For a series chalking up its diamond anniversary this year, part of the sparkle and glimmer has come from the music specially composed for Doctor Who. Beginning with that truly distinctive signature tune composed by Ron Grainer and realised by Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the soundtrack has been such a vital part of our journeys to other times and places.
The musique concrète styling of Tristram Cary’s score for the first ever Dalek story right back in late 1963 created a truly alien, unfamiliar soundscape, helping reinforce that it was a completely different planet (even if it was in fact just Studio D in the BBC’s Lime Grove Studios, London W12). Over many decades, the scores changed with the times, and the various advances in technology. The wobbling, warbling, bleeping cavalcade that was Malcolm Clarke’s music for 1972’s story ‘The Sea Devils’ was an extreme example, which sounded like somebody engaging in unholy acts with a Moog synthesiser, and is best listened to in small bursts.
The course of Doctor Who’s musical odyssey in the 60 years since its inception has been catalogued by Silva Screen, and many recordings have been released by them since the early 1990s. The sheer scope, variety and breadth of styles as well as composers is laid bare thanks to their collection, covering the very earliest adventures to some of the most recent to be seen on television. With such a wealth of material to choose from, there certainly should be plenty of output for years to come, finally shining a light on some of the less well known (or, perhaps, less beloved) scores from across the history of the programme.
For this anniversary month, two less obvious selections have been unearthed and presented for our aural delectation: the 1975 tale ‘Revenge Of The Cybermen’ and Sylvester McCoy’s 1987 debut ‘Time And The Rani’. Neither featured especially highly in the recent poll conducted by Doctor Who Magazine for this threescore landmark birthday event, with ‘Time And The Rani’ ending up a resounding last position in the Seventh Doctor’s stories. Some fans may therefore be trepidatious in firing up their MP3 or CD players, or their vinyl turntables, to experience both of the soundtracks, as the reputations of the two tales sadly precede them.
Carey Blyton’s musical contribution to Doctor Who is rather brief, and – well, let us just say – ‘unique’. From his work on ‘Doctor Who and the Silurians’, in which the approach of the titular monsters was heralded by what can only be described as an angry wasp being trapped in a kazoo, to ‘Death To The Daleks’, where it was decided the instrument which was the most evocative of the evil metal-encased mutants from the planet Skaro was – rather inexplicably – a saxophone. Yes, it seems fair to say that choices were made, and credit should really be given to the late Blyton for sticking to them, all the way through to the very last note.
READ MORE: Micro Scalextric 1:64 Batman vs Joker – Toy Review
‘Revenge Of The Cybermen’ would be Blyton’s final work on the show, with his output not being terribly well received by the production team, who edited down his pieces, as well as having them being augmented and supplemented by Peter Howell of the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop. Using the only surviving tape – the ‘composer’s copy’ – Silva Screen bring us for the first time the full, unexpurgated score composed for ‘Revenge Of The Cybermen’ by both Blyton and Howell, along with some alternative and unused cues, and material straight from the session tapes. Time, then, for a reappraisal of this rather unconventional soundtrack.
As it was the first Doctor Who story to be released on home video in 1983, ‘Revenge Of The Cybermen’ has a certain spot in fans’ hearts, albeit not necessarily on grounds of quality. The soundtrack is most probably ingrained in the memories of aficionados who had watched the VHS or Betamax copies of the tale into oblivion, due to the paucity of commercially-available Doctor Who material (modern fans take note: none of your on-demand, streaming ‘Whoniverse’ here). Hearing the music in its entirety is therefore a novel experience, and makes you assess this in a whole different light, as what was old is suddenly new again.
Significant sections of this score do contain what can only be, at best, charitably described as akin to someone farting down a broken Alpine horn. Atonal it might be, but you at least have to admire the attempt to try and make the small planetoid of Voga have an otherworldly sound and feel, by not employing more expected instrumentation. Similarly, the efforts made here to try and suggest dripping water in the vast, cavernous planetary interior through percussion is an admirable stab to be atmospheric. Likewise, the clanging metal noise that accompanies the mechanical march of the Cybermen.
READ MORE: Conan the Barbarian #5 – Comic Review
For the movement and attack of the Cybermats, the (here at least) snake-like ‘pets’ of the Cybermen, there is a suitably pre-emptory percussive scratching, which acts as a form of sound effect to warn about their approach. Some of Blyton’s incidental music is just that – incidental. In an age where we are used to Doctor Who’s episodes being overlaid with the full orchestral bombast and ‘hero themes’ we have courtesy of the once-and-future house composer Murray Gold, it is a pleasant reminder that, once-upon-a-Time Lord, you could actually hear dialogue without worrying about your telly not being set up right to handle the final sound and music mix of what you were watching.
As for ‘Time And The Rani’, this was the dawn of a new era for the original series, as well as a last throw of the dice, as a new Doctor also brought in a whole new title sequence (the first to be made for the series using the then-new technology of Computer Generated Imagery), and – along with all that – a whole new musical approach. With synth pop well on the up-and-up, and keyboards becoming an increasing fixture in people’s homes, the sound of the series moved along with the times, and where the Radiophonic Workshop had first walked, others would now run, like freelance musician and composer Keff McCulloch.
As well as putting together the score for McCoy’s premiere, it also fell to McCulloch to devise a brand new arrangement of the show’s signature tune, one which was met with rather a mixed reception, and which still remains somewhat divisive to this day. Unlike its predecessors, the McCulloch version of the theme never received a release as a 7” single, so the full 2’40 edit has been frustratingly hard to come by since it was premiered in 1987. Thankfully, not only is that longest edit included here, alongside the opening and closing versions, but we also have McCulloch’s demos, which are definitely a welcome inclusion, not only to see his theme’s evolution, but also for the sake of ardent completists.
READ MORE: The Comic Cave – Batman Versus Predator
McCulloch’s scoring has never been noted for its subtlety or understatedness, and arguably the using of samples, synth stings and drum machines means the soundtrack for ‘Time And The Rani’ has become like a fly trapped in neon dayglo amber, being of a rather ‘80s persuasion. Yet McCulloch has always got a bit of a bum rap, and his work has never had the credit it actually deserves. ‘Time And The Rani’ has plenty of variety, with light and shade in evidence, whilst also selling the energy and vibrancy of this new age for the programme. This score is McCulloch’s personal favourite contribution to the show, and you can certainly see why, as you sense that he truly poured his heart and soul into it.
With the selection of ‘Revenge Of The Cybermen’ and ‘Time And The Rani’, Silva Screen’s pairing has adumbrated two contrasting instances from separate epistopic interfaces of the spectrum (bonus points go to those who can spot where the rather mangled quote hails from). Perhaps rather more cubic zirconia or diamonique at times than diamond, in this special 60th anniversary confection we see a microcosm of the kind of musical variation and diversification which has accompanied the Doctor in their travels, through changing styles and tastes. Tempus (and also tempo) really does fugit.
Revenge Of The Cybermen is out on 24th November and Time and the Rani is out on 8th December from Silva Screen.
