Delia Derbyshire

Known for Sound

5/5/1937

Coventry, West Midlands, England, UK

Biography

Delia Ann Derbyshire was an English musician and composer of electronic music. She carried out pioneering work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 1960s, including her electronic arrangement of the theme music to the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who.

Known For (5 credits)

6.8

Movie

Sisters with Transistors

2021

Think of early electronic music and you’ll likely see men pushing buttons, knobs, and boundaries. While electronic music is often perceived as a boys' club, the truth is that from the very beginning women have been integral in inventing the devices, techniques and tropes that would define the shape of sound for years to come.

Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And Legendary Tapes

7.5

Movie

Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And Legendary Tapes

2020

A true pioneer in audio exploration and psycho-acoustics, Delia Derbyshire conceived one of the most familiar compositions in science fiction, the Doctor Who theme, while working in a BBC basement. Her soundscapes felt like they connected to another realm. Kicking off with the discovery of 267 tapes in an attic, along with a treasure trove of journals hidden in her childhood bedroom, this film tunes in to Derbyshire’s frequency; that of a life-long non-conformist, whose peals of laughter in an archive interview tickle with delight and eccentricity. Featuring a rich archive, interviews, fictional embodiment and Cosey Fanni Tutti’s psycho-sonic channelling, director Caroline Catz traces acoustic pathways on her archeological dig into Derbyshire’s resonant life.

5.4

Movie

The Delian Mode

2009

A Genie Award winning documentary about electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire, primarily remembered for the original realization of Ron Grainer's theme for Doctor Who and her work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Movie

Masters of Sound

2006

Documentary on the sound effects of Doctor Who in the 1960s.

6.5

Movie

The Alchemists of Sound

2003

A documentary about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, responsible for creating some of the most memorable television and radio music in British popular culture, including "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and Doctor Who (1963).