Delia Derbyshire
Articles about Delia Derbyshire:
Delia Derbyshire’s Nightwalker
Here’s a little something to get you in the mood for Halloween – Delia Derbyshire’s Nightwalker.
Derbyshire, best known for her 1963 arrangement of Ron Grainer’s Dr Who theme, has been called “the unsung heroine of British electronic music.”
via iiishtar, via Warren Ellis
Newstalgia featured this amazing vintage BBC Radiophonic Workshop production from 1964, The Dreams:
If there was one single thing, one defining moment that turned my life around as a teenager, it would be the first time I heard “The Dreams” in 1966.
The Dreams was the first part of a four part Electronic Music piece originally broadcast over the BBC in 1964 and released by the BBC Transcription Service to radio stations in the U.S. shortly after.
It was described as “an invention for radio” conceived and written by Barry Bermange and scored by The BBC Radiophonic Workshop. The result was haunting, hypnotic and totally overwhelming for these fifteen year old ears. It completely changed the way I listened and reacted to music.
You can preview The Dreams below:
If you know more about this production, leave a comment!
According to a BBC poll, the Doctor Who theme is the best television sci-fi theme ever. It spanked Red Dwarf, The X Files and Buffy The Vampire Slayer for top honors.
The theme has been in use in various forms since 1963. The music was composed by Australian Ron Grainer and arranged by vintage synth hottie Delia Derbyshire at the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop. Derbyshire made use of test oscillators, primitive filters and tape manipulation to realize the piece.
For some, the Dr. Who theme is a key piece of electronic music history. For others, it’s a guilty pleasure. No matter what you think, though, it’s one of the most recognizable and memorable themes ever created.
Other themes that came in high in the poll included Star Trek, Thunderbirds, The Twilight Zone, Battlestar Galactica, Quantum Leap and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Gratuitious embed of the original Dr. Who credits below.
A hidden hoard of recordings made by Delia Derbyshire, the electronic music pioneer behind the Doctor Who theme, has been found – including a dance track that some think is 20 years ahead of its time.
David Butler, of Manchester University’s School of Arts, Histories and Cultures has revealed for the first time the existence of 267 tapes found in Ms Derbyshire’s attic when she died in 2001. Strangest among these is a dance track that Orbital’s Paul Hartnoll says is “quite amazing”.
“That could be coming out next week on [left-field dance label] Warp Records,” he noted. “It’s incredible when you think when it comes from. Timeless, really. It could be now as much as then.”
“I find it spell-binding,” says Hartnoll. “I’ve got a shedload of synthesizers and equipment, whereas Delia Derbyshire got out of the Radiophonic Workshop when synthesizers came along.”
Mike Ayres & Dick Mills talk about the history of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
