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BBC Radiophonic Workshop
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was the department of the BBC that made sound effects and electronic music for radio and television. Daphne Oram and Desmond Briscoe set the department up; in 1958 it officially began work at the Maida Vale Studios in London. The staff were technicians and composers at once, and the BBC wanted them to remain anonymous. Even so, millions of Britons heard their work every week.
Music and breakthrough
Synthesizers did not yet exist. The Workshop worked with tape recorders, test oscillators and recordings of noise. Sounds were sped up, slowed down, cut on tape and spliced back together. The best-known result is the theme tune of Doctor Who (1963). The composer Ron Grainer wrote the melody; Delia Derbyshire, with the help of Dick Mills, turned it into electronic music, note by note on tape. Grainer wanted her to be credited as co-composer, but the BBC insisted on anonymity. From 1967 the tune was given electronic 'spangles' and tape echo. Other staff members were Brian Hodgson, Paddy Kingsland and Peter Howell; Kingsland made, among other things, music and effects for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Influence
In March 1998 the Workshop closed. In 2009 former staff performed together at the Roundhouse in London, as The Radiophonic Workshop. Pink Floyd, Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones and Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music were among its admirers, and later electronic artists have sampled the work extensively. The dance magazine Mixmag called the Workshop in 1997 'the unsung heroes of British electronica'. Delia Derbyshire received wide recognition only after her death in 2001.
Listening
Doctor Who (versie 1967) · BBC Radiophonic Workshop, 1967Apple Music ↗
Doctor Who (Original Theme) · BBC Radiophonic Workshop, 1963
Discography
Studio albums
- 1973Fourth Dimension
- 1978Through a Glass Darkly
- 1991Out of This World: Atmospheric Sounds and Effects from The BBC Radiophonic Workshop
- 1993Doctor Who: 30 Years at the Radiophonic Workshop (soundtrack)
- 2000Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Volume 1: The Early Years 1963-1969 (soundtrack)
- 2000Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Volume 2: New Beginnings: 1970-1980 (soundtrack)
- 2002Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Volume 3: The Leisure Hive (soundtrack)
- 2002Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Volume 4: Meglos and Full Circle (soundtrack)
- 2013Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani (soundtrack)
- 2013Doctor Who: The Krotons (soundtrack)
- 2014Radiophonic Workshop
- 2017Burials In Several Earths
- 2017Doctor Who: The Daleks (soundtrack)
- 2017Everything You Can Imagine Is Real
- 2018Doctor Who – The Five Doctors (soundtrack)
- 2018Possum: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2022La Planète Sauvage (soundtrack)
- 2023Doctor Who Revenge of the Cybermen (Original Television Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Mixtape 8: Electronic MusicNL Reader
- Mixtape 10: Women in Pop MusicNL Reader
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 5NL Reader
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 8NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Classic television music Genre
The Doctor Who tune (1963) was written by Ron Grainer and turned into electronic music by Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, using oscillators and spliced tape.