Murray Jonathan Gold (born 28 February 1969) is an English

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

for stage, film, and television and a dramatist for both theatre and radio. He is best known as the musical director and composer of the music for ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' from 2005, until he stepped down in 2018 after the tenth series aired in 2017. He has been nominated for five BAFTAs. Born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, Gold initially pursued drama as a vocation, writing and playing music as a hobby, but switched to music when he became musical director for the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

society.

Television

Gold has been nominated for a BAFTA five times in the category Best Original Television Music, for ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

'' (1999), ''

Queer as Folk ''Queer as Folk'' may refer to: * ''Queer as Folk'' (British TV series), 1999–2000 * ''Queer as Folk'' (American TV series), a 2000–2005 American and Canadian version of the UK series ** ''Queer as Folk'' soundtracks, soundtrack albums from ...

'' (2000), ''

Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...

'' (2006) and twice for ''

'' (2009 and 2014). His score for the BAFTA winning film '' Kiss of Life'' was awarded the 'Mozart Prize of the 7th Art' by a French jury at Aubagne in 2003. He has also been nominated four times by the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

in categories relating to music for television. He has worked with

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include ''Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scien ...

, the writer and executive producer of ''Doctor Who'', many times in the past on projects such as ''Casanova'' (starring

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show ''Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

), '' The Second Coming'' (starring

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series '' ...

) and ''Queer as Folk'' 1 & 2. He has also provided the incidental music for the 2000s version of ''

Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Dennis Spooner and pro ...

'' alongside

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

composer David Arnold, who provided the theme tune. He wrote the theme tune for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

series '' Shameless'' and scored the period drama '' The Devil's Whore''. More recently Gold scored another

series, in

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's '' Single Father''. In this, Gold opted for a more popular music style ensemble rather than writing for orchestra. Murray Gold composed the musical score for the drama series '' Last Tango in Halifax'' which ran from 2012 to 2020. In 2014, Gold scored the BBC series '' The Musketeers''. In 2019, Gold reunited with

for his series '' Years and Years'', a drama based around a family and how the political, cultural and technological changes around the world affected them. He also composed the music for the BBC and HBO series '' Gentleman Jack''. In 2021, Gold reunited again with

for his series '' It’s A Sin'', a drama focussed on the 1980s AIDS Crisis. The show would go on to win numerous awards.

''Doctor Who'' and related series

From 2005 to 2017, Gold served as musical director of science fiction drama ''

'' for the BBC. In this capacity, he created a new arrangement of the show's theme (originally composed by Ron Grainer) and also composed the show's incidental music. Silva Screen released a compilation of Gold's ''Doctor Who'' incidental music from the first and

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...

series, entitled '' Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack'', on 11 December 2006. A second CD, '' Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack – Series 3'', was released on 5 November 2007 and a third, '' Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack – Series 4'', was released in November 2008. He has also been seen very briefly in the show itself, making a cameo appearance (and wearing a false moustache) in the 2007 Christmas special "

Voyage of the Damned ''Voyage of the Damned'' is a 1976 drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, with an all-star cast featuring Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, and Malcolm McDowell. The story was inspired by actual events co ...

". Also, music from the 2008–2010 specials was released on 4 October 2010, entitled '' Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack – Series 4: The Specials'', and on 8 November music from Series 5, entitled '' Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack – Series 5'', was released. Gold's initial arrangement of the ''Doctor Who'' theme did not include " middle eight" portion originally used in the theme, although he later reinstated it for a rearrangement of the theme introduced in the series' 2005 Christmas episode and subsequently used in the 2006 series of the programme. Gold has created many themes to be associated with various elements of the show, creating two themes for The Doctor ("The Doctor's Theme" and "The Doctor Forever"),

Rose Tyler Rose Tyler is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She was created by series producer Russell T Davies and portrayed by Billie Piper. With the revival of ''Doctor Who'' in 2005, Rose was introd ...

Martha Jones Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series, '' Torchwood''. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'', afte ...

Donna Noble Donna Noble (later Donna Temple-Noble) is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a former companion of the Tenth Do ...

Gallifrey Gallifrey () is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is the original home world of the Time Lords, the civilisation to which the protagonist, the Doctor belongs. It is located in a ...

, The Master, Astrid Peth, the

Cybermen The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ( ...

, and the

Daleks The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

. Gold re-arranged the ''Doctor Who'' opening theme in 2010 for

Series 5 Series 5 may refer to: * Aston Martin V8 Series 5, an automobile model * BMW 5 Series, a line of automobiles * GeForce 5 Series, a line of video cards * Psion Series 5 The Psion Series 5 was a personal digital assistant (PDA) from Psion. It ...

. With the 2010 series, Gold also created two new musical identities for the

Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC Science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as fi ...

("I Am The Doctor" and "A Madman With A Box," replacing themes previously associated with the

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

and Tenth Doctors), a theme for

Amy Pond Amelia "Amy" Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Amy is a companion of the series protagonist the Doctor, in his eleventh incarnation, played by ...

, the

Silurians The Silurians are a race of reptilian humanoids in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The species first appeared in ''Doctor Who'' in the 1970 serial '' Doctor Who and the Silurians'', and were created ...

and the

. He also continued to use the theme for the

, as well as several action cues such as "Corridors and Fire Escapes" and "All the Strange, Strange Creatures." Although his music for the 2005 series of ''Doctor Who'' relied largely on sampled sounds, his later arrangements for the show, beginning with " The Christmas Invasion," have been more orchestral, often being recorded by the

BBC National Orchestra of Wales The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisatio ...

, supplemented by vocal performances with

Melanie Pappenheim Melanie Pappenheim (born 1959) is an English soprano and composer, notable for her vocal work with various British cross-disciplinary composers, with avant-garde theatre companies and on soundtracks (notably for several films and the 2005 reviva ...

and others. One of the most well-known orchestral numbers is 'Abigail's Song', sung by

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns."A Christmas Carol", whose soundtrack was released in March 2011. The orchestral scoring (partly reflecting a larger budget) contrasts strongly with music for the classic 1963–1989 series of ''Doctor Who'', as produced by the

BBC Radiophonic Workshop The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was one of the sound effects units of the BBC, created in 1958 to produce incidental sounds and new music for radio and, later, television. The unit is known for its experimental and pioneering work in electroni ...

Mark Ayres Mark Ayres is an electronic musician, composer and audio engineer. Ayres studied music and electronics at Keele University. He also worked as a sound engineer at TV-am between 1982 and 1987. As a television composer, he became known for providi ...

''et al.'', which generally had an electronic feel, with innovative instrumentation. Gold also wrote the theme tunes for ''Doctor Who'' spin-offs ''

The Sarah Jane Adventures ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC ...

'' and ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

'', and composed music for the latter series alongside Ben Foster. A selection of their compositions, entitled '' Torchwood: Original Television Soundtrack'', was made available during August 2008. He arranged the theme tunes to '' Totally Doctor Who'' and ''

Doctor Who Confidential ''Doctor Who Confidential'' is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Each episode was broadcast on BBC T ...

'', both of which are variations on the ''Doctor Who'' theme. Gold has created, arranged and orchestrated three special live concerts for the music from ''Doctor Who''. The first, "Doctor Who: A Celebration", was played at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff in 2006; the second, the 2008 Doctor Who Prom, was part of the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

on 24 July 2008 at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

; the third, the 2010 Doctor Who Prom, was part of the

hold on 24 and 25 July 2010 at the

again. In March 2010, his Doctor Who soundtrack entered UK radio station Classic FM's Hall of Fame as that year's second highest new entry. In 2011, it remained in the Hall of Fame, but three places lower at number 228 out of 300. Gold announced in February 2018 that he would step down as the programme's composer, having served as the musical director since 2005, and that he would not be composing the music for the eleventh series, which would be instead composed by Segun Akinola.

Film, stage and radio

Gold has scored a number of British and American films, including the BAFTA-winning '' Kiss of Life'' directed by Emily Young, '' Death at a Funeral'' directed by

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

and ''Mischief Night'', directed by Penny Woolcock. Other projects include

Ant & Dec Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's ...

's 2006 film ''

Alien Autopsy The alien autopsy is a 17-minute black-and-white film supposedly depicting a secret medical examination or autopsy of an alien by the United States military.Barton, Steve (September 30, 2010)"Ray Santilli, Gary Shoefield Talk the Real Alien Aut ...

'' and the 2009 drama film ''

Veronika Decides to Die ''Veronika Decides to Die'' ( pt, Veronika Decide Morrer) is a novel by Paulo Coelho. It tells the story of Veronika, a 24-year-old Slovenian who appears to have everything in life going for her, but who decides to kill herself. This book is ...

''. In 2001, his radio play ''Electricity'' was given the Imison Award—named after former BBC radio drama script editor Richard Imison—for best new play after its broadcast on Radio 3 in 2000. It subsequently transferred to the

West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire. Having originally opened in 1970 in a different location in Leeds, it reopened as West Yorkshire Playhouse, on Quarry Hill, in March 1990. After a refurbishment in 2018-20 ...

in 2004 and was performed with

in the lead role. Others of his plays include ''50 Revolutions'' performed by the Oxford Stage Company at the

Whitehall Theatre Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to i ...

, London in 2000 and ''Resolution'' at

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a Grade I ...

in 1994. Gold also wrote the radio play ''Kafka the Musical'', broadcast on Easter Sunday 2011 on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The sta ...

, starring

. It won the 2013 Tinniswood Award for the Best Original Radio Drama.

References

External links

* * *
Interview with Murray Gold
at FilmMusicSite.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gold, Murray 1969 births Living people Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge English film score composers English Jews English male composers English male film score composers English television composers Music based on Doctor Who Musicians from Portsmouth