1965: How DELIA DERBYSHIRE made the DOCTOR WHO theme I Tomorrow's World I Music I BBC Archive

Tomorrow's World visits the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a studio dedicated to the production of cutting edge electronic sound effects, soundscapes and electronic music for use in BBC television and radio programmes.
Pioneering sound engineer Delia Derbyshire - who, along with colleague Dick Mills, realised Ron Grainer's famous Doctor Who Theme at the Radiophonic Workshop - shows how electronic sounds are produced, and demonstrates some of the processes and techniques used in the workshop to build these sounds into otherworldly scores for the likes of Quatermass and the Pit.
Clip taken from Tomorrow's World, originally broadcast on BBC One, Thursday 9 December, 1965.
This clip features in Arena's docudrama, Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and the Legendary Tapes, which is available to watch on the BBC iPlayer: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...
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[@LeeStaffs1]

The absolute genius Delia Derbyshire. The pioneer of electronic music. She deserves far greater recognition.

[@jcortese3300]

Why is this woman's name not plastered on every museum in the world having to do with modern music? She wasn't just ahead of her time by a little bit but by leaps and bounds.

[@TransistorBased]

You can hear her excitement- even if she doesn't realize that this is going to be a huge stepping stone in music history, she's just having a great time and doing something fulfilling

[@chrisandersen5635]

To think the powers of the time just thought of them as mere technicians. Ron Grainer, composer, wanted to give Delia a composer credit, the BBC of course said no. Her life might have gone a little differently if she was able to earn a bit of royalties. Alas, much her recognition and respect has come posthumously.

[@scottmcmaster4927]

This woman was performing synthwave so very far ahead of her time. She's awesome.

[@markgatland977]

Mind absolutely blown...the stuff they were doing back then on tape would take me 30 seconds to do on Logic these days, but everything she ever did still sounds like it's from the future

[@tripencrypt]

Ms. Derbyshire was a gifted artist with her medium. Doctor Who wouldn't sound the same without her and her incredible creative contributions.

[@Pandangus]

What an actual legend! Shame on those who denied her the legitimate compositional credit she deserved.

[@hcs8789]

She makes this look really easy, but she would've had to chop all of these sounds up by hand and get them perfectly right to produce these complex rhythms! Amazing pioneer

[@jacklawrence2212]

One of Doctor Who's true visionaries. RIP Delia Derbyshire.

[@kevintipcorn6787]

Discovering that loops used to be actual loops of tape on huge boxes is both rewarding and makes me feel incredibly dumb for not intuiting it at the same time.

[@danielmcnamara_]

I love the part where the guy trips the switches to play all the tapes in sync and the conductor smoking

[@ozcxpilot]

I could listen to her voice all day.

[@KnapfordMaster98]

The audio quality is frighteningly good. Like a vintage picture with audio recorded yesterday. Analog media has so much to offer.

[@heresjohnny602]

I've danced for hours to music that probably wouldn't have existed without people like her.

[@hotdog1214]

Her tapping her fingers in time to the rhythm as she demonstrates is really charming. Amazing what the Radiophonic Workshop were doing back then, really creative and forward thinking. Great stuff.

[@1701Starfish]

Delia Derbyshire is an absolute legend.

[@lego5745]

Although it might’ve taken way longer than people would’ve liked for her to be recognized for her works at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, there is no doubt that Delia Derbyshire was a pioneer in the field of electronic music. Absolute respect!

[@OrafuDa]

This is the first documentary I remember seeing where Delia Derbyshire is talking on camera. I heard her voice before, and saw pictures, but seeing her in this way is quite special. Thank you very much.

[@chriswinwood6501]

Her energy and enthusiasm when she’s talking about the shapes of sounds. Incredible. And movement of her hands and feet in time to the music is so endearing. She’s unique and she lives on.