Delia Derbyshire
Delia Derbyshire (
May 5,
1937 -
July 3,
2001) was a pioneer of
electronic music. She is perhaps best known for "realising"
Ron Grainer's theme to the
British science fiction television series
Doctor Who at the
BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Ron Grainer was so amazed by her rendition of his original theme that he attempted to get her a co-composer credit, but this was prevented by BBC bureaucracy. Derbyshire's interpretation of Grainer's theme used electronic oscillators and tape editing to create an eerie and genuinely unearthly sound that was quite unlike anything that had been heard before or since. More recent
synthesizer versions were condemned by
Doctor Who fans as poor imitations.
Some of her most acclaimed work was done in the 1960s in collaboration with the British artist and playwright Barry Bermange, for the Third Programme (the radio station which later evolved into BBC Radio 3)[1].
See also: Peter Zinovieff
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