Doctor Who theme - Peter Howell's Masterclass (1981)

The original upload of this video from ages ago has unfortunately vanished without a trace. I've no idea what the original source was, but thanks to some dedicated Doctor Who fans rediscovering it, here it is again!
If anyone has any proper info on this feature, please do share!

[@peterscottmorgan1]

I love his humbleness when comparing his arrangement compared to Delia's. Delia had the far bigger challenge technologically, but it's great to see someone acknowledging that they're standing on the shoulders, of giants so to speak

[@MarkNewmanEducation]

This is absolutely FASCINATING. I grew up with Peter Howell's arrangement of the theme and it is therefore my favorite. How wonderful to hear him talking about it in such detail. I could listen to him for hours. Thanks so much.

[@gregtdude]

Same here! I love how much work and thought he's put into it. Really makes me think of the theme in a new light

[@azariahjosiah2123]

instablaster

[@HuntersMoon78]

My favourite too.

[@HaloPrime212]

I was born in 05 and I love his theme, it definitely brought a new style for that time

[@Tulf42]

i love peter howell's theme. i live it even more when i see an "in the making" so you see how much work has gone into production

[@robocelot]

Peter refers to an "octave tremolo effect" for the middle eight -- it's a combination of the Jupiter-4's arpeggiator (the jumping octaves) and the LFO with a square wave to the amp section (for the trem). The whole thing comes together because the Jupiter-4's arpeggiator and the LFO share the same clock, which can go very fast into audible frequencies -- so the two effects are in sync very fast giving this wonderful shimmery, glassy effect. One of the many reasons I adore the Jupiter-4

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

That and if you split the stereo into mono, the left channel has a sort of rising trail effect, and the right channel has a falling trail effect. Which makes it really stereo.

[@yusufkhan-ig7dv]

@@therestorationofdrwho1865 I keep seeing you in the comments of all the videos I watch 😂

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

yusuf khan Come on, surely this is an exception. Look at the video, and the stuff I upload.

[@yusufkhan-ig7dv]

@@therestorationofdrwho1865 not just dr who, super 8 stuff!

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

yusuf khan I use super 8. I made a starfield on super 8.

[@StefanKirby]

I want to see a movie - The Peter Howell Story, with James McAvoy in the title role.

[@southport97]

Genius arrangement and arguably the best. Still sounds like it was made yesterday.

[@geosword6]

He seems like such a genuinely nice bloke. The sort of chap you'd like to have a pint of bitter and a packet of crisps with on a summer's afternoon

[@glyph2011]

Without a doubt, the BEST Dr Who theme ever made. Like a lot of others , I also grew up with this as the Doctor Who music for Tom and for Peters (Davison) Doctors and was over the moon when the 25th Anniversary CD came out with it on. I can't bear the theme with an orchestra. It's just not Sci Fi for me. Peters theme has that air of menace and strangeness that IS Doctor Who. Obviously without Delia making Rons theme this wouldn't exist, so I'm not taking anything away from her wonderful creation But Peter NAILED it. This video is wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@stewartmair3995]

really? i love the version with the orchestra, it feels a lot more like classicaal music. although it seems the new composer has ballsed it up by making it too modern.

[@peterscottmorgan1]

I love the Howell theme, but Delia's ethereal quality to her version nails it for me, I suppose, quite literally, you couldn't recreate it. Get close to it... perhaps

[@douglasfreeman3229]

Who is Peter Davidson?

[@glyph2011]

@@douglasfreeman3229 just corrected the spelling! 😃

[@StephenAllcroft]

It's astonishing how many old-school musique concrete techniqes were used in what I'd previously thought of as the synthsiser version.

[@LFOVCF]

The 'lurch' as he calls it, is a grace note, to add a kind of mini, note crescendo to emphasise each beat start. It's musical genius.

[@mahfuzurchowdhury2765]

He made me laugh talking about this. Maybe, I'm being a bit rude, but that audience could've been a lot better. They hardly laughed at any of his jokes, and almost every time they didn't, you could see he felt he wasn't funny.

[@rnw2739]

You're not being rude at all, poor Peter is full of enthusiasm and joviality, yet it seems as if he is in a room on his own by the lack of atmosphere from the zombie audience.

[@mahfuzurchowdhury2765]

@@rnw2739, 2 years on, I stand by that comment.

[@TheodoresTomfooleries]

Audience? What audience?

[@IsaacSigmar]

@@rnw2739 It's such a shame, and when ever they laugh its so short and feels like they are just being kind and filling the silence. His jokes definitely deserve more than that and you feel so sorry for him.

[@rnw2739]

@@IsaacSigmar I mean, where were these imbeciles brought up? Even if a sally is not funny at all, manners dictate a small murmur of approval and a smile.... I'm not expecting these divs to roll around in the aisles like they're at An Evening With Peter Cook but Christ almighty.....at least let him register some kind of response!!

[@douglasfreeman3229]

The Workshop meant as much to me as Dr. Who itself when I was a lonely teenager in the 1980s. I watch this video and I think "Mr. Howell, you are a superb gentleman!"

[@nztv8589]

me too ! I bought his record in 1980's, I played it over and over again on my dad's Panasonic Music Centre. I loved it, it sounded like nothing else.

[@androzani]

Peter Howell blew up the announcer. Everyone liked that.

[@dominiquepilon5764]

Andrew LaChapelle I hate when annoying annoncer speaking during the theme

[@ianshackleford]

This is pure gold. Or should I say pure Howell? A brilliant piece of music by a brilliant man, doing it the proper way - i.e. using match strikes instead of making something completely synthesized.

[@jwg5774]

Howell's arrangement is the only reworking of the original theme that Delia Derbyshire liked. She wasn't very kind in her opinion of the other versions.

[@TheNess667]

I think she may have liked some elements of Murray Golds version if she were still alive at the time - I know the Gold theme seems to divide people but I always liked how he kept that rolling and lurching bassline to give it that feeling of energy and momentum.

[@Clavinovaman]

Quite right too. That Dominic Glynn version is utterly appalling. Shameful. I think he talks about it having been created quite quickly. Certainly isn't a piece of music you'd admit to spending months perfecting.

[@BentheDalek]

@@Clavinovaman the reason is he had around 3 weeks to make it, or even less time than that (I do believe). Despite this, he still remixes his theme every now and then, one of the only people to do so who got their variations used in the TV show.

[@Clavinovaman]

@@BentheDalek Oh, I am aware of the background regarding Dominic's version. Its amazing, however, what masterpieces have been created in a lot less than 3 weeks.

[@herschell64]

@@Clavinovaman I like the Glynn version as it's the perfect mood for Trial, not sure how many others are like me and like that version?

[@null6001]

Peter Howell is a bloody genius

[@terrycharnley]

Many thanks for uploading this! This is brilliant, just fascinating. Intriguing to know how Peter did this. Always been fascinated by how electronic music is made and admire those who can compose it. Makes you appreciate it all the more and the process sounds so simple, yet complex at the same time.

[@Agui007]

At 16:20, totally love that part!!

[@dominiquepilon5764]

Oooooweeeeooooo oooooooweeee nothing better the Doctor Who theme scream Whoooooovian

[@vitaliylomanoff1759]

16:48

[@vitaliylomanoff1759]

22:33

[@vitaliylomanoff1759]

Here's Funny One! 19:14

[@Agui007]

​@@vitaliylomanoff1759❤ It's rather haunting that part! I love it but have never heard anything similar to it in modern music.

[@experi-mentalproductions5358]

I miss the 80's, I wasn't alive during them, but I miss them...

[@404TVfr]

Kay, boomer.

[@DarthJedi2005remixes]

Very interesting! With the exception of the vocoder element I always assumed this was a purely synthesised arrangement, I'm delighted to find that some recorded 'real-life' effects like the match strike were used too.

[@ronanhughes3861]

You're alive!

[@creamypeanutbutterjellygir3321]

oh my gosh, he is alive! *gasp*

[@TempusWare]

Thanks for re-uploading this! I learned a bit from watching this.

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

Please do thank me and Ronan, also Simon bowser found it and gave it to me, and if I hadn't given it to Ronan, this wouldn't be up.

[@RezaChity-G]

Thanks Guys! :)

[@404TVfr]

@@therestorationofdrwho1865 I'll thank everyone but you. I'm kidding.

[@dominicberesford5459]

This is brilliant footage and thanks to Peter Howell for talking us through his amazing recreation of the original theme, what must have been a daunting task at the time. It got the thumbs up from Delilah Derbyshire too! Considering it's so 'disco' ,what gives it it's uniqueness is it's handmade approach similar to the original theme: the match strike, the hand spooling of the tape for the intro, the vocoder, the manipulation of the synthesizer to get the octave fluctuations in the middle eight section, plus Howell's own section building back to the main verse is magnificent! Check out Peter Howell when they perfoned Doctor Who at The Albert Hall: a pure genius!!!

[@BenderGraph]

+Dominic Beresford Dellilah

[@dominicberesford5459]

I know- sadly my autocorrect doesn't! Thanks for the correction!!

[@ArrowProds]

@@dominicberesford5459 Isn't it Delia?

[@dominicberesford5459]

You’re absolutely right! Sadly, my phone autocorrected it to ‘Delilah’ and I didn’t correct it myself. My mistake 👍🏻

[@TerryTheNewsGirl]

@@BenderGraph Delia.

[@azurabayta133]

Ooh, this is pretty awesome. I didn't even know something like this existed, just that other more simplified one they did for a TV spot or something.

[@manlikejordan4299]

22:34 the best middle 8 out of all the themes

[@Ashfaq1999]

The original theme tune was a classic . Peter did a brilliant job at recreating it 🎶

[@BenderGraph]

Well, I have some general information on the theme. The synthesizers used were the Yamaha CS-80, an Arp Odyssey, a Roland Jupiter-4 and an EMS Vocoder 5000.

[@BenderGraph]

+Debug MgGraw hmnnn...

[@gregtdude]

Which part of the theme uses the vocoder?

[@gregtdude]

Ahh the ooo weee oooo.

[@jokkemursula8731]

gregtdude I guess it could be a sound effect.

[@TransistorBased]

I guess the Jupiter was the brass?

[@philrob1978]

It's wonderful isn't it? Stumbled across this many moons ago and forgot about it until now, glad it's still here - a lovely man that took on a seemingly impossible task, and knocked it out of the park. So great.

[@Headbusta3000]

Take a shot everytime Howell says "the boom-bo-booms"

[@danmcdaid]

Christ, I'm wankered now

[@grahamrobertson6120]

This is a great video. Thank you very much. I bought the single and loved it. The B Side was "The Astronauts". Nothing beats the Derbyshire theme but this one's close.

[@dalekthest8155]

I kind of want to see Howell just sing the theme now lol

[@MWhiteley7677]

Thank you so much for uploading this!

[@trilinearnz4957]

Absolutely fascinating! Loved his analysis of the Middle 8 section (my favourite part of the theme).

[@SiliconBassist]

Thanks for putting this back up!

[@JaceCavacini]

All that manual labor! But that is what makes it a great followup to the original while the later versions were just keyboards recorded to multitrack. I'm also kind of stunned at the timing methodology he had to assemble for the incidental music. Today it's all SMPTE timecode code. Perfect frame by frame digital sync.

[@beatscribe]

And now we get to the really important technical bit you need to hear to do this, I'm going to take a drink of water suddenly and put on a reverb-soaked low quality recording instead. Thanks!

[@Warbler-Productions]

This is truly fascinating, it shows just how much work Peter put into not just the Theme but also the incidental music, which is just as important to the atmosphere of all the episodes. I grew up with Peter, Colin and Sylvester as my Doctors, so this theme and the 7th Doctor’s theme are the two I like the most (the rubadub theme was not so great) I am truly impressed by the work that goes into all of this behind the scenes stuff.

[@Penguins247]

I'd always assumed the vocoder part was an electric guitar. Interesting :) Thanks for posting this!

[@amugofjava]

Absolutely fascinating! Thanks for uploading this. Such a great arrangement of the theme tune.

[@HuntersMoon78]

In my opinion the best version the Doctor Who theme.

[@nicholastosoni707]

@29:27 Max Headroom, that's your cue, you frickin' nerd.

[@KRPTV]

Better than Chuck Swirsky!😃

[@vitaliylomanoff1759]

Or Interruption Into Omega Flowey's Face

[@frazzleface753]

Only someone passionate about audio would check that the mic and his voice is at the right level before he starts.

[@asiamatron]

My favorite Doctor Who theme.

[@GeloGalvez]

Thank you so much dude! This will, help so much :)

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

Please, thank Ronan, me and Simon. If it weren't for me giving it to Ronan this wouldn't be up.

[@DJDeception1974]

He's a really great musician I really enjoyed his work with Peter Howell and John Fernando and the Ithaca Alice through the looking Glass and all their folk music

[@tardistime6857]

I really enjoyed this .

[@evonne_o]

What a find!!! Someone that I know might be interested in this..

[@paulhorsley8922]

Thanks for this, really interesting ,this when synths where synths and innovation was a man with jacket an no tie 😁

[@HeyItsLukeLane]

This gives me life

[@WolfieRich1]

The only thing more awesome than Peter's theme arrangement is his collar!

[@NeonPumpkin]

Master piece!

[@dominiquepilon5764]

@ 22:34 that the middle eight

[@paulw6057]

Not my favourite DW era, the Letts - Hinchcliff years were, but my favourite version of the theme - very nostalgic.

[@Tconcept]

It is quite an amazing piece, nothing quite like it.

[@Sam_Locke]

I'm currently working on 2 different Howell projects on my channel - a 5.1 reconstruction and a Howell recreation. For the Howell recreation, I'm working with my top MIDI/VST programmer Gblpro and my synth preset guy leadone. The other day, I found a phasing on the 5.1 where I almsot got the full baseline without any sound effects or melody 1's, wer'e not talking the centre channel bass with the pesky loud lurches, we're talking the full baseline from start to finish! Yes, I heard about the leaked baseline and the other samples, I been looking for them for a while now. I'm gifted in music and for me it would be pretty cool to have the leaked baseline to help me with my Howell reconstruction and recreation. Apparentley if you put the leaked baseline in the 5.1 multichannel you get even more phasings!

[@richardbunt2278]

He is the Master

[@Snaily]

The bum-buh-bums

[@acwarrilow]

I’m all for going back to the boom-de-booms the middle 8 is always my favourite bit. 19:40 was amazing to hear. Love that I can listen for this things from now on. So much better than the 13th Doctor version.

[@rassilontdavros3004]

Fifth- Appropriate considering the Doctor most associated with this theme.

[@brianoneill7186]

BUM BUH BUM

[@adiboy_with_the_big_nose]

Interesting

[@johnny5805]

He made the best theme by a country mile.

[@InternetStorm]

I remember this! I wonder what happened to the original uploader?

[@lilmattere]

+iMine Storm His channel got terminated for copyright I believe.

[@Richardsrailway]

What Joe meek may of been like had he regenerated in the future

[@InternetStorm]

19:13 my favourite part

[@ourphilosophyis9119]

*Boom buhbooms*

[@aqua8584]

the bombombom

[@brandonmorales9535]

Peter howell's doctor who sounded low pitched

[@marcse7en]

He certainly likes standing with his hand on his hip! 😂😂😂 I remember being utterly horrified in August 1980 when Howell's theme burst onto my screen! There was no warning in those days! I particularly hate the "crisp packet" being burst at the end! 👎

[@djmips]

Who left the bloody Dolby on!? 😅

[@douglasfreeman3229]

I think it was off, actually. B or C?

[@DistantCousin]

isn't he great?!

[@yui1964]

He looks like a Beatles member

[@MadmanWthABox]

At first I though it was a younger Bob Ross (I don't know why?

[@michaelsoftbinbows]

uuweeeuuuuuuuuuuweeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuu bummm bum bum bumm bum bum

[@josephmarkey9096]

Weh wah waw, weh wuh wah .. etc

[@michaelsoftbinbows]

@@josephmarkey9096 awyep

[@ryansheridan6904]

He said new sick tune in the 80s😂

[@GrilloTheFlightless]

New sig tune. Short for signature.

[@Mental_Warlock]

17:20 hey that's 5th's

[@thegooner-49]

Looks a bit like Paul McCartney

[@iristoro7051]

the bassline sounds low pitched

[@Mitch93]

Iris Toro Its supposed to be. Its bass.

[@DatMysticalPyro]

What he means is that It is a lower pitch than the one aired on tv. Compare the Bassline in this video, and another.

[@diskgrinder]

Never speak to jnt

[@stanclarke9111]

That's one Man who has such high opinion of himself - half the time he doesn't know what he's doing. No way near Delia Derbyshire

[@YoungButRetro]

Peter Howell sure did know what he was doing. He doesn't have such a high opinion of himself, in fact he re used some of the techniques Delia Derbyshire used to create the sound effects used in his variation. You clearly haven't studied him properly.

[@brianbradt3766]

Just get on with it mate

[@phonotical]

This poor man's attempt at humor... 😞

[@pugsleyobx]

Don’t disrespect him

[@phonotical]

@@pugsleyobx one year in, nope, caga