#delia derbyshire
The Groundbreaking Sound of Delia Derbyshire
“Derbyshire, a working-class genius and Cambridge-educated mathematician, was particularly gifted when it came to hearing a sound and knowing what to do to make it interesting. The bulk of Derbyshire’s musical output came from her tenure at the Radiophonic Workshop, a sound effects unit of the BBC — housed on top of a skating rink — created in 1958 to produce incidental sounds and new music for radio and, later, television.
As it were: there was a need for a pioneering approach to sound to complement the pioneering approach to programming in the 1960s. During her eleven years at the Workshop, Derbyshire would create music and sound for almost two-hundred radio and television programs, including the hauntingly iconic theme song for Doctor Who.
Because the BBC preferred to keep the members of the Workshop anonymous, Derbyshire’s genius was not recognized, as it should have been, at the time of her creative output. She was never credited as a composer and never saw financial residuals for her work. And yet, despite the best efforts of the BBC bureaucracy, the forces of time now rightfully recognize Derbyshire’s pioneering genius as an early and invaluable contribution to electronic music.”