BBC Radiophonic Workshop Revived Online

New submitter ratbag writes with this snippet from BBC News: "The BBC's Radiophonic Workshop, which created theme tunes and sound effects for programs including Doctor Who and Blake's 7, is to reopen after 14 years. The original workshop was known for its pioneering use of electronic sounds. Founded in 1958, it was best-known for creating the eerie swoosh of the Doctor Who theme tune, but its compositions were also used in numerous radio dramas, The Goon Show and The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As well as music, the workshop created sound effects — from champagne corks popping to the distorted, strangulated voices of the Daleks."

Comments

TARDIS

[markian]

How could you leave out the TARDIS sound? They started with a coin and an open string on a[n upright?] piano.

Re:TARDIS

[Jaffa]

How could you leave out the TARDIS sound? They started with a coin and an open string on a[n upright?] piano.

It was a house key on a piano string; although Wikipedia claims "house keys":

The distinctive accompanying sound effect – a cyclic wheezing, groaning noise – was originally created in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop by Brian Hodgson. He produced the effect by dragging a set of house keys along the strings of an old, gutted piano. The resulting sound was then recorded and electronically processed with echo and reverb.

I'm sure I remember hearing a programme where they described it - not only was reverb and echo added, it was also played backwards.

Ziwzih Ziwzih OO-OO-OO

[Anonymous Coward]

Delia Derbyshire!

Re:Ziwzih Ziwzih OO-OO-OO

[Anonymous Coward]

For those who don't get the title of the above post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jetzY-W78gg.

It is the soundtrack of a short story by Isaac Asimov about robots worshipping their power generator.

Re:Ziwzih Ziwzih OO-OO-OO

[Hazel Bergeron]

Oh, her original was so good. The later themes didn't sound as good.

Am I going to be the first person to say that, while you may be able to get perfect precision with digital synthesis, you're always likely to get something more interesting to the human ear by playing around with analogue tech.

Also...

In a live performance at 2004's London Jazz Festival, he drove a tank over a replica of a meal Nigella Lawson had cooked for Tony Blair and George Bush.

Yawnity yawn yawn. Art may be subjective, but that doesn't mean I don't get to think some of it's just shit.

Re:Ziwzih Ziwzih OO-OO-OO

[Hazel Bergeron]

And for those who keep modding down this fine AC, Derbyshire was one of the most well-known and innovative workers at the Radiophonic Workshop, and both are links to her work. Sigh.

Re:Ziwzih Ziwzih OO-OO-OO

[Anonymous Coward]

Ms Derbyshire led an exciting and tragic life. Some time ago BBC Radio 7 - now BBC Radio 4 extra - had a long look at the history of the Radiophonic Workshop. Everyone should look up her biography (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire) and elsewhere. A mathematics grad of Cambridge University, she suffered the discrimination heaped on women who were brighter than their male supervisors. She suffered from breast cancer an botched medical care so much that when illness returned, she refused to be treated and died as a result. Tragic. When Radio4 Extra repeats theses programs (probably available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4extra/) tune in. BBC Radio 4 Extra keeps their programs up for listening for 7 days after first broadcast.

They prolly wouldn't name it 'TARDis' today.

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

Zomg I'll bet they did the coconuts sounds from Holy Grail.

THGTTG, hurray!

[John Bresnahan]

Amazingly, most of the Hitchhiker's Guide fans I know have never heard the original radio production. Many of them didn't even know that it was a radio production first.

HGttG sound fx

[Fishbulb]

They did the sound effects for Hitchhiker's, but the theme song is Eagles - Journey of the Sorcerer

"Strangulated?"

[techno-vampire]

I don't know about anybody else, but the Daleks always sounded to me like they were suffering from extreme hysteria. Of course, considering how badly they tended to come off whenever they went up against the Doctor, do you blame them?

Re:Wet Sock Filled With Custard

[drkim]

Being a radio show, the Goon Show was absolutely breathtaking in their use of sound and music to construct their crazy world. (Having Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan didn't hurt either!) Without them, we wouldn't have the whole absurdist comedy movement. (Think: Pythons, Marty Feldman, Firesign.)

Here's a great moment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JtCuxbrAu8&feature=related

getting the people together in a good space

[fantomas]

It's about the combination of both the tech and getting the creative people together in a working environment that allows them to explore interesting and sometimes dead ideas to come up with works of genius.

You're very right that the sound production equipment can probably be pulled together by any western teenager that really wants a fantastic sound studio. But the fact that the vast majority of people just produce low quality rubbish shows that you need to create an environment to produce the kind of ground breaking work that the BBC Radiophonic Workshop used to achieve (tips hat to Delia Derbyshire...).

I guess after all these years maybe some folk in the BBC have realised what an amazing set up they had, and would like to recreate it in some form in the hope more fantastic work will be produced, attract the right sort of people, give them the right sort of working environment etc.

Re:Its a nice idea but whats the point?

[RaceProUK]

Sometimes it's better to use the genuine article - simulated stuff never quite sounds the same.