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The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was one of the

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...

s units of the

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, 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

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

and

music technology Music technology is the study or the use of any device, mechanism, machine or tool by a musician or composer to make or perform music; to compose, notate, playback or record songs or pieces; or to analyze or edit music. History The earli ...

, as well as its popular scores for programmes such as '' Doctor Who'' and '' Quatermass and the Pit'' during the 1950s and 1960s. The original Radiophonic Workshop was based in the BBC's

Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1 ...

in Delaware Road,

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is ...

, London. The Workshop was closed in March 1998, although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995. Its members included

Daphne Oram Daphne Blake Oram (31 December 1925 – 5 January 2003) was a British composer and electronic musician. She was one of the first British composers to produce electronic sound, and was an early practitioner of musique concrète in the UK. As a co ...

Delia Derbyshire Delia Ann Derbyshire (5 May 1937 – 3 July 2001) was an English musician and composer of electronic music. She carried out notable work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 1960s, including her electronic arrangement of the theme ...

, David Cain, John Baker,

Paddy Kingsland Paddy Kingsland (born 30 January 1947) is a composer of electronic music best known for his incidental music for science fiction series on BBC radio and television whilst working at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Educated at Eggar's Grammar Sch ...

, Glynis Jones, Maddalena Fagandini and Richard Yeoman-Clark.

History

The Workshop was set up to satisfy the growing demand in the late 1950s for "radiophonic" sounds from a group of producers and studio managers at the

...
, including Desmond Briscoe,

, Donald McWhinnie, and

Frederick Bradnum Frederick Bradnum (8 May 1920 – 25 December 2001), was a British radio dramatist, producer, and director who penned over 70 plays and 140 dramatisations of novels for the BBC. Along with the likes of Tom Mallin, Jennifer Phillips, Peter Tegel ...

. For some time there had been much interest in producing innovative music and sounds to go with the pioneering programming of the era, in particular the dramatic output of the

BBC Third Programme The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and quickly became one of the leading cultural and intellectual f ...

. Often the sounds required for the atmosphere that programme makers wished to create were unavailable or non-existent through traditional sources and so some, such as the musically trained Oram, would look to new techniques to produce effects and music for their pieces. Much of this interest drew them to musique concrète and tape manipulation techniques, since using these methods could allow them to create

soundscape A soundscape is the acoustic environment as perceived by humans, in context. The term was originally coined by Michael Southworth, and popularised by R. Murray Schafer. There is a varied history of the use of soundscape depending on discipline, ...

s suitable for the growing range of unconventional programming. When the BBC noticed the rising popularity of this method they established a Radiophonic Effects Committee, setting up the Workshop in rooms 13 & 14 of the BBC's Maida Vale studios with a budget of £2,000. The Workshop contributed articlesRediscovering the era of the Radiophonic Workshop – BBC – Research and Development
"the workshop team did not publish its own journals, but had, through the years, contributed a number of articles to magazines such as Practical Electronics, Studio Sound and the Dr. Who Magazine" to magazines of their findings, leading to some of their techniques being borrowed by sixties producers and engineers such as

Eddie Kramer Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a British recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin ...

Early days

In 1957, Daphne Oram set up the Radiophonic Workshop with Desmond Briscoe, who was appointed the Senior Studio Manager with Dick Mills employed as a technical assistant. Much of The Radiophonic Workshop's early work was in effects for radio, in particular experimental drama and "radiophonic poems". Their significant early output included creating effects for the popular science-fiction serial '' Quatermass and the Pit'' and memorable comedy sounds for ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...

''. In 1959, Daphne Oram left the workshop to set up her own studio, the ''Oramics Studios for Electronic Composition'', where she eventually developed her " Oramics" technique of electronic sound creation. That year Maddalena Fagandini joined the workshop from the BBC's Italian Service. From the early sixties the Workshop began creating television theme tunes and jingles, particularly for low budget schools programmes. The shift from the experimental nature of the late 50s dramas to theme tunes was noticeable enough for one radio presenter to have to remind listeners that the purpose of the Workshop was not pop music. In fact, in 1962 one of Fagandini's interval signals "Time Beat" was reworked with assistance from

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

(in his pre- Beatles days) and commercially released as a single using the pseudonym Ray Cathode. During this early period the innovative electronic approaches to music in the Workshop began to attract some significant young talent including

Brian Hodgson Brian Hodgson (born 1938) is a British television composer and sound technician. Born in Liverpool in 1938, Hodgson joined the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in 1962 where he became the original sound effects creator for the science fiction program ...

and John Baker, who was in fact a jazz pianist with an interest in reverse tape effects. Later, in 1967. they were joined by David Cain, a jazz bass player and mathematician. In these early days, one criticism the Workshop attracted was its policy of not allowing musicians from outside the BBC to use its equipment, which was some of the most advanced in the country at that time not only because of its nature, but also because of the unique combinations and workflows which the Workshop afforded its composers. In later years this would become less important as more electronic equipment became readily available to a wider audience.

''Doctor Who''

In 1963 they were approached by composer

Ron Grainer Ronald Erle Grainer (11 August 1922 – 21 February 1981) was an Australian composer who worked for most of his professional career in the United Kingdom. He is mostly remembered for his television and film score music, especially the theme mus ...

to record a theme tune for the upcoming BBC television series '' Doctor Who''. Presented with the task of "realising" Grainer's score, complete with its descriptions of "sweeps", "swoops", "wind clouds" and "wind bubbles",

created a piece of

which has become one of television's most recognisable themes. Over the next quarter-century the Workshop contributed greatly to the programme providing its vast range of unusual sound-effects, from the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior a ...

dematerialisation to the Sonic screwdriver, as well as much of the programme's distinctive electronic incidental music, including every score from 1980 to 1985. In 2018 Matthew Herbert, creative director of The New Radiophonic Workshop, composed the sting used alongside the reveal of the new Doctor Who logo debuting later that year.

Changes

As the sixties drew to a close many of the techniques used by the Workshop changed as more electronic music began to be produced by synthesisers. Many of the old members of the Workshop were reluctant to use the new instruments, often because of the limitations and unreliable nature of many of the early synthesisers but also, for some, because of a dislike of the sounds they created. This led to many leaving the workshop making way for a new generation of musicians in the early 1970s including Malcolm Clarke,

Roger Limb Roger James Limb is a British composer, specialising in electronic music. He is best known for his work on the television series ''Doctor Who'' whilst at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. He joined the BBC as a studio manager, before going on to bec ...

and Peter Howell. From the early days of a studio full of tape reels and electronic oscillators, the Workshop now found itself in possession of various synthesisers including the

EMS VCS 3 The VCS 3 (or VCS3; an initialism for ''Voltage Controlled Studio, version #3'') is a portable analog synthesizer with a flexible modular voice architecture introduced by Electronic Music Studios (London) Limited (EMS) in 1969. EMS release ...

and the

EMS Synthi 100 The EMS Synthi 100 was a large analogue/digital hybrid synthesizer made by Electronic Music Studios, London, originally as a custom order from Radio Belgrade for what was to be the Radio Belgrade Electronic Studio, largely thanks to contact betw ...

nicknamed the "Delaware" by the members of the Workshop. In 1977, Workshop co-founder Desmond Briscoe retired from organisational duties with Brian Hodgson, returning after a five-year gap away from the Workshop, taking over. By this point the output of the Workshop was vast with high demand for complete scores for programmes as well as the themes and sound effects for which it had made its name. By the end of the decade the workshop was contributing to over 300 programmes a year from all departments of the BBC and had long since expanded from its early two-room setup. Its contributions included material for programmes such as ''The Body in Question'', '' Blue Peter'' and ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...

'' as well as sound effects for popular science fiction programmes ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ...

'' and ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...

'' (in both its

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

forms) by Richard Yeoman-Clark and

respectively.

Latter days

By the early 1990s, BBC Director General John Birt decided that departments were to charge each other and bid against each other for services and to close those that couldn't make enough revenue to cover their costs. In 1991 the Workshop was given five years in which to break even but the cost of keeping the department, which required two dedicated engineers, a software developer (Tony Morton) and a secretary (Maxine) as well as the composers, proved too much and so they failed. Dick Mills, who had worked on ''Doctor Who'' since the very beginning, left in 1993, along with Ray White, Senior Engineer, and his assistant, Ray Riley, with the Maida Vale technical team taking on their role, and engineer Fiona Sleigh smoothing the transition. In 1995, despite being asked to continue, organiser Brian Hodgson left the Workshop, and his role was carried out remotely from Broadcasting House by people with other priorities and little enthusiasm. Malcolm Clarke and Roger Limb left. By the end, only one composer, Elizabeth Parker, remained. The Workshop officially closed in March 1998, but Elizabeth stayed on for a couple of months to complete her last job. John Hunt, (who took over much of the specialist editing side of the workshop previously done by Dick Mills) continued working in Studio E, now called "Radiophonics" until well into 2000, occasionally managing to fit in a bit of traditional Radiophonics work. Mark Ayres recalls the Workshop's tape archive being collected on 1 April, exactly 40 years after the department had opened.

Legacy

Following the decision to close the Radiophonic Workshop, the studios were cleared and most remaining equipment was disposed of, with some of it being sold to the composers. The tape library was largely forgotten until the room was ordered to be "cleared". Fortunately the Maida Vale studios technical team became aware of this and were able to hide the tapes away in various dark corners of the building before they could be thrown away. Eventually Mark Ayres and Brian Hodgson were commissioned to catalogue its extensive library of recordings with help from other composers. In October 2003, ''Alchemists of Sound'', an hour-long

television documentary Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

about the Radiophonic Workshop, was broadcast on BBC Four.

The Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields (named after the André Breton/Philippe Soupault novel '' Les Champs Magnétiques'') are an American band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as fr ...

titled the first track of their album '' Holiday'', after the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Live reunions since 2009

In May 2009, Dick Mills reunited with former BBC Radiophonic Workshop composers

and Peter Howell with archivist Mark Ayres for a live concert at

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhous ...

, Chalk Farm, London, performing as "The Radiophonic Workshop". The composers, backed by a small brass section and a live drummer, performed a large number of their BBC-commissioned musical works including sections of incidental music from ''The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy'' and ''Doctor Who'' (including a medley of Mark Ayres's work) as well as some collaborative compositions written specifically for the Roundhouse concert. The live performances were mixed in surround sound and interspersed with musical video montage tributes of deceased members of the Workshop including

and John Baker. The two and a half-hour event climaxed with live performances of the Derbyshire and Peter Howell arrangements of ''Doctor Who'', segueing into a new Radiophonic version of the theme tune. Celebrated attendees included actor/writer/composer Peter Serafinowicz and satirist/writer/broadcaster Victor Lewis-Smith. Multiple cameras recorded the event but it has yet to be broadcast or released in any form, although amateur footage of the event can be seen on YouTube. In 2013 the original members of the Workshop regrouped again for a more concerted programme of live appearances. Performing as 'The Radiophonic Workshop' (dropping the BBC prefix) they were joined by drummer Kieron Pepper (The Prodigy, Dead Kids, OutPatient) and Bob Earland from Clor. They also embarked on a new recording project set for release in Autumn of 2014. This involved collaborations with contemporary electronic musicians, video artists, DJs, remixers, poets, writers and singers. Live appearances in 2013 included Festival Number 6 at Portmeirion, Wales in September and The London Electronic Arts Festival in November. The shows featured archive TV and visuals from many of the TV and film soundtracks that the Radiophonic Workshop contributed to between 1958 and 1998 when the unit was deactivated. The Radiophonic Workshop appeared on BBC television's The One Show on 20 November 2013 playing a unique version of the Doctor Who Theme that combined Delia Derbyshire's original source tapes and Peter Howell's 1980 realisation of the Ron Grainer composition. Radio 6 Music's Marc Riley played host to a Radiophonic Workshop session where they delivered live versions of Roger Limb's Incubus, Paddy Kingsland's Vespucci, the Doctor Who Medley and a new composition – Electricity Language and Me (by American poet Peter Adam Salomon), featuring DJ Andrew Weatherall as the narrative voice for this classic piece of Radiophonic sound design. There were a number of radio, online and print interviews done at the time to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. The Workshop's early archive recordings were also reissued on vinyl in November 2013 to accompany this renewed activity. In 2014, "The Radiophonic Workshop" appeared at festivals including End of the Road Festival, and the reissue programme of earlier work from their extensive catalogue continues along with a planned exploration of previously unheard or rare archive recordings.

2012 online revival

In September 2012 Arts Council England and the BBC announced a joint venture whereby the concept of the Radiophonic Workshop would be revived as an online venture, with seven new, non-original composers and musicians. The new Workshop was based online at The Space, a joint venture between the BBC and Arts Council England. Composer Matthew Herbert was appointed the new Creative Director, and worked alongside

Micachu Mica Levi (; b. 28 February 1987), also known by their stage name Micachu, is an English singer, songwriter, composer and producer. Levi is classically trained and since 2008 has released experimental pop music with their band Good Sad Happy ...

, Yann Seznec,

Max de Wardener Max de Wardener is a British composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist known for his scores for film and television and his work in jazz, classical, world and electronic music. Career Since graduating from York University and the Guildhall Scho ...

, Patrick Bergel, James Mather, theatre director Lyndsey Turner and broadcast technologist Tony Churnside.

Composer Matthew Herbert's first work for The New Radiophonic Workshop takes audio from 25 previous projects featured on the website – from theater performances to poetry readings, creating a "curious murmur of activity". It can be heard by clicking on a button labeled "listen to The Space" at the top of any page on the website.

The New Radiophonic Workshop, not to be confused with the reactivated Radiophonic Workshop whose members are original BBC personnel, an entirely separate entity from the original unit, was assembled by Mathew Herbert as an online collective of composers for The Space arts project.

Techniques

The techniques initially used by the Radiophonic Workshop were closely related to those used in ''musique concrète''; new sounds for programmes were created by using recordings of everyday sounds such as voices, bells or gravel as raw material for "radiophonic" manipulations. In these manipulations, audio tape could be played back at different speeds (altering a sound's pitch), reversed, cut and joined, or processed using

reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...

or equalisation. The most famous of the Workshop's creations using 'radiophonic' techniques include the ''Doctor Who'' theme music, which

created using a plucked string, 12 oscillators and a lot of tape manipulation; and the sound of the TARDIS ( the Doctor's time machine) materialising and dematerialising, which was created by Brian Hodgson running his keys along the rusty bass strings of a broken piano, with the recording slowed down to make an even lower sound. Much of the equipment used by the Workshop in the earlier years of its operation in the late 1950s was semi-professional and was passed down from other departments, though two giant professional tape-recorders made an early centrepiece. Reverberation was obtained using an

echo chamber Echo chamber of the Dresden University of Technology Hamilton Mausoleum has a long-lasting unplanned echo An echo chamber is a hollow enclosure used to produce reverberation, usually for recording purposes. For example, the producers of ...

, a basement room with bare painted walls empty except for loudspeakers and microphones. Due to the considerable technical challenges faced by the Workshop and BBC traditions, staff initially worked in pairs with one person assigned to the technical aspects of the work and the other to the artistic direction.

Influence on popular music

The Radiophonic Workshop published "Radiophonics in the BBC" in November 1963, listing all equipment used in their two workshops, diagrams of several systems, and a number of anecdotes. The Radiophonic Workshop also contributed articles to magazines of its experiments, complete with instructions and wiring diagrams. British psychedelic rock group Pink Floyd made a memorable trip to the workshop in 1967. They had employed tape loops, sound effects, found sounds and the principles of musique concrete on their debut album ''

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 5 August 1967 by EMI Columbia. It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founding member Syd Barrett (lead vocals, g ...

'' from that same year. Other fans of the Radiophonic Workshop included

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

– who visited in 1968 – and Roger Mayer, who supplied

guitar pedal An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...

s to Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix.

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801, and Quiet Su ...

has also cited the Workshop as an influence on the sound of his group

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

. In 1997 the electronic dance music magazine ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'' described the Workshop as, "the unsung heroes of British electronica". Their work has been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

extensively by contemporary electronic artists.

Members of the Radiophonic Workshop

1958–1998

* Desmond Briscoe (1958–1983) *

(1958–1959) * Dick Mills (1958–1993) * Maddalena Fagandini (1959–1966) *

(1962–1972), Organiser (1977–1995) *

(1962–1973) * John Baker (1963–1974) * David Cain (1967–1973) * Malcolm Clarke (1969–1995) *

(1970–1981) * Richard Yeoman-Clark (1970–1978) *

(1972–1995) * Glynis Jones (1973–?) * Peter Howell (1974–1997) * Elizabeth Parker (1978–1998) * Jonathan Gibbs (1983–1986) * Richard Attree (1987–1998)

2009–present

* Peter Howell (2009–present) *

(2009–present) * Dick Mills (2009–present) *

(2009–present) * Mark Ayres (2009–present) * Kieron Pepper (2013–present) * Bob Earland (2013–present)

Discography

Main albums

* '' BBC Radiophonic Music'' * '' Fourth Dimension'' * '' The Radiophonic Workshop'' * '' Out of This World'' * '' Through A Glass Darkly'' * ''

BBC Sound Effects No. 19 - Doctor Who Sound Effects ''BBC Sound Effects No. 19: Doctor Who Sound Effects'' is a 1978 compilation of sound effects by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. It was the first album in the ''BBC Sound Effects'' series to featu ...

'' * '' BBC Radiophonic Workshop - 21'' * '' BBC Sound Effects No. 26 - Sci-Fi Sound Effects'' * '' Doctor Who - The Music'' * '' The Soundhouse'' * ''

The Living Planet ''The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth'' is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 19 January 1984. The sequel to his pioneering '' Life on Earth'', it is a study of t ...

'' * '' Doctor Who - The Music II'' * '' Doctor Who: 30 Years at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop'' * '' Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 1: The Early Years 1963–1969'' * '' Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 2: New Beginnings 1970–1980'' * '' Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 3: The Leisure Hive'' * '' Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 4: Meglos & Full Circle'' * '' The John Baker Tapes – Volume 1: BBC Radiophonics'' * '' BBC Radiophonic Workshop - A Retrospective'' * '' Doctor Who – The Caves of Androzani'' * '' Doctor Who – The Krotons'' * '' Radiophonic Workshop'' * '' The Vendetta Tapes'' * '' Burials in Several Earths'' * '' The Changes'' * '' Doctor Who – The Five Doctors'' * '' Possum'' * ''

The Box of Delights ''The Box of Delights'' is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield. It is a sequel to ''The Midnight Folk'', and was first published in 1935. Also known as "When The Wolves Were Running" Plot Kay Harker is returning from boarding school ...

'' * ''

The Stone Tape ''The Stone Tape'' is a 1972 British television horror drama film written by Nigel Kneale and directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Michael Bryant, Jane Asher, Michael Bates and Iain Cuthbertson. It was broadcast on BBC Two as a Christmas ...

'' * '' Doctor Who – The Visitation'' * ''La Planète Sauvage'' (with Stealing Sheep)

Selected other works

Radio dramas

*'' The Foundation Trilogy'' (produced by David Cain) (1973) *'' Good Friday: A Play in Verse'' (1974) *''A Wall Walks Slowly'' (produced by Desmond Briscoe with music by Peter Howell) (1977) *'' August 2026'' (produced by Malcolm Clarke) (1977) *''Notes from Janáček's Diary'' (produced by Maxwell Steer) (1991) **This was the only production ever to be realised at the Radiophonic Workshop completely by an external composer.

Sound effects and music contributions

*Radio **''

'' **''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...

'' (effects and music composed by David Cain) (1968) **''

'' (effects by

with additional effects by Dick Mills. Music (except theme music) for second series by Paddy Kingsland) **''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' (effects by Elizabeth Parker) (1981) **''Doctor Who:

Slipback ''Slipback'' is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', produced by the BBC and first broadcast in six episodes on BBC Radio 4 from 25 July to 8 August 1985, as part of a children's ...

'' (BBC Radio) (music by Jonathan Gibbs) (1985) **''Doctor Who: The Paradise of Death'' (BBC Radio) (music by Peter Howell) (1993) **''Doctor Who: The Ghosts of N-Space'' (BBC Radio) (music by Peter Howell) (1996) *Television **'' Quatermass and the Pit'' (effects by Desmond Briscoe & (uncredited) Dick Mills) (1958) **'' Doctor Who'' (effects by

(1963–1972) & Dick Mills (1972–1989). Some additional effects provided by various Workshop members) **''

Penda's Fen ''Penda's Fen'' is a British television play, written by David Rudkin and directed by Alan Clarke. It was commissioned by BBC producer David Rose, and first broadcast on 21 March 1974 as part of the corporation's ''Play for Today'' anthology seri ...

'' (

) (1974) **''

'' (effects by Richard Yeoman-Clark & Elizabeth Parker) **''

'' (music and effects by

except theme music)

''Doctor Who'' incidental music

The '' Doctor Who''

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

was provided by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from 1963 to 1985. From 1986 to the programme's demise the theme was provided by freelance musicians. Between 1980 and 1985 the complete incidental scores for the programme were provided in-house by the Workshop. Below is a complete list of incidental music provided by the Radiophonic Workshop for the programme. *1968 **'' The Wheel in Space'' (music by

) **''

The Krotons ''The Krotons'' is the fourth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 December 1968 to 18 January 1969. In the serial, the time travel ...

'' (Special sounds by Brian Hodgson) *1972 **'' The Sea Devils'' (music by Malcolm Clarke) *1975 **''

Revenge of the Cybermen ''Revenge of the Cybermen'' is the fifth and final serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 19 April to 10 May 1975. It was the first ...

'' (additional, uncredited music by Peter Howell (main score by Carey Blyton)) *1980 **''

The Leisure Hive ''The Leisure Hive'' is the first serial of the 18th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 August to 20 September 1980. It marks the return of John ...

'' (music by Peter Howell) **'' Meglos'' (music by

& Peter Howell) **'' Full Circle'' (music by

) **''

State of Decay ''State of Decay'' is a series of third-person survival horror video games. The series was created by Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios. To date, there are two installments in the franchise, and an upcoming third game. Common game ...

'' (music by

) *1981 **'' Warriors' Gate'' (music by Peter Howell) **'' The Keeper of Traken'' (music by

) **''

Logopolis ''Logopolis'' is the seventh and final serial of the 18th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 28 February to 21 March 1981. It was Tom Baker's last ...

'' (music by

) **In 1981 Peter Howell also supplied the incidental music for the spin-off ''

K-9 and Company ''K-9 and Company'' is a one-episode television pilot, for a proposed 1981 television spin-off of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It features former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist ...

''. *1982 **'' Castrovalva'' (music by

) **'' Four to Doomsday'' (music by

) **'' Kinda'' (music by Peter Howell) **'' The Visitation'' (music by

) **'' Black Orchid'' (music by

) **''

Earthshock ''Earthshock'' is the sixth serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 to 16 March 1982. This serial marks the final regular appe ...

'' (music by Malcolm Clarke) **''

Time-Flight ''Time-Flight'' is the seventh and final serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 22 to 30 March 1982. The serial is set at the ...

'' (music by

) *1983 **'' Arc of Infinity'' (music by

) **'' Snakedance'' (music by Peter Howell) **''

Terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

'' (music by

) **'' Enlightenment'' (music by Malcolm Clarke) **'' The King's Demons'' (music by Peter Howell & Jonathan Gibbs) **''

The Five Doctors ''The Five Doctors'' is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago ...

'' (music by Peter Howell) *1984 **''

Warriors of the Deep ''Warriors of the Deep'' is the first serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 5 to 13 January 1984. In the serial, two human power b ...

'' (music by Jonathan Gibbs) **'' The Awakening'' (music by Peter Howell) **''

Resurrection of the Daleks ''Resurrection of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 between 8 February and 15 February 1984. The serial ...

'' (music by Malcolm Clarke) **''

Planet of Fire ''Planet of Fire'' is the fifth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 23 February to 2 March 1984. In the serial, the Doctor's ...

'' (music by Peter Howell) **'' The Caves of Androzani'' (music by

) **'' The Twin Dilemma'' (music by Malcolm Clarke) *1985 **'' Attack of the Cybermen'' (music by Malcolm Clarke) **''

Vengeance on Varos ''Vengeance on Varos'' is the second serial of the 22nd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 19 and 26 January 1985. The serial is set on the planet Varos, whe ...

'' (music by Jonathan Gibbs) **'' The Mark of the Rani'' (music by Jonathan Gibbs) **''

The Two Doctors ''The Two Doctors'' is the fourth serial of the 22nd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in three weekly parts on BBC1 from 16 February to 2 March 1985. The serial is set on an alien ...

'' (music by Peter Howell) **''

Timelash ''Timelash'' is the fifth serial of the 22nd season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 on 9 and 16 March 1985. In the serial, the Borad ( Robert Ashby), the m ...

'' (music by Elizabeth Parker (as "Liz Parker")) **''

Revelation of the Daleks ''Revelation of the Daleks'' is the sixth and final serial of the 22nd season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 and 30 March 1985. This was the final serial t ...

'' (music by

) *1986 **'' Terror of the Vervoids'' (music by Malcolm Clarke)

Works about Radiophonic Workshop

*Radio **''The Sound Makers'' (1963) **''The Electric Tunesmiths'' (1971) ***Repeated as part of ''Selected Radiophonic Works'' in 2008. **''The Space Between'' (4 October 1973) **''Wee Have Also Sound-Houses'' (1979) ***The title to this programme is a reference to

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

's 1626 novel "

New Atlantis ''New Atlantis'' is an incomplete utopian novel by Sir Francis Bacon, published posthumously in 1626. It appeared unheralded and tucked into the back of a longer work of natural history, ''Sylva Sylvarum'' (forest of materials). In ''New Atlan ...

". **''Sound in Mind'' (1979) **''Late Junction: 12 February 2008'' **''Sunday Feature: Wee Have Also Sound-Houses'' (2008) **''Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone: 26 October 2008'' **''Selected Radiophonic Works'' (2008) **''Jonny Trunk's OST Show – 2 Hours With Paddy Kingsland'' **''Jonny Trunk's OST Show – David Cain Interview'' *Television **''The Same Trade as Mozart'' (1969) **''The New Sound of Music'' (1979) **''The Electric Music Machine, Five Days at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop'' (1988) **''Alchemists of Sound'' (2003) **''What the Future Sounds Like'' (2009) *Books **''Special Sound: The Creation and Legacy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop'' by Louis Niebur (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2010) **''An Electric Storm: Daphne, Delia and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop'' by Ned Netherwood ( Obverse Books, 2014)

References

External links

BBC Radiophonic Workshop: An Engineering Perspective

Radiophonic Gallery

Ray White's Radiophonic Home Page

Peter Howell's Radiophonic Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc Radiophonic Workshop Musical groups established in 1958 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Electronic music organizations 1958 establishments in England 1998 disestablishments in England Mute Records artists 2012 establishments in England

History

Early days

''Doctor Who''

Changes

Latter days

Legacy

Live reunions since 2009

2012 online revival

Techniques

Influence on popular music

Members of the Radiophonic Workshop

1958–1998

2009–present

Discography

Main albums

Selected other works

Radio dramas

Sound effects and music contributions

''Doctor Who'' incidental music

Works about Radiophonic Workshop

See also

References

Further reading

External links