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Delia Derbyshire: 'the unsung heroine of British electronic music'

Posted by celticmusicfan • 8/09/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: british composers, female composers, musicians

From www.delia-derbyshire.org/:

Delia Derbyshire was born in Coventry, England, in 1937. Educated at Coventry Grammar School and Girton College, Cambridge, where she was awarded a degree in mathematics and music.

In 1959, on approaching Decca records, Delia was told that the company DID NOT employ women in their recording studios, so she went to work for the UN in Geneva before returning to London to work for music publishers Boosey & Hawkes.

www.delia-derbyshire.org/ Check this link out to know the details.

I am glad more and more women are working in the 'technical side' of music rather than just divas belting out tunes that make you want to destroy the grand piano.

User Comments

8/10/09

IanThal

Delia Derbyshire was amazing; and even if people don't know her name, their ears recognize her work as the co-composer of the theme-song to "Doctor Who" (she arranged and recorded the original arrangement as well.)

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1. 8/10/09
  
  celticmusicfan
  
  I didn't even know that. Thanks for the input.It's kind of sad that very few people recognize genius when it is presented.
8/10/09

chemrat

Thanks, CelticMusician and IanThal! This is a new name for me.

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1. 8/10/09
  
  celticmusicfan
  
  As of this moment I am putting her on my map.
8/10/09

polybore

Yep Delia Derbyshirewas a genius. Her work on the original theme for DR Who (1963) was decades ahead of it's time.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Doctor_Who_theme_excerpt.ogg

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8/10/09

celticmusicfan

I am really going to look for that. We have to remember, this was the age of film noir and that composers were predominantly male. So this is quiet and achievement if you think about it.

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8/11/09

IanThal

Her arrangements (she made more than one) of the Doctor Who theme was used for the first 17 series of the programme-- it wasn't until 1981 that anyone else was brought in, so it's considered the "classic" arrangement by long time fans and the standard by which all subsequent renditions are judged. So given the popularity of the Doctor's adventures, Derbyshire will continue to be remembered for this for decades to come.

Apparently there's been a CD release recently of a lot of her work-- which I haven't gotten my hands on yet.

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