BBC Radiophonic Workshop | Artist
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was one of the sound effects units of the BBC created in 1958 to produce incidental sounds and new music for radio and television. The unit is known for its experimental and pioneering work in electronic music and music technology, as well as its popular scores for programmes during the 1950s and 1960s such as Doctor Who and Quatermass and the Pit. Original members included Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, David Cain, John Baker, Paddy Kingsland, Glynis Jones, Maddalena Fagandini and Richard Yeoman-Clark. Original based in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware Road London, the Workshop was finally closed in March 1998. Daphne Oram set up the Radiophonic Workshop with Studio Manager Desmond Briscoe and technical assistant Dick Mills. Much of the early work was for radio experimental dramas and sound effects for the popular science-fiction serial Quatermass and the Pitt, plus comedy sounds for The Goon Show. In 1959 Oram left the workshop to set up her own studio and Maddalena Fagandini joined from the BBC's Italian Service. From the early sixties the Workshop began creating TV theme tunes and jingles, particularly for low budget schools programmes. Presaging the rise of pop music, in 1962 one of Fagandini's interval signals "Time Beat" was reworked with assistance from George Martin (pre-Beatles) and commercially released as a single using the pseudonym Ray Cathode. The innovative electronic approaches to music attracted significant young talent including Delia Derbyshire, Brian Hodgson and John Baker, who was a jazz pianist with an interest in reverse tape effects. Later in 1967 they were joined by David Cain, a jazz bass player and mathematician. The Radiophonic Workshop published "Radiophonics in the BBC" in November 1963, listing all equipment used in their two workshops, with systems diagrams. The Workshop also contributed articles to magazines of its experiments, complete with instructions and wiring diagrams. British psychedelic group Pink Floyd made a memorable trip to the workshop in 1967. They had employed tape loops, sound effects, found sounds and the principles of musique concrete on their debut album Piper at the Gates of Dawn from that same year. Other fans of the Radiophonic Workshop included The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones, who visited in 1968, and Roger Mayer, who supplied guitar pedals to Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. Phil Manzanera has also cited the Workshop as an influence on the sound of his group Roxy Music. In 1997 the electronic dance music magazine Mixmag described the Workshop as "the unsung heroes of British electronica." Their work has been sampled extensively by contemporary electronic artists.
Artist Website: wikipedia/BBC_Radiophonic_Workshop
Featured Albums: BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Related Artists: Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Oram, Brian Hodgson, John Baker Paddy Kingsland, Roger Limb, Peter Howell, Mark Ayres, Ron Grainer, White Noise
Video Clips: Dr Who Theme, Creating the Theme, The Enduring Magic
