BBC Radiophonic Workshop
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, later, 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 such as Doctor Who and Quatermass and the Pit during the 1950s and 1960s.[1]
"Radiophonic" redirects here. Not to be confused with Radiophonic (song).The original Radiophonic Workshop was based in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, London.[2] The Workshop was closed in March 1998,[3] although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995.[2] Its members included Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, David Cain, John Baker, Paddy Kingsland, Glynis Jones, Maddalena Fagandini, Richard Yeoman-Clark and Elizabeth Parker, the last to leave.[4]
Influence on popular music[edit]
The Radiophonic Workshop published "Radiophonics in the BBC" in November 1963,[31] listing all equipment used in their two workshops, diagrams of several systems, and a number of anecdotes. The Radiophonic Workshop also contributed articles[8] to magazines of its experiments, complete with instructions and wiring diagrams.[8]
British psychedelic rock 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 The 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.[32]
In 1997 the electronic dance music magazine Mixmag described the Workshop as, "the unsung heroes of British electronica".[33] Their work has been sampled extensively by contemporary electronic artists.[1]