Editing BBC Radiophonic Workshop (section)

==History==
The Workshop was set up to satisfy the growing demand in the late 1950s for "radiophonic" sounds from a group of producers and studio managers at the [[BBC]], including [[Desmond Briscoe]], [[Daphne Oram]], [[Donald McWhinnie]], and [[Frederick Bradnum]].<ref>[[John Tydeman]], "Frederick Bradnum, Master dramatist whose prolific output sustained radio's great era" in ''[[The Guardian]]'' dated 22 February 2002</ref><ref>''An Electric Storm'', Ned Netherwood, [[Obverse Books]], Chapter 1</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Reynolds|first1=Simon|title=For 40 Years, the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop Created "Special Sound' for Programmes from Doctor Who to Woman's Hour|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> For some time there had been much interest in producing innovative music and sounds to go with the pioneering programming of the era, in particular the dramatic output of the [[BBC Third Programme]]. Often the sounds required for the atmosphere that programme makers wished to create were unavailable or non-existent through traditional sources and so some, such as the musically trained Oram, would look to new techniques to produce effects and music for their pieces. Much of this interest drew them to [[musique concrète]] and tape manipulation techniques, since using these methods could allow them to create [[soundscape]]s suitable for the growing range of unconventional programming. When the BBC noticed the rising popularity of this method they established a Radiophonic Effects Committee, setting up the Workshop in rooms 13 & 14 of the BBC's Maida Vale studios with a budget of £2,000. The Workshop contributed articles on their findings to magazines,<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|title=BBC – Research and Development: Audio on the Web – Rediscovering the era of the Radiophonic Workshop|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2012/05/web-audio-radiophonics-1.shtml|first=Oliver|last=Thereaux|date=23 May 2012|website=BBC|access-date=31 May 2023|quote=the workshop team did not publish its own journals, but had, through the years, contributed a number of articles to magazines such as Practical Electronics, Studio Sound and the Dr. Who Magazine}}.</ref> leading to some of their techniques being borrowed by sixties producers and engineers such as [[Eddie Kramer]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mENvBQAAQBAJ&q=Kramer&pg=PT507|title=Jimi Hendrix. Una foschia rosso porpora|last1=Shapiro|first1=Harry|last2=Glebbeek|first2=Caesar|date=17 November 2014|publisher=LIT EDIZIONI|isbn=978-88-6231-758-0|language=it}}</ref>

===Early days===
[[File:Detail of Maida Vale Studios - geograph.org.uk - 962915.jpg|thumb|Maida Vale Studios|200px]]
In 1957, Daphne Oram set up<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170522-daphne-oram-pioneered-electronic-music|title=The woman who could 'draw' music|website=BBC}}</ref> the Radiophonic Workshop with Desmond Briscoe, who was appointed the Senior Studio Manager with Dick Mills employed as a technical assistant. Much of The Radiophonic Workshop's early work was in effects for radio, in particular experimental drama and "radiophonic poems".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ieMm4_aaZi8C&pg=PA294|title=The Digital Musician|last=Hugill|first=Andrew|date=25 June 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-27988-1|language=en}}</ref> Their significant early output included creating effects for the popular science-fiction serial ''[[Quatermass and the Pit]]'' and memorable comedy sounds for ''[[The Goon Show]]''. In 1959, Daphne Oram left the workshop to set up her own studio, the ''Oramics Studios for Electronic Composition'', where she eventually developed her "[[Oramics]]" technique of electronic sound creation. That year [[Maddalena Fagandini]] joined the workshop from the BBC's Italian Service.

From the early sixties the Workshop began creating television theme tunes and jingles, particularly for low budget schools programmes. The shift from the experimental nature of the late 50s dramas to theme tunes was noticeable enough for one radio presenter to have to remind listeners that the purpose of the Workshop was not pop music. In fact, in 1962 one of Fagandini's interval signals "Time Beat" was reworked with assistance from [[George Martin]] (in his pre-[[The Beatles|Beatles]] days) and commercially released as a single using the pseudonym Ray Cathode. During this early period the innovative electronic approaches to music in the Workshop began to attract some significant young talent including [[Delia Derbyshire]], [[Brian Hodgson]] and [[John Baker (Radiophonic musician)|John Baker]], who was in fact a jazz pianist with an interest in reverse tape effects. Later, in 1967. they were joined by [[David Cain (composer)|David Cain]], a jazz bass player and mathematician.<ref name="PierceD82">{{cite magazine|last=Pierce|first=Derek|title=A History Of Electronic Music|url=https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/a-history-of-electronic-music/4275|magazine=Electronics & Music Maker|date=May 1982|via=Mu:zines |access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref>

In these early days, one criticism{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} the Workshop attracted was its policy of not allowing musicians from outside the BBC to use its equipment, which was some of the most advanced in the country at that time not only because of its nature, but also because of the unique combinations and workflows which the Workshop afforded its composers. In later years this would become less important as more electronic equipment became readily available to a wider audience.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/the-women-who-invented-electro-inside-the-bbc-radiophonic-worksh/|title=The women who invented electro: inside the BBC Radiophonic Workshop|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=22 June 2016|access-date=17 April 2017|last1=Hewett|first1=Ivan}}</ref>

===''Doctor Who''===
{{main|Doctor Who theme music}}

{{Listen|filename=|title=''Doctor Who'' theme excerpt|description=An excerpt from Delia Derbyshire's original arrangement of the theme music to ''Doctor Who''}}

In 1963 they were approached by composer [[Ron Grainer]] to record a theme tune for the upcoming BBC television series ''[[Doctor Who]]''. Presented with the task of "realising" Grainer's score, complete with its descriptions of "sweeps", "swoops", "wind clouds" and "wind bubbles", [[Delia Derbyshire]] created a piece of [[electronic music]] which has become one of television's most recognisable themes.<ref name=PierceD82/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/dec/19/guardianobituaries.media|title=Obituary: Desmond Briscoe|last=Niebur|first=Louis|date=19 December 2006|work=The Guardian|access-date=20 September 2017|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Over the next quarter-century the Workshop contributed greatly to the programme providing its vast range of unusual sound-effects, from the [[TARDIS]] dematerialisation to the [[Sonic screwdriver]], as well as much of the programme's distinctive electronic [[incidental music]], including every score from 1980 to 1985.

In 2018 [[Matthew Herbert]], creative director of The New Radiophonic Workshop, composed the sting used alongside the reveal of the new [[Doctor Who]] logo debuting later that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/cult/a850464/doctor-who-series-11-logo/|title=Doctor Who series 11 gets new logo and image|first=Morgan|last=Jeffery|date=20 February 2018|website=Digitalspy.com}}</ref>

===Changes===
{{multiple images |direction=vertical |width=150
|image1   = EMS The Putney (VCS3).jpg
|caption1 = [[EMS VCS 3]] (Putney)
|image2   = EMS Synthi 100.jpg
|caption2 = [[EMS Synthi 100]] (Delaware)
}}

As the sixties drew to a close, many of the techniques used by the Workshop changed as more electronic music began to be produced by synthesisers. Many of the old members of the Workshop were reluctant to use the new instruments, often because of the limitations and unreliable nature of many of the early synthesisers but also, for some, because of a dislike of the sounds they created. This led to many leaving the workshop making way for a new generation of musicians in the early 1970s including [[Malcolm Clarke (composer)|Malcolm Clarke]], [[Paddy Kingsland]], [[Roger Limb]] and [[Peter Howell (musician)|Peter Howell]]. From the early days of a studio full of tape reels and [[electronic oscillator]]s, the Workshop now found itself in possession of various synthesisers including the [[EMS VCS 3]] and the [[EMS Synthi 100]] nicknamed the "Delaware" by the members of the Workshop.

In 1977, Workshop co-founder Desmond Briscoe retired from organisational duties with Brian Hodgson, returning after a five-year gap away from the Workshop, taking over.

By this point the output of the Workshop was vast with high demand for complete scores for programmes as well as the themes and sound effects for which it had made its name. By the end of the decade the workshop was contributing to over 300 programmes a year from all departments of the BBC and had long since expanded from its early two-room setup. Its contributions included material for programmes such as ''The Body in Question'', ''[[Blue Peter]]'' and ''[[Tomorrow's World]]'' as well as sound effects for popular science fiction programmes ''[[Blake's 7]]'' and ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' (in both its [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Primary and Secondary Phases|radio]] and [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series)|television]] forms) by [[Richard Yeoman-Clark]] and [[Paddy Kingsland]] respectively.

{{Listen|filename=Whale Theme from HitchHikers TV series sample.ogg
|title=BBC Radiophonic Workshop, "SoundHouse", Whale Theme excerpt|description=An excerpt from ''Whale Theme'' from the [[Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy]] TV series (music only), BBC Radiophonic Workshop}}

===Latter days===
By the early 1990s, BBC Director General [[John Birt]] decided that departments were to charge each other and bid against each other for services and to close those that couldn't make enough revenue to cover their costs. In 1991 the Workshop was given five years in which to break even but the cost of keeping the department, which required two dedicated engineers, a software developer (Tony Morton) and a secretary (Maxine) as well as the composers, proved too much and so they failed. Dick Mills, who had worked on ''Doctor Who'' since the very beginning, left in 1993,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20131121-dr-who-as-vital-as-the-beatles|title=Doctor Who: The most important electronic music ever?|first=Andrew|last=Harrison|website=BBC}}</ref> along with Ray White, Senior Engineer, and his assistant, Ray Riley, with the Maida Vale technical team taking on their role, and engineer Fiona Sleigh smoothing the transition.

In 1995, despite being asked to continue, organiser Brian Hodgson left the Workshop, and his role was carried out remotely from Broadcasting House by people with other priorities and little enthusiasm. Malcolm Clarke and Roger Limb left. By the end, only one composer, [[Elizabeth Parker (composer)|Elizabeth Parker]], remained.  The Workshop officially closed in March 1998, but Elizabeth stayed on for a couple of months to complete her last job.  John Hunt, (who took over much of the specialist editing side of the workshop previously done by Dick Mills) continued working in Studio E, now called "Radiophonics" until well into 2000, occasionally managing to fit in a bit of traditional Radiophonics work.  Mark Ayres recalls the Workshop's tape archive being collected on 1 April, exactly 40 years after the department had opened.

===Legacy===
Following the decision to close the Radiophonic Workshop, the studios were cleared and most remaining equipment was disposed of, with some of it being sold to the composers. The tape library was largely forgotten until the room was ordered to be "cleared".  Fortunately the Maida Vale studios technical team became aware of this and were able to hide the tapes away in various dark corners of the building before they could be thrown away. Eventually Mark Ayres and Brian Hodgson were commissioned to catalogue its extensive library of recordings with help from other composers.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

In October 2003, ''Alchemists of Sound'', an hour-long [[television documentary]] about the Radiophonic Workshop, was broadcast on [[BBC Four]].<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/alchemists.shtml |title=Alchemists of Sound |website=BBC |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20031020012624/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/alchemists.shtml | archive-date= 20 October 2003 | date=20 October 2003 |access-date=14 September 2012}}</ref>

[[The Magnetic Fields]] titled the first track of their album ''[[Holiday (The Magnetic Fields album)|Holiday]]'', after the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

In February 2025, [[Spitfire Audio]] released a [[Sampling (music)|sample library]] featuring sounds from the Radiophonic Workshop for public purchase. The library featured audio sourced from the original Workshop archives, as well as newly-recorded performances by the Workshop members. Archivist [[Mark Ayres]] noted the team's age as a motivating factor for this collaboration, stating, "We're not going to be around for ever. It was really important to leave a creative tool, inspired by our work, for other people to use going forward."<ref name="TheHollywoodReporter_Szalai2025">{{Cite magazine |last=Szalai |first=Georg |date=2025-02-19 |title=‘Doctor Who’ Theme and More: The Legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s Archive Is Now Available |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/bbc-radiophonic-workshop-archive-doctor-who-theme-spitfire-audio-1236138745/ |access-date=2025-02-20 |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="TheGuardian_BeaumontThomas2025">{{Cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |date=2025-02-19 |title=‘We’re projecting into the future’: sounds of BBC Radiophonic Workshop made available for public use |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/feb/19/were-projecting-into-the-future-sounds-of-bbc-radiophonic-workshop-made-available-for-public-use-spitfire-audio |access-date=2025-02-20 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===Live reunions since 2009===

[[File:Dick Mills, BBC Radiophonic Workshop at the Roundhouse, 2009-05-17.jpg|thumb|upright|Dick Mills, BBC Radiophonic Workshop reunion live at the Roundhouse in 2009.]]
In May 2009, Dick Mills reunited with former BBC Radiophonic Workshop composers [[Roger Limb]], [[Paddy Kingsland]] and [[Peter Howell (musician)|Peter Howell]] with archivist [[Mark Ayres]] for a live concert at [[The Roundhouse]], Chalk Farm, London, performing as "The Radiophonic Workshop". The composers, backed by a small brass section and a live drummer, performed a large number of their BBC-commissioned musical works including sections of incidental music from ''The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy'' and ''Doctor Who'' (including a medley of Mark Ayres's work) as well as some collaborative compositions written specifically for the Roundhouse concert.

The live performances were mixed in surround sound and interspersed with musical video montage tributes of deceased members of the Workshop including [[Daphne Oram]], [[Delia Derbyshire]] and [[John Baker (Radiophonic musician)|John Baker]]. The two and a half-hour event climaxed with live performances of the Derbyshire and Peter Howell arrangements of ''Doctor Who'', segueing into a new Radiophonic version of the theme tune. Celebrated attendees included actor/writer/composer [[Peter Serafinowicz]] and satirist/writer/broadcaster [[Victor Lewis-Smith]]. Multiple cameras recorded the event but it has yet to be broadcast or released in any form, although amateur footage of the event can be seen on YouTube.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

In 2013 the original members of the Workshop regrouped again for a more concerted programme of live appearances. Performing as 'The Radiophonic Workshop' (dropping the BBC prefix) they were joined by drummer Kieron Pepper (The Prodigy, Dead Kids, OutPatient) and Bob Earland from Clor. They also embarked on a new recording project set for release in Autumn of 2014. This involved collaborations with contemporary electronic musicians, video artists, DJs, remixers, poets, writers and singers. Live appearances in 2013 included Festival Number 6 at Portmeirion, Wales in September and The London Electronic Arts Festival in November. The shows featured archive TV and visuals from many of the TV and film soundtracks that the Radiophonic Workshop contributed to between 1958 and 1998 when the unit was deactivated. The Radiophonic Workshop appeared on BBC television's The One Show on 20 November 2013 playing a unique version of the Doctor Who Theme that combined Delia Derbyshire's original source tapes and Peter Howell's 1980 realisation of the Ron Grainer composition. Radio 6 Music's Marc Riley played host to a Radiophonic Workshop session where they delivered live versions of Roger Limb's Incubus, Paddy Kingsland's Vespucci, the Doctor Who Medley and a new composition – Electricity Language and Me (by American poet Peter Adam Salomon), featuring DJ Andrew Weatherall as the narrative voice for this classic piece of Radiophonic sound design. There were a number of radio, online and print interviews done at the time to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

The Workshop's early archive recordings were also reissued on vinyl in November 2013 to accompany this renewed activity. In 2014, "The Radiophonic Workshop" appeared at festivals including [[End of the Road Festival]], and the reissue programme of earlier work from their extensive catalogue continues along with a planned exploration of previously unheard or rare archive recordings.

=== 2012 online revival ===
In September 2012 Arts Council England and the BBC announced a joint venture whereby the concept of the Radiophonic Workshop would be revived as an online venture, with seven new, non-original composers and musicians. The new Workshop was based online at '''The Space''',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thespace.org/faqs|title=FAQs: Studio 30, Fazeley Studios, 191 Fazeley Street, B5 5SE, Birmingham|date=27 April 2016|work=thespace.org|access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/thespaceincubate/videos|title=The Space|website=YouTube|access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2024}} a joint venture between the BBC and [[Arts Council England]]. Composer [[Matthew Herbert]] was appointed the new Creative Director, and worked alongside [[Micachu]], Yann Seznec, [[Max de Wardener]], Patrick Bergel, James Mather, theatre director Lyndsey Turner and broadcast technologist Tony Churnside.<ref name="revival" />

<blockquote>Composer Matthew Herbert's first work for The New Radiophonic Workshop takes audio from 25 previous projects featured on the website – from theater performances to poetry readings, creating a "curious murmur of activity". It can be heard by clicking on a button labeled "listen to The Space" at the top of any page on the website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thespace.org/ |title=The Space – The Arts live, free and on demand |work=archive.org |access-date=17 April 2017 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924141221/http://thespace.org/ |archive-date=24 September 2012 }}</ref></blockquote>

'''The New Radiophonic Workshop''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewradiophonicworkshop.com/|title=The New Radiophonic Workshop|work=thenewradiophonicworkshop.com|access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref> not to be confused with the reactivated Radiophonic Workshop<ref>{{cite web|url=https://webaudio.prototyping.bbc.co.uk/|title=Recreating the sounds of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop|website=BBC}}</ref><ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2012/11/audio-on-the-web---explore-the.shtml|title=BBC – Research and Development: Audio on the Web – Explore the BBC sound of the 1960s|website=BBC|access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref> whose members are original BBC personnel,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2012/02/prototyping-weeknotes-97.shtml|title=BBC – Research and Development: Prototyping Weeknotes #97|website=BBC|access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2012/07/web-audio-radiophonics-2.shtml|title=BBC – Research and Development: Audio on the Web – Knobs and Waves|first=Olivier|last=Thereaux|website=BBC|access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2012/10/irfs-weeknotes-125.shtml|title=BBC – Research and Development: IRFS Weeknotes #125|first=Chris|last=Lowis|website=BBC|access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="bbc.co.uk"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2012/11/irfs-weeknotes-128.shtml|title=BBC – Research and Development: IRFS Weeknotes #128|first=Pete|last=Warren|website=BBC|access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2012/11/irfs-weeknotes-130.shtml|title=BBC – Research and Development: IRFS Weeknotes #130|first=Tristan|last=Ferne|website=BBC|access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref> an entirely separate entity from the original unit, was assembled by Mathew Herbert as an online collective of composers for [[The Space (Theatre)|The Space]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thespace.org/resources|title=Build skills|date=5 April 2016|work=thespace.org|access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref> arts project.