Doctor Who Theme Tune 1963-1969 by Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire

[simonspiers]

The more they modernise it the worse it becomes. A simple synth and it gives it that sound that sounds so great.

[WaterBottle1998]

Thats the brilliance of this show, it has barely changed, everyone knows it is Doctor Who, it hasnt been modernerised (new word?) so much its unrecognisable!

[mistersmith6000]

The is surf music with the twilightzone mixed in. Very much a product of the 1960-63, time and yet still way ahead of its time. And the early '80s synth bands owe something to this too, maybe the psychedelic 90s rave genre too!!

[Psistarstormer]

God, this show is old! I knew it was around since the 90's, but the 60's?! This has to be the longest running show in history...

I imagine that it was a lot creepier back then than it is now...

[AppleOfGlasgow]

@Psistarstormer What a total fucking retard...it was around since the 90's? Dr Who didn't have a single season during the 90's...

[Girlysprite]

@AppleOfGlasgow

Or, of course, he saw re-runs. Ah well, don't let facts get in the way of your trolling :)

[MrHermionePotter]

They Will Not Force Us! They Will Stop Degrading Us!

[mfx1]

Agreed with nrXic, Ron Grainer wanted co-composer credit for Delia but BBC red tape prevented it. I wish people would respect Ron's wishes and credit her as well in references to it !

[ctraver]

@mfx1 Agreed as well. Derbyshire was brilliant. Modern electronic musicians can really get by just knowing music, but in her era, you needed to know music and electronics quite well. And have a very, very steady hand with your razor blades.

[craig260691]

Dr who just isnt scary like it used to be

[jimtim50]

Love love love

[AsBf2]

This is so psychodelic, I'm in trance now =P

[Abendmahl23]

How could i forget, i was so frigthend by it as a child

[bardar27]

The theme brings a lot of excitement to the program.

[ste8636]

The Floyd were big Dr. Who fans, and if you listen to One of These Days you can hear a bit of a homage to the title theme!

[keyss78]

Very psychedelic, sounds much like the early Pink Floyd.

[Iantolovers456]

i love doctor who!

[Elaneban]

and delia derbyshire

[typefourty]

Yes, we shouldn't forget Delia Derbyshire.

Cool theme.

[january301973]

I think the TARDIS noise is made by someone moving up and down a piano string - very simple, but very effective. There was a version of the tune sometime in the seventies that featured a jew's harp, but it was rejected. It is an extra on one of the Doctor Who DVDs.

[AnthonyUK]

@january301973 The experimental reincarnation of the Who theme wasn't done using a jews harp;it was using a massive electronic synthesiser called EMS Synthi100 known fondly as the Delaware(it took up an entire room of the workshop!)

[jmessy007]

LOVE IT!

[billieblue1]

This is great.I myself am a huge doctor who fan.This is fantastic!!!

[danakraken]

Love u Delia Derbyshire ^^ thx for this!

[redsoxclaret]

You clearly know your stuff AnthonyUK. I'm impressed.

[BadNews88]

Note to ffcbulldog666:

The TARDIS sound effect was created at the (now defunct) BBC Radiophonic Workshop by Dick Mills & Brian Hodgson; By recording the scraping of a door key across piano strings, and then g-r-e-a-t-l-y slowing down the playback..

[sunshinenikki888]

i love this

[milkfleva]

this theme tune i grew up to...never left my head since i was 5...greatest tune for a scifi series...for any series of all time infact

[ErikaBrangwyn]

Oh I love this theme tune. Loved it as a child and still love it now.

[plarkmoby]

Doctor Who, best science fiction character EVER.

[hahahthatsfunny]

Best sci-fi show out there, One of the best shows PERIOD! I miss Donna :'( Rose was the best though (Talking about the new one)

[BNCA70]

nice gravitas this theme, lots of base, not a big fan of the latest one, too many stringed instruments and big orchestra, sounds more like a cartoon starting. Bring back the big thunderous DUM DE DUM!

[fishcat42]

If you have the 25 Years CD and shove the bass to max and eliminate treble, you'll hear the an extra copy of the bass line two octaves lower than the primary. You can just about pick it out at normal settings, but it's practically subliminal. Extra-low frequencies like that are known mood-alterants. It's almost certainly accidental, but it is entirely possible that to the audience in 1963 it heightened the fear and tension within the show.

[chaosnova5]

Exterminated! exterminate! lol Dr. Who rules te cosmos as the last free thinkinh

"Time Lord"

[emancoy]

Im still having a hard time getting the original 60's series in DVD. I got all the new episode.

Im such a fan of DR WHO, it was the only show i was watching when my family toured london when I was a kid. there was nothing else on the telly I like to watch when we were there.

[AnthonyUK]

The bassline is basically a plucked bass string and handtimed bass swoop combined together,the wobbly bits were created by the wobbulator,and the melodyline is various frequency tones created by broadcast test tone generators at different frequencies and the rhythmic hissing that follows the music and white noise slipstream in the opening is white noise at various frequencies recorded edited together and reversed(when the theme is played backward the hissing is three pieces of white noise)

[ffcbulldog666]

Do you happen to know how they generated the Tardis effect?

[sarkybstard]

Originally, keys scraping down piano wires (doubtless remastered at some point)

[GoldenBalls1234]

If you mean the sound effect, I believe it was scraping a set of keys along a steel piano wire :]

[Myles0Harcourt]

It's amazing how many arrangements you can get from one great tune!

[whatblack2284]

love the sound of the glass armonica in there

[nrXic]

Should be mentioned that Delia Derbyshire had more to do with the sound of the theme as she arranged it. She is one of the pioneers of modern day electronic music.

[Donjons]

I love Doctor Who !! This music is just brilliant !

[Drelza1]

WoW

[93Tinkabell93]

I love Doctor Who! I Love the starting music, oh and David Tennant! So Hot!!!

[derangedband]

i have to be in concurrence with your opinion cuz hes just awesome! haha! what a hero :D

its be intresting if they met william hartnells doctor in the modern series. get an actor to stand in for him. the guy on the 5 doctors episode was a good portrail of him :P

maybe DT doctor can walking on the 1960s tardis XD

[BronxBornBroad]

An unforgettable melody!

The sound of the TARDIS- terrific!!

[Pyro25892]

There's not been a lot changed when compared with the new one, it's like a remix.

[springwell31]

Just a brief history of the doctor who theme music, Ron Grainer an Australian composed the music, Delia Derbishire and the radiophonic workshop made the title music happen.

[drunkenpeter99]

And Grainer was very impressed with how the music turned out. ;)

[mutjed]

i like all of them but i like the new series 4 song the best

[ladylabret]

wow. this could be made into a such a cool psycedelic trance track. hmm....

[tardis750]

first off it is the 1963-1966 theme tune. 1966-1969 was the seccond doctor + why are there TARDIS sound efects?

[AnthonyUK]

You're hearing the Tardis sound effects in the theme because this version is Tardis-Dr.Who from defunct BBC album and cassette Dr.Who The Music REH462/ZCR462;it features the TARDIS appearing leading to the untreated scream into the the signature tune and in the middle before the second middle eight the TARDIS reappears in one of the stereo channels and makes a stereo flight and disappears at the end of the second middle eight section of the theme.

[cmsahe]

I discovered Dr. Who in the 1980s and I was spellbound. This theme makes me fell chills. (of emotion.)

[8Mittenkitten8]

i like the bits like 1. 48 :D dunno why, lol.

[Occono]

That bit is best in the 1980-1985 one.

[torchwood1]

Just a brief history of the doctor who theme music, Ron Grainer an Australian composed the music, Delia Derbishire and the radiophonic workshop made the title music happen.

[Alayea]

It's a shame that we're stuck in an era where themes are either a remix of the original (best) version or non-existant (thanks, ABC's "Lost").

I was born decades after this song was composed, but I absolutely love it. The media doesn't know what it's missing out on when it chooses to scoff at the concept of theme music.

[GhostLink92]

I'm sorry, but I'm new to the Dr. Who series. Is this series really 40 years old? How long has it been in America?

[padresfan36]

its only been in US for like 2 years. it comes on the sci fi channel every friday

[sectsmonk]

And on BBCA, but I'm not sure of their schedule.

[Wellch]

actually I have seen it on TV in America in the mid 1980s.

[LBF522]

Shame they did not have his face as they would the later Doctors.

[theseus27]

This has to be my favourite version of the Dr Who theme.Many thanks for posting this video!!

Really cool!

[ju571]

the old doctor who was good but now david tennin in doctor it the best

[loggy49]

cool

[jnadreth]

This theme is very mysterious-quite like the first doctor. A classic sound 10/10

[okearthling]

I love this

[DejectedPanda]

still amazingly cool over 40 years later.

[DJARKITECH]

I thout it was cool

[AnthonyUK]

This is Tardis-Dr.Who from the defunct BBC album Doctor Who-The Music record number REH 462 cassette number ZCR 462. Features the arrival of the tardis leading to the untreated scream and signature tune with the tardis reappearing and flying in the middle in stereo and fading out to the end.

[choripanwer]

thanks