Delia Derbyshire, producer of Doctor Who theme music, has legacy restored

Listen to an example of Delia Derbyshire's sound effects
A long-lost collection of tapes representing the legacy of the musical genius who arranged the Doctor Who theme has been rescued from irreversible decay by a team of academic musicologists.
Delia Derbyshire, who battled with depression and died, aged only 64, a hopeless alcoholic in 2001, was the godmother of modern electronic dance music.
She carried out pioneering work for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the early 1960s, producing the familiar Doctor Who signature tune and collaborating with Brian Jones and Jimi Hendrix among others.

Her experimental work fell out of fashion following the advent of the synthesizer but, in recent years, she has enjoyed a revival of interest especially among bands like The Chemical Brothers and Portishead to whom she is a legendary figure.
After her death the collection, which comprises 267 tapes, correspondence and scores, was entrusted Mark Ayres, the Radiophonic Workshop.
The material had languished unheard for 30 years until it was passed to Manchester University’s School of Art, Histories and Culture to catalogue and preserve. The material, in poor condition, had to be played on a 1960s Studer A80 tape machine lent by the BBC’s Manchester studios before it could be digitised.
Among the tapes is one of the earliest electronic dance music compositions composed by Ms Derbyshire for radio more than two decades before it became a popular cultural phenomenon.
A recording features the actor Nicol Williamson’s famous portrayal of Hamlet at the London Roundhouse complete with the composer’s special sound effects.
Others jewels include a recording of the way she electronically manipulated the sound of her own voice to create her celebrated composition ‘Blue Veils and Golden Sands’.
Dr David Butler, in charge of the cataloguing, said: “Delia Derbyshire never really received the recognition she deserved as one of our most influential composers of the past 30 or so years.
“Though brilliant, the Doctor Who theme is just one small example of her genius which was held in high esteem by figures across music, television, theatre and film, including Paul McCartney and John Peel, the disc jockey”.
She studied piano and mathematics at Girton College, Cambridge, and, in 1962, joined the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a department created in 1958 to supply the corporation with the latest technological sounds. The secondment set for three months lasted ten years.
She had not been there long when she was given the task of translating a melody for a new Saturday early evening series about a mysterious time traveller who lived in a police box. The resulting music was a revelation in 1963, and remains one of the most easily recognised themes of all time.
The composer, who always kept a book of logarithms in her back pocket, used a combination of musique concrete techniques including the tape manipulation and electronic gadgetry to create her sounds. Her favourite instrument was a green lampshade which she would strike and then manipulate the resulting sound to achieve the desired effect.
Pippa Murphy, who wrote the score for a play about Delia Derbyshire's life, once said: "It was a question of hitting a lampshade, getting a 'ding' sound, recording it, manipulating it, changing the pitch until you had a range of pitches. Then those sounds would be combined with more textured sounds, keys jingling, a cheese grater, a colander. You made a composition by cutting and sticking together bits of tape".
Ms Derbyshire was also a woman of her times, clad in Biba or Mary Quant, her hair in a Vidal Sassoon bob, a fixture at the parties of Swinging London where she was known for her chaotic but exuberant love life. She worked with Brian Jones, the late member of the Rolling Stones, Yoko Ono and Jimi Hendrix and met Paul McCartney to discuss an opportunity to work on Yesterday.
She left the BBC a disillusioned woman. She and struggled with drink and a series of unsuitable jobs, including radio operator. At one time she married an out-of-work miner but eventually settled in the Midlands where she lived in relative obscurity and would rail, between drinks, against her lack of critical recognition.
The transferral of the tapes, all made between 1962 and 1973, into digital form was overseen by Louis Niebur, a visiting professor of musicology from Nevada University.
Dr Butler said: “Many of the tapes have no labels so it is a case of using detective work to find out what they are. We cannot even be certain Delia composed all the music.
“But it has proved to be an Aladdin’s cave and we have just started to scratch the surface. The collection includes her freelance work and really does give us a better sense of her range as a composer.
“It is fitting that we are doing this almost exactly 50 years after the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was launched in 1958”.
Dr Ricardo Climent, from the university’s Novars Research Centre, said: “The tragedy is after leaving the BBC in 1973, she withdrew from composition until 1996. That can be attributed to her struggle for acceptance but also the rise of the synthesizer in electronic music.
“She was not comfortable with that as she felt the off-the-peg sounds removed the creativity of her compositional techniques but at long last her pioneering sounds can be heard again”.

Torchwood - Everything Changes

TORCHWOOD ACTION FIGURES DELAYED

The first wave of Torchwood action figures will now be released in mid September and not August as previously announced. This is due to some problems with the figure sculpts being approved by the BBC and the cast. You can still pre-order the Torchwood action figures, and we’ll get them out to you as soon as they come in! Plus, it has been mentioned that due to overwhelming demand for the first wave of figures, a second series is already being planned for the end of the year (we’re told these may turn up in November). More on the range of official range of Torchwood merchandise, and indeed the forthcoming third series (which is going to be quite a TV event) as we have it, in our TORCHWATCH series of features.

The Sun says David Tennant was offered £1.5million deal.

BEEB bosses are more hopeful than ever that David Tennant WILL stay on as Doctor Who — after wooing him with a £1.5million deal.
They had feared the Scot, 37, was sure to quit after filming four more specials of the BBC1 sci-fi hit.
But last night a source said he could stay as the Timelord for the fifth series to be screened in 2010.
As TV Biz revealed, show boss Russell T Davies quit and has been replaced by top writer Steven Moffatt.
The source said: “It will be a new team and David has to meet everyone to make a final decision.
“But we’re gearing up to offer him a massive deal. He’s interested. Everyone thought he was going, but it’s not as open and shut as that.”
Filming would not start until autumn 2009, but bosses are believed to want a deal by this autumn.
The actor is making four specials this year instead of a series as he is also playing Hamlet at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The Christmas episode is now finished.
David’s real-life love Georgia Moffett, 23, returns as his daughter Jenny for one of the Who specials.

Q & A with David Tennant

WHATS ON STAGE

New Doctor Who companion?

Rumors still circulating go HERE to view a few.

The Sarah Jane Adventures Series Two Trailer

You Spin Me Round (Like a Dalek)

the Doctor - Hurt

'Dr Who' finale completed days before TX

Doctor Who's executive producer Julie Gardner has revealed that the season finale was completed only three days before transmission.Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Gardner said: "For 'Journey’s End', the final episode of series four, we delivered the finished programme to the BBC the Wednesday before transmission. That’s how close to the wire it is.”She also elaborated on the pressures of making the hit science fiction show, which will not return as a full series until 2010. "It’s been a very intense four years,” she admitted. "Making 13 episodes of Doctor Who is a year-long job. We film from July to March. In between March and July we’re in post-production."

Blogery Pokery interviews Steven Moffat

Blogery Pokery

"The Sarah Jane Adventures" sontaran episode spoilers

+ Mr. Smith begins to receive information that an attack on Earth is imminent - at the same time, Luke begins to experience strange dreams, with a familiar female foe haunting him. She's calling out for Luke, because [well, that'd be telling].

+ Coincendentally, Sarah-Jane is receiving a visit from an old friend at the same time; Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart - formerly Brigadier of U.N.I.T (or at least, the U.N.I.T of the old days...)

+ Sir Alistair is now semi-retired, having fallen out with the M.O.D over their treatment of U.N.I.T in recent years. Warfare isn't always the answer, he tells Sarah. It took a wise man (ergo, the Doctor) to make him realise that.

+ The Sontarans are back; having formed an alliance with an old foe! They want "blood revenge" for their defeat in Doctor Who's "The Sontaran Stratagem" two parter.

+ Sir Alistair has something rather sinister concealed in his cane - a gun! He uses it to shoot a Sontaran's probic vent!!

+ A florists plays an important role within the story...

+ There's "a lovely scene" with Sarah, the Brigadier and Luke up in Sarah's attic. It's a trip down memory lane; especially when Sir Alistair sees a picture of Harry Sullivan...

+ We learn what the Brig was doing

WAR hero Sir Winston Churchill is all set for a new adventure — alongside Doctor Who.

This is from the SUN so take it with a grain of salt lol:"::::::


The legend who led the Allies to victory in World War II will help current Doctor David Tennant.
Winnie joins Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare as historical characters met by the Time Lord since the series was relaunched in 2005.
Perhaps we can expect a stirring speech of “We shall fight them in the Tardis”.
But no date has been fixed for the cigar-smoking former PM to appear and it is not known who will play him.
Doctor Who finished its latest BBC1 run last Saturday and returns next year for four one-off specials.
A new series begins in 2010 but the Beeb is keeping tight-lipped whether Tennant will be back for that.
Plans to feature Churchill in a new Dr Who novel, Revenge of the Judoon, have been shelved.

Interview with Victor Pemberton creator of the sonic screwdriver

INTERVIEW IS HERE

Doctor Who: The Forgotten

In August, American comics publisher IDW will release the first issue of Doctor Who: The Forgotten, a new comic book miniseries starring the Tenth Doctor and Martha, and also containing flashback stories for each of the previous nine Doctors. The comic is written by Tony Lee, who previously wrote for the Tenth Doctor and Rose in the Doctor Who Magazine strip "F.A.Q." (DWM 369-371). It is illustrated by Canadian artist Pia Guerra, who is best known for her work on the Vertigo comic Y: The Last Man. Guerra has described herself as an "insane" fan of Doctor Who (see her studio for proof) and is a past winner of the Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Art. Covers for the series are provided by Nick Roche, who illustrated IDW's previous Tenth Doctor miniseries. That series, written by Gary Russell, will be available in trade paperback as Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur in August.Comic Book Resources has an interview with Lee, along with sample art from the first issue of The Forgotten.IDW also publishes Doctor Who: Classic Comics, which reprints Fourth Doctor comics from Doctor Who Weekly in full color.

In Doctor Who: The Forgotten, the Doctor finds himself stranded in a strange Museum that's dedicated to him; and with no TARDIS in sight. The Doctor and Martha must make sense of their surroundings, hindered by one small fact… the Doctor has lost his memories of every one of his previous incarnations! With items relevant to each Doctor in their possession, the Doctor must try to use them to regain his memories before it's too late.

Fans try to "call" the Doctor.

Several articles of fans trying to phone the Doctor (07700 900461) can be found at The Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Mirror and The Inquirer.

Is the Brig set to return in SJA????

According to sources on the Doctor Who Forum [SPOILER] Nicholas Courtney is in Cardiff right now, filming scenes for his appearence as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the second series of "The Sarah Jane Adventures".There's been no official confirmation of his return, but Courtney has apparently been spotted on set - and will remain in Cardiff for the remainder of the week.Rumours suggest that he'll be appearing in a story that also features the Sontarans - who returned to Doctor Who earlier this year.Updates whenever possible!

Dalek made of liquorice? mmmmm

Doctor Who may think he's beaten the Daleks but he hasn't got them all licked, as design and textile students from New College in Ponfefract demonstrate with a creation that even the Timelord's arch enemy Davros would be proud of.
The students used more than 110lb of liquorice to produce Daliq – a sweet incarnation of the sci-fi baddie – to promote the town's annual liquorice festival.They spent a month working with design technician Steve Jefferies and textiles tutor Amanda Bird to create the 5ft 10in-high work.The liquorice was donated by the town's two sweet factories, Monkhill andHaribo.The festival on Saturday and Sunday features all kinds of entertainment including music, food, acrobats, arts and crafts.For more information visit www.pontefractliquorice.co.uk

Two great reviews of Journeys End

Jim Shelley's thoughts on the Doctor Who finale

Thanks for the Memory Wipe

Davies vows clean break from Doctor Who

As Series Four draws to a close, Executive Producer and Head Writer Russell T Davies talks about his involvement with Doctor Who, the show he was part of reviving after a 16-year hiatus in 2005. Answering fans' questions on the BBC News website, he says that once he leaves he will no longer be involved with the show even for an occasional writing stint. He hands the reins over to Steven Moffat in 2010."I think Steven's more than his own man. He doesn't need me at all. I won't write for it in the future. I'm done with it. It's time to move on and I'd hate to be just a ghost haunting the corridors that I used to walk."And who needs me? Because Steve's brilliant and they've got a thousand million plans. I'll just be old news and it's about time."He said he would most miss the people he had worked with. "They are genuinely brilliant people, our designers and producers and the crew at BBC Wales. They are fantastic and they're part of the reason I've stayed for so long."Despite his intial fears of low budget and a non-peaktime slot, he was pleased with the way the BBC treated the show. "I thought there'd be a lot of compromise, I thought we'd be compromised on budget. We could have ended up with no ratings and a Sunday afternoon slot, so absolutely nothing [was compromised] and that really is the honest answer. We got to make everything that I wanted to make."I knew what we'd made was good. So I knew I could sleep at night. I knew even if no one watched it, I could sit there and say I had done a great piece of work."He added: "None of us ever saw this much success coming. I didn't even envisage a spin-off would be possible."When asked about his favourite line of dialogue, he replied: "I did love Donna, played by Catherine Tate, in a show we did two weeks ago called Turn Left. She said: 'You liar, you told me I was special' to Rose, when she feels her life has been betrayed and lied. I think she delivers that line with such venom - I love that moment."Asked which villains or creatures he might have brought back if he'd continued with Doctor Who, he said: "I've used a lot of the classics but the Silurians were always very good. They were a race of lizard people who were the original owners of the Earth. I always thought it was a very clever idea that there was a civilisation before us. I'm not bringing them back but they're ripe to be returned one day."