You can’t talk about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop without talking about the Doctor Who theme. You just can’t. It’s arguably the piece that made Delia Derbyshire’s reputation, and the story of its conception has achieved the status of legend among musicians and SF nerds alike. The composer Ron Grainer left a rough sketch with Delia Derbyshire—written out on a single sheet of paper, according to some accounts—and she transformed it to the extent that when he heard it played back to him later, his reaction was, “Did I really write that?” Her alleged response: “Most of it.” Grainer wanted co-composer credit for her, but it never came to pass.
That’s a shame. The Who theme is probably as recognizable as the blue police box.
