Doctor Who pioneers
- Publication: Sunday Express
- Date: 2014-08-17
- Author: Julia Kuttner
- Page: 49
- Language: English
Julia Kuttner talks to ex-members of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, who created the iconic TV theme tune
THE BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a sound effects unit at the BBC, ran for 40 years between 1958 and 1998 and was responsible for thousands of gurgles, explosions, kisses and the Doctor Who theme tune.
Its doors closed 15 years ago in the face of budget restrictions and new technology but, remarkably, some of the original pioneers behind the classic Doctor Who sounds from 1963 are bringing the same electronic experiences to festival audiences (including Glastonbury) and working on a new album.
Along with the Workshop's archivist Mark Ayres, one of the younger Radiophonics, now in his early 50s, and Dick Mills who says he is "closer to 80", the dynamic team of sound men are working on a new album called Electricity and reissues of their odd sounds.
The technical pioneers rebuild their studio of early synths and oscillators in the middle of fields to give audiences the full workshop experience. Thanks to Mark's drive to preserve their history, the sound artists have been working with a diverse range of musicians for their new album including Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera.
Dick Mills remembers how he and colleague the late Delia Derbyshire were asked to make the sounds to fit a piece of music by composer Ron Grainer for a new sci-fi drama; crucially they were not to use any conventional musical instruments.
"We made three tapes and I could hear there was a mistake. The most practical thing you could do was unravel the tapes down the long corridor at the studio to find out where it was. After that the tune became famous, iconic. You name it and it still is," says Dick.
Without Dick's tenacity and Mark Ayres's work the rich history could have gone in a skip.
Mark says he has more than 3,500 reels saved. "I couldn't tell you what that is in hours but I kept all I could when the workshop was shut in 1998," he says.
And if anyone wonders how a Dalek got its sound, Dick reveals: "We made a transformer box which picks up all passing sounds so buses or someone's indigestion could go into the box and come out as the voice of a Dalek. It picked up everything around."
The BBC has tweaked the Doctor Who theme for the new series but Dick has no complaints. "It is like a child leaving home and then you meet it again in 20 years. There is always progress. I would love to go along and see how they make the new Doctor Who."
ON SCREEN: Peter Capaldi played fast-talking punk Eamonn Donnelly in a 1984 episode of Crown Court but made his name in the 1983 film Local Hero with Jenny Seagrove. One of his most extraordinary performances was as transexual Vera Reynolds in Prime Suspect, but it was playing Malcolm Tucker in Armando Iannucci's The Thick Of It with Chris Addison that made his career
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- APA 6th ed.: Kuttner, Julia (2014-08-17). Doctor Who pioneers. Sunday Express p. 49.
- MLA 7th ed.: Kuttner, Julia. "Doctor Who pioneers." Sunday Express [add city] 2014-08-17, 49. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Kuttner, Julia. "Doctor Who pioneers." Sunday Express, edition, sec., 2014-08-17
- Turabian: Kuttner, Julia. "Doctor Who pioneers." Sunday Express, 2014-08-17, section, 49 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Doctor Who pioneers | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Doctor_Who_pioneers | work=Sunday Express | pages=49 | date=2014-08-17 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=13 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Doctor Who pioneers | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Doctor_Who_pioneers | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=13 March 2025}}</ref>
