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Doctor Who radiophonic archive made available for first time

Doctor Who radiophonic archive made available for first time

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Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the 1960s

The BBC has announced that its groundbreaking Radiophonic Workshop archive has been made available to musical artists and producers for the first time.

The archive includes samples of sounds and music made for a huge range of BBC shows from Doctor Who to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, all of which were created using the Workshop’s unconventional methods – including hitting lampshades and manipulating tape loops with milk bottles.

The work done at the studio has been cited as an influence by a number of major musicians including Brian Eno and Hans Zimmer, and the BBC has said that by making the archive available, it will preserve “an important musical heritage for generations to come”.
 

The key features of the new library include authentic sounds from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop archives, new recordings and experiments by Workshop members and associates, and a wide range of sounds, including archival content, found sounds, junk percussion, tape loops, and vintage synthesisers.

You can get a closer look at the Workshop by watching the below trailer:

Describing the Workshop as “a department at the BBC that was purely for making bonkers noises”, archivist Mark Ayres explained further why the decision had been made to open up the archive.

“I’m the youngest member of the core Radiophonic Workshop – and I’m 64!” he said. “We’re not going to be around forever.

“It was really important to leave a creative tool, inspired by our work, for other people to use going forward. I hope we’ve made an instrument that will inspire future generations.”

He added:

“This instrument is all formed from the work, processes and equipment that the Workshop created and used.

“You know, sampling now really looks like sampling then, but with a few more twiddles. I’ve been saying for years that Workshop composers such as Delia Derbyshire and John Baker were really samplists.”

Meanwhile, Harry Wilson, head of recording at Spitfire Audio – which has collaborated with the BBC on the project – said:

“We’re not just looking back at what the members were doing way back when. We’re projecting a strand of their work into the future and saying: if the Workshop was engaged with a similar process now, what would it sound like?”

And Dominic Walker, global business director for BBC Studios, said:

“We are thrilled to be collaborating once again with Spitfire Audio in bringing the legendary sounds of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to a new generation of musicians and composers with this valuable online library.”

Access to the library costs £149 at full price, although there as introductory offer of £119 that will run until 17th March – you can access it now.

The Former Home Of The BBC Radiophonic Workshop Saved!

The Former Home Of The BBC Radiophonic Workshop Saved!

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BBC Radiophonic Workshop - Synthtopia
BBC Radiophonic Workshop – Synthtopia

The BBC’s historic Maida Vale studios, which have hosted sessions by stars ranging from the Beatles to Adele, have been sold to a group led by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.

Zimmer, who wrote the scores for films like The Lion King and Dune, has teamed up with Love Actually and Cats movie producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.

The BBC said the complex would remain a “centre for pioneering music-making”.

It was valued at about £10m but the BBC did not disclose the purchase price.

Built in 1909 as Britain’s largest indoor roller skating rink, the north-west London building was bought by the BBC in 1933.

It is home to the BBC Symphony Orchestra and has hosted the world’s biggest rock and pop stars – from Led Zeppelin to Radiohead and Jay-Z to Little Mix.

It also played host to John Peel’s famous Radio 1 sessions and the BBC’s innovative Radiophonic Workshop, famed for its realisation of the Doctor Who theme tune.

The corporation is planning to move its music studios to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London in 2025, where the BBC Symphony Orchestra will then be based.

BBC Radiophonic Workshop
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was based at Maida Vale until its closure in 1998.

Zimmer recalled first working at Maida Vale 45 years ago.

“I still remember the strong pull, the desire to touch the walls, as if that would somehow allow me to connect to the artists whose extraordinary music had resonated against these walls on a daily basis,” he said.

“This was a place of revolutionary science in the service of art, this was a place that inspired you to give your best, where music was performed around the clock and art was taken seriously. For the people by the people.

“This was the place that kept a struggling musician like me from giving up.”

The German composer added that he now wants to “make Maida Vale Studios a place that inspires, teaches, technologically serves the arts and humanity, and gives the next generation the same opportunities I was given: to create and to never give up”.

A multi-million pound refurbishment will keep the building’s original façade, refurbish the existing studios and create a not-for-profit educational facility, the BBC said.

In a statement, Bevan and Fellner said:

“Collectively we are determined to continue the BBC’s legacy at Maida Vale by attracting global talent to the UK.

“Through our redevelopment plans we will future proof the historic site, continuing its presence in the local community with a new education facility, whilst creating a world class studio space for the next generation of composers, producers, editors and engineers.”

‘Part of our cultural heritage’

Working Title’s hit films include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Yesterday and Baby Driver. Zimmer’s business partner Steve Kofsky is also part of the consortium.

Investment is needed – as far back as 2007, the BBC said the run-down facility was “wholly unsuitable for the 21st Century”, with problems including asbestos.

When the corporation announced plans to sell the site in 2018, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich was among those who called for it to be saved, saying it was an “incredibly important part of our cultural heritage – every bit as important as Abbey Road studios”.

It was given Grade II listed status in 2020 – but the BBC was criticised for objecting to the decision, which lowered its potential value because it could not be demolished and sold for lucrative housing or flats