Doctor Who theme music

In 1963, Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop created the Doctor Who theme music, one of the first electronic music signature tunes for television. Its haunting and ethereal sound has become as indelibly associated with the programme as the TARDIS or the Daleks, and the theme has endured over four decades. Grainer composed the music, and Derbyshire "realised" it with electronics.

Remixes, remakes and inspirations

In the early 1970s, Jon Pertwee recorded a version of the Doctor Who Theme with spoken lyrics, entitled, "Who Is The Doctor".

Related Topics:
1970s - Jon Pertwee

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In 1985, when the production of the series was suspended for a year and it looked like it faced cancellation, a charity single, "Doctor in Distress", was produced and released in March. It was written by series continuity advisor Ian Levine and freelancer Fiachra Trench and performed by a group of 30 mid-level celebrities, including Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor), Nicola Bryant (companion Peri Brown) and Nicholas Courtney (recurring character Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) under the banner "Who Cares". The single was universally panned.

Related Topics:
1985 - Ian Levine - Fiachra Trench - Colin Baker - Sixth Doctor - Nicola Bryant - Peri Brown - Nicholas Courtney - Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

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In 1988 the band The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (later known as The KLF) released the single "Doctorin' The Tardis" under the name The Timelords. The song used samples from Doctor Who, Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll (Part 1)" (or possibly "Rock and Roll (Part 2)" ? the sections used are not specific enough to tell), and Sweet's "Blockbuster", with lyrics chanting about the Doctor, the TARDIS, and Daleks. "Doctorin' the Tardis" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 12 June, and also charted highly in Australia and New Zealand.

Related Topics:
1988 - The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu - The KLF - The Timelords - Gary Glitter - Sweet - TARDIS - Dalek - UK Singles Chart - 12 June

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Other bands have covered or reinterpreted the Doctor Who theme, such as the electronica band Orbital and the Australian string ensemble Fourplay. The Pogues (intentionally, according to an interview) used a bass line in their song "Wild Cats of Kilkenny" (from Rum, Sodomy & the Lash) that is similar to the Doctor Who theme, as did Pink Floyd in their song "One of These Days" (from Meddle), which featured a brief keyboard solo that echoed the theme's melody; the musical link is more obvious in the live version on A Delicate Sound of Thunder.

Related Topics:
Electronica - Orbital - Australia - Fourplay - The Pogues - Pink Floyd - Meddle - A Delicate Sound of Thunder

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The comedian Bill Bailey produced a humorous interpretation, "Dr. Qui", in the style of Belgian jazz. The Human League had an instrumental titled "Tom Baker", named after the actor who played the Fourth Doctor. Nu-metal band Slipknot are fans of the series, and the track "Prelude 3.0" on their third album, Volume 3: The Subliminal Verses is also based around the theme tune and dedicated to the series. In 2005, the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand appeared on stage to Peter Howell's arrangement of the theme.

Related Topics:
Bill Bailey - Human League - Tom Baker - Fourth Doctor - Nu-metal - Slipknot - Scottish - Franz Ferdinand

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