Special Sounds Discography – The Millennium Effect

The sound design of Doctor Who was cutting edge from the very first episode. With no sound library to turn to for the noises of a time and space machine or winds of alien planets, the resources of the BBC’s in-house sound manipulation factory were utilised to breath-taking effect – creating many distinctive effects that were as important to the series as any of it’s actors, writers, directors or music. As with the best music scores, only when heard in isolation can their full importance be fully appreciated: and the many Doctor Who sound effects releases have always been warmly received.

Many effects were initially released on the BBC’s ongoing series of Sound Effect LPs, whose labels gave sweet hints and tips to those wishing to create their own radio or theatre productions (some of which, they clearly felt, could benefit from a TARDIS take-off or two, or from being set on the distinctive planet of the Daleks). As appreciation of the art and craft of Doctor Who grew, so too did an anthology of CD releases highlighting the original and unique sounds that Brian and Dick had created – many of which, particularly the 60s sound designs, were as distinctive and recognisable as the programme’s theme music.

Albums and Compilation Tracks

Track/s [Release Title]	Format	Release Code	Date
Tardis / Nightmare Forest [Out of This World: BBC SFX No. 12]	LP	BBC REC 225	1975
Dr Who Sound Effects – BBC SFX No. 19	LP/Cass	BBC REH / ZCR 316	1978
Swarming Insects [Disasters – BBC SFX No. 16]	LP	BBC REC 295	1977
TARDIS [BBC RWS: 21]	LP	BBC REC 354	1979
Sci-Fi Sound Effects – BBC SFX No. 26	LP/Cass	BBC REC 420	1981
Dr Who Sound Effects *	US LP/Cass	BBC / Gemcon BBC 22316	1982
Doctor Who *	US PD	BBC 22002	1984
Doctor Who *	US PD	BBC 22004	1985
Essential Sci-Fi Sound Effects 1 *	CD	BBC CD 847	1991
30 Years at the Radiophonic Workshop	CD	BBC CD 871	1993
Music from Tomb of the Cybermen *	CD	V-Sat ASTRA 3967	1998
Doctor Who at the BBC RWS 1	CD	BBC WMSF 6023-2	2000
Doctor Who at the BBC RWS 2	CD	BBC WMSF 6024-2	2000
Doctor Who at the BBC RWS 3	CD	BBC WMSF 6052-2	2002
Doctor Who – Devils’ Planets *	CD	– – –	2003

* – reissue (in part or full) of a previous release, with no significant new material

Dr Who Sound Effects – BBC Sound Effects No. 19

After over 15 years of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s involvement with Doctor Who, the first dedicated soundtrack release from BBC Records was a packed-to-bursting compilation of soundscapes and effects, assembled from the Workshop’s archives by the two maestros responsible for their creation since 1963: Brian Hodgson and Dick Mills. Reaching back only as far as Season Eleven, keeping the sounds within recent memory of their audience, many of the tracks are credited to the working titles of their appropriate stories; this reflected the labelling of the Workshop’s own library tapes, which were often created prior to the episode’s completitions and subsequent name changes.

Both sides of the record were re-released in 1984 and 1985, split over two American picture discs that also included one side each of Doctor Who – The Music. The track names, story titles and track orders remained the same.

30 Years at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

The most comprehensive and representative Doctor Who soundtrack/effects release to date, this 1993 CD – which sold extraordinarily well, despite its apparently specialist audience – became the benchmark for all future releases, and the BBC Music compilations Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (2000-2003) were hard-pushed not to simply replicate the track listing. Some effects – namely TARDIS Exterior (mis-titled as TARDIS Interior), TARDIS Landing, TARDIS Doors, TARDIS Take-Off and Signiature Tune: A New Beginning – were lifted from this release and included on Music From Tomb of the Cybermen in 1998, despite none of these effects having appeared in the story.

Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

Mark Ayres’ research for these albums took place whilst cataloguing the entire Radiophonic Workshop archives, and many tracks not featured on the first round of CDs (two of which were released simultaneously in 2000 and 2002 before the range was prematurely halted) featured on DVD releases of selected stories, playing in the background of the Photo Gallery features. Three tracks from The Daleks – namely Thal Wind, Dalek City Corridor and Dalek City Control Room – were included on the 2003 soundtrack release Devils’ Planets: The Music of Tristram Cary, along with select edits of the theme music.