Monday 18 May 2020

BBC Radiophonic Workshop ‎– "Doctor Who At The BBC Radiophonic Workshop - Volume 1: The Early Years 1963-1969" ( BBC Music ‎– WMSF 6023-2)





Shit this is good!
Thrill to the sound of the BBC's 'wobbulator',the home-made 12 Oscillator sound generator, keys scraping down the guts of an old piano, loaded with analogue effects and 100 yard long tape loops.
This was naked innovation,going where no man or woman had gone before,and an argument against having too much equipment.
Then synthesizers came and ruined everything!
Brian Hodgson plays a tune on the Workshop's home-made keyboard, controlling 12 individual oscillators.The infamous  'Wobbulator is bottom right.

Probably the greatest sound ever made is the sound of the TARDIS dematerialising and materialisng, up there with Godzilla's screech......incidently both sounds were made in the same way,with varispeeded analogue tape and scraping strings. A close third place in the greatest sounds ever made league has to be the Bass sound from the original theme for Doctor Who. Not the sound of a disembodied  oscillator as I always thought, but a varispeeded plucked string;as simple as that!? A string, plucked ,of course, by the slender fingers of the sonic goddess that is Delia Derbyshire.
Delia with technology

She then proceeded to cut up the various,varispeeded  plucks, and laboriously make a splice edit for every single note.....incredible stuff. She wasn't,however, responsible for the TARDIS sound effect. That honour goes to her under-acknowledged partner in sonic crime, Brian Hodgson.

Brian Hodgson with dismembered piano, as used to create 'the Tardis sound' from the Doctor Who TV series.
Now you can experience the smooth, warm analogue beauty of actual electronics, lubricating your lugholes like being spoonfed tepid honey by your mother, or in this case Delia Derbyshire,not forgetting Brian Hodgson in charge of the saucepan.
As great as those eound effects are, the original themes for Doctor Who will go down in history, carved in rock, as the beginning of adult orientated Synth-pop.
Oooooooh I could listen to this all day.
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop Team in 1963

Tracklist:

1 –Delia Derbyshire- Doctor Who (Original Theme) 2:21
2 –Brian Hodgson- TARDIS Exterior Hum And Door (Original) 0:23
3 –Brian Hodgson- Entry Into The TARDIS 0:40
4 –Brian Hodgson- TARDIS: Original Takeoff Sequence 1:47
5 –Delia Derbyshire- Doctor Who (Original Titles Music) 2:09
6 –Brian Hodgson- TARDIS Takeoff 1:23
7 –Brian Hodgson- Skaro: Petrified Forest Atmosphere 1:46
8 –Brian Hodgson- TARDIS Computer 1:08
9 –Brian Hodgson- Dalek City Corridor 1:01
10 –Brian Hodgson- Dalek Control Room 0:26
11 –Brian Hodgson- Capsule Oscillation (Bomb Countdown) 0:19
12 –Brian Hodgson- Explosion, TARDIS Stops 1:10
13 –Brian Hodgson- Sleeping Machine 0:52
14 –Brian Hodgson- Sensorite Speech Background 1:10
15 –Brian Hodgson- Dalek Spaceship Lands 0:16
16 –Brian Hodgson- TARDIS Lands 0:11
17 –Brian Hodgson- Chumbley (Constant Run) 0:27
18 –Brian Hodgson- Chumbley At Rest 0:28
19 –Brian Hodgson- Chumbley Sends Message 0:07
20 –Brian Hodgson- Chumbley Dome (Rises/Falls/Rises/Falls) 0:19
21 –Brian Hodgson- Chumbley Dies 0:11
22 –Brian Hodgson- Activity On Dalek Ship Control Panel 0:46
23 –Brian Hodgson- Energy Escapes 0:22
24 –Brian Hodgson- Machinery In TARDIS Goes Wild(Regeneration) 1:03
25 –Brian Hodgson/Dick Mills- Regeneration Runs Down 0:09
26 –Brian Hodgson/Dick Mills- The Doctor's Transitional Trauma 0:52
27 –Brian Hodgson- The Fish People (Incidental Music) 0:37
28 –Brian Hodgson- Heartbeat Chase 1:57
29 –Delia Derbyshire- Chromophone Band 1:56
30 –Brian Hodgson- Controller Chimes 0:10
31 –John Baker- Muzak (From "Time In Advance") 3:19
32 –Brian Hodgson- Propaganda Sleep Machine 1:08
33 –Delia Derbyshire- Doctor Who (New Opening Theme, 1967) 0:51
34 –Brian Hodgson- Sting & Web 2:04
35 –Brian Hodgson- 4 Stings 0:18
36 –Brian Hodgson- Mr. Oak And Mr. Quill (Incidental Music) 0:39
37 –Brian Hodgson- Lead-In To Cyber Planner 0:14
38 –Brian Hodgson- Cyber Planner Background 0:37
39 –Brian Hodgson- Cyberman Stab & Music 1:32
40 –Brian Hodgson- Rocket Stab 0:08
41 –Brian Hodgson- Birth Of Cybermats 0:44
42 –Brian Hodgson- Cybermats Attracted To Wheel 0:39
43 –Brian Hodgson- Rocket In Space 1:49
44 –Brian Hodgson- Interior Rocket (Suspense Music) 1:55
45 –Brian Hodgson- Servo Robot Music 1:28
46 –Brian Hodgson- Wheel Stab 0:14
47 –Brian Hodgson- Cosmos Atmosphere 1:08
48 –Brian Hodgson- Alien Ship Music 1:00
49 –Brian Hodgson- Jarvis In A Dream State 0:47
50 –Brian Hodgson- Floating Through Space 1:14
51 –Brian Hodgson- 2 Stabs 0:11
52 –Brian Hodgson- TARDIS (New Landing) 0:18
53 –Brian Hodgson- Galaxy Atmosphere 1:04
54 –Brian Hodgson- Tension Builder (A) 0:45
55 –Brian Hodgson- Tension Builder (C) 0:40
56 –Brian Hodgson- Tension Builder (D) 1:06
57 –Brian Hodgson- Low Sting 0:10
58 –Brian Hodgson- TARDIS: Extra Power Unit Plugged In 1:53
59 –Brian Hodgson- Zoe's Theme 1:19
60 –Brian Hodgson- White Void 1:16
61 –John Baker- Muzak (From "Time In Advance") 2:48
62 –Brian Hodgson- Cyberman Brought To Life 1:12
63 –Brian Hodgson- Cyber Invasion 2:11
64 –Brian Hodgson- The Learning Hall 2:40
65 –Brian Hodgson- Entry Into The Machine 1:33
66 –Brian Hodgson- Sting 0:19
67 –Brian Hodgson- Machine And City Theme 1:49
68 –Brian Hodgson- Kroton Theme 2:13
69 –Brian Hodgson- TARDIS Land 0:25
70 –Brian Hodgson- Alien Control Centre 0:27
71 –Brian Hodgson- Time Zone Atmosphere 0:40
72 –Brian Hodgson- Dimensional Control 0:49
73 –Brian Hodgson- War Lord Arrival 0:16
74 –Brian Hodgson- Silver Box (The Doctor Calls For Help) 1:02
75 –Brian Hodgson- Time Lord Court Atmosphere 1:18
76 –Delia Derbyshire- Doctor Who (Closing Titles) 0:41


9 comments:

Kevin George said...

Brilliant collection even if you arent into Dr Who. Classic. Cheers

Mystic said...

Isn't this supposed to be a music blog? I can't find any Eagles, Duran Duran or Oasis anywhere. Shame on you for false advertising.

Mystic said...

Doesn't the Doctor Who theme tune encapsulate Pink Floyd's entire career?

Jonny Zchivago said...

I had planned to feature the lost BBC Radiophonic Workshop/Eagles sessions, but, they were a downright vterrible listening experience....none of the Eagles knew how to splice tape!!!? As for Duran Duran, they have been mentioned by myself recently...uttering my secret admiration for their debut album!?
The first note of the Dr Who Theme encapsulates the entire career of Pop music in general ...post Syd Barratt of course.

LazyFred said...

minor grumble but 2 tracks are missing
cheers though

Jonny Zchivago said...

will go back in time and sort out the missing tracks thing.

Farquhar Throckmorton III said...

This whole BBC series is the best thing you've ever done. Kudos! Brilliant research, writing, and a real service to musicology.

Jonny Zchivago said...

Why thank you you little farquhar you. I din't know you cared?
There are more pre-synthesizer Dr Who stuff waiting in the wings.
I do worship at the altar of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop between 1963 and 1969, that I admit.

Bodhi Amol said...

Hello, the original BBC Radiophonic workshop was disbanded in 1998, here are two cds by The Radiophonic Workshop from 2017:
https://workupload.com/file/gJ8YskPbg2J
+
https://workupload.com/file/H2g5wMKWcAV