Dudley Simpson is a television composer who is best known for his work on Doctor Who. Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as The Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, fighting evil. ...

Born in Australia in 1922, Simpson's first work on Doctor Who was during William Hartnell's era as the First Doctor in Planet of Giants, in 1964, but he is primarily associated with the programme in the 1970s. He also appeared on screen as a music hall conductor in the 1977 story The Talons of Weng Chiang. William Hartnell in a publicity still as the First Doctor William Henry Hartnell (January 8, 1908–April 23, 1975), a British actor, was the first actor to play the lead role of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1963 to 1966. ... The First Doctor is the name given to the first incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Planet of Giants is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in three weekly parts from October 31 to November 14, 1964. ... Music Hall is a form of British theatrical entertainment which reached its peak of popularity between 1850 and 1960. ... The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 26 to April 2, 1977. ...

When John Nathan-Turner became producer of Doctor Who in 1980, he decided that the music needed to be updated, and took Simpson out for a meal telling him how much he appreciated his work on Doctor Who but that it would no longer be required as he intended to have the BBC Radiophonic Workshop provide music from now on. Simpson's last broadcast work on Doctor Who was for The Horns of Nimon (although he also composed music for the unbroadcast Shada). John Nathan-Turner. ... The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the sound special effects unit of the BBC was created in 1958 to produce sound effects for radio and was closed around 1996. ... The Horns of Nimon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from December 22, 1979 to January 12, 1980. ... Shada is an unaired serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, written by Douglas Adams. ...

Between 1964 and 1980, Simpson composed the music for 60 Doctor Who stories, (61 counting Shada). Simpson was also responsible for the memorable theme music for The Tomorrow People (1973) and Blake's 7 (1978). The Tomorrow People was a childrens science fiction television series, devised by Roger Price and produced by Thames Television for Britains ITV network between 1973 and 1979, and revived for a three-season series in the 1990s. ... Blakes 7 was a BBC science fiction television series created by Terry Nation that ran four seasons from January 2, 1978 to December 21, 1981. ...

Simpson's style was usually to work closely with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the realisation of his compositions, but he also used small groups of musicians, often with a prominent bass clarinet to perform his work. The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. ...

External links

• Dudley Simpson at The Internet Movie Database