped too many things in level two and got 2nd place, but I was excited to show my daughter my music in a game.

      Now that you’ve released your art into the world, be ready for anything. Good and bad comments will come. Don’t let the good ones go to your head, and don’t let the bad ones go to your heart. Learn what you can from even the most destructive comments. This isn’t a final exam, you are only just beginning. Great job! Keep it up. Merry Christmas!

      Reply

      1. Thanks for the advice and for your nice words!! I’m glad that you had a good first impression of the game, and I’m also glad that you could show a game with your music to your daughter 🙂
        Merry Christmas!

        Reply

  67. Dear Orion,
    At first, thank you very much for your Benne Hill Alternative theme. It is great, and we decided to use it for our last video.
    We are a French manufacturer of a range of solution to store, treat and evaporate waste water contaminated by pesticides, that are used in the agriculture.
    The video shows the loading of a truck, and we made a stop motion with your music.
    As asked, you can see how we used your theme in the following link:

    https://youtu.be/fGRq7wRKelE

    We wish all the best for the future.
    Nicola

    Reply

  68. This may work really well for a personal project of mine. Although it works best (for me) if I speed it up to about 125% and loop it a few times. Would you object to that sort of alteration? Thanks!

    Reply
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