A New Collection of Classic Doctor Who Music on Compact Disc

Some Background History To These New Releases

As is probably obvious, as well as being a composer in my own right, I maintain a great enthusiasm for the work of others.

Our careers and enthusiasms can be shaped in many ways. In my case, Doctor Who, and the music and sound used in it especially, were of massive influence. I was fascinated by the weird noises created by Brian Hodgson and Dick Mills at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, by Delia Derbyshire's astonishing realisation of Ron Grainer's theme music, and by the contribution made by the music of Tristram Cary, Dudley Simpson, Carey Blyton and others. This led to a wider interest in film and television music, through my studies of the work of John Williams while at University, and ultimately to my own career as a composer.

But one should never forget one's influences. You may have heard of the Doctor Who Restoration Team. This is a loose collective of enthusiasts with appropriate skills within the television and film industry, myself included, who take time to make sure that the remaining masters of this particular programme are in as good a condition as is technically possible. Members of the team follow up leads tracking down missing episodes (not just of Doctor Who - so if anyone has a Hancock or a Dad's Army lying around, let us know!), and remaster and restore the various tapes for broadcast, video and DVD release, and audio CD. In my own case, I also try to track down copies of the incidental music recordings. Most of these, being contributory materials to programmes, were not kept, but it's amazing what has turned up...

A Bit More History - The Radiophonic Workshop Catalogue

In early 1997, I received a call from Brian Hodgson, following discussions I'd had with Peter Howell and others of the Radiophonic Workshop. The Workshop was, to all intents and purposes, closing down. (In fact, it still exists, but as one single operator doing mainly restoration and remastering work - not the creative work for which it is historically known). Sad as this was in itself, it led to another problem. Down the years, the Workshop had maintained its own library, one of the very few departments in the BBC to do so. This library, consisting of thousands of reels of 1/4" tape, was stored in three rooms at the BBC's premises in Maida Vale. But, due to the restructuring of the premises, the three rooms of tape had been moved to a single room. This had led to yet another problem - more on which later. Nobody knew quite what to do with them; the catalogue was incomplete, and there was no understanding within the BBC as to quite what the library represented.

Quite simply, the library is unique, as was the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Other organisations had laboratories researching electronic music and sound (for example, IRCAM in Paris) but the Workshop was set up to create applied sound and music for specific purposes. As a result, almost all its work was commissioned, and "published" in some way. Over nearly 40 years, it created thousands of original works. Some of the other electronic music organisations could fit their entire published catalogue onto 3 or 4 CD's, with the Radiophonic Workshop it filled three rooms!

What Brian Hodgson was suggesting in that telephone call was that I, as an objective outsider, should sort through the tapes, consolidate the library, and create a usable catalogue. Almost without hesitation, I agreed. It was really a case of either I did the job, or the lot would end up on a skip. So, with the help and encouragement of Brian, Peter, Paddy Kingsland, Dick Mills, Malcolm Clarke, Roger Limb, Delia Derbyshire and others including Colin Duff at BBC Resources, I set to work. The job took well over a year. After 6 months or so, however, we came to the end of our stock of tapes, and yet had only reached around 1983. Almost half the tapes were missing! Enquiries revealed that when the tapes had been been moved from the original three rooms to the one, they wouldn't all fit, and an arbitrary decision had been made to throw the remainder out! Further worried enquiries revealed that although the tapes had been marked for disposal, their actual exit from the building could not be traced. A top-to-bottom search of the facility ensued, bringing to light a wonderful piece of serendipitous inefficiency. There were so many tapes to be disposed of that special arrangements would have to be made - so they had been dumped into a store room pending those arrangements; which had then promptly been delayed and forgotten about. So I was able to retrieve all reels. If I hadn't, we would have lost many Doctor Who music recordings, Roger Limb's Box of Delights, and many, many others.

In April 1998, by coincidence on what would have been the Workshop's 40th Anniversary, I finally shipped the consolidated library to the BBC's main storage site. I have a basic catalogue completed, but research work continues with the intention of providing, for instance, a full catalogue of the Doctor Who sound effects and other individual areas of the library.

It is hoped that much of the library will be of future interest, both as a resource for programme makers, and as the source for commercial releases of interest to enthusiasts. BBC Music, who now own beneficial interest in the catalogue, are eager to proceed, and the Doctor Who releases announced here are the first fruits of an ongoing effort.

Depending on sales of the new batch of Doctor Who soundtracks, the range of commercial releases should eventually expand to include much more music and effects from the Radiophonic Workshop, encompassing music from other classic Science Fiction programmes and documentaries, dramas and children's programmes.

(Back to Top)

The (Not So) Small Print
(A Personal Note)

This page has given you some ideas as to what I'm involved in and what we plan to release in the way of Doctor Who music, and from the wider Radiophonic Workshop catalogue, over the coming months.

Obviously, these are plans. But while the intention is there, we can make no promises. As ever, it will come down to commercial realities. What I'm saying is this: if you like this material, please buy it. By all means discuss it, but please don't copy it for friends and don't post it to internet news groups or web sites. Thanks!

The information on this page is provided by Mark Ayres personally. No representations are made on behalf of the BBC, BBC Worldwide, or BBC Music.