The Doctor Who Sound Effects album was released to an unsuspecting public in 1978 containing no less than 30 sounds created by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop for the Doctor Who TV series between 1974 and 1977.
It was the 19th album to be released by the BBC featuring sound effects created by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop for radio and television.
At the time the Doctor Who TV series was fast approaching it’s 15th anniversary on television (and it’s 500th episode) but in an age before video, DVD and even Doctor Who audiobooks there was little to celebrate the BBC’s long running sci-fi series.
No Music Or Storyline Just Doctor Who Sound Effects
Besides several releases up until that time very little official released recorded media connected to the Doctor Who TV series was available apart from Delia Derbyshire’s arrangement of the series signature tune, an original made for record adventure starring Tom Baker and Elizabeth Sladen entitled Doctor Who and The Pescatons and an obscure EP released in 1965 featuring William Hartnell with excerpts from the1965 Dalek story The Chase.
Doctor Who Sound Effects was the first Doctor Who album of its kind. It didn’t contain any music or story soundtrack, but it did treat the listener to some wondrous and mesmerising sounds that graced the Doctor Who TV series.
These included the Central Control Room in the Exillon City, The Sutekh Time Tunnel, and the planet atmosphere of Metebelis III. Briefer bursts of noise graced the second side of the album including The Shrine of the Sisterhood of Karn, TARDIS interior noises, sonic screwdrivers and a wide variety of gun blasts from the Daleks to the Vardans.
Doctor Who Sound Effects Remastered For Vintage Beeb
Doctor Who Sound Effects has now been digitally remastered for a Vintage Beeb release in a special facsimile sleeve reproducing the original album artwork of The Doctor's TARDIS travelling through the time tunnel; a familiar sight adapted from the shows 1974-1980 title sequence.
Listening to the album 30 years on, Doctor Who Sound Effects recalls the creativity of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop that spent tireless hours scraping house keys against piano wires to create unearthly sounds. It still remains entrancing, the noises providing an atmospheric pulsation bordering on the boundaries of relaxation in places. Within moments it is easy to recall The Daleks gliding around a console room, or the Doctor travelling into the depths of his own mind to rid himself of an unwelcome alien parasite.
The album sleeve also comes complete with the original teasing track listing on its reverse side which offers up story titles of which the featured sound effects originate. Many of these listings created much confusion amongst Doctor Who fandom for many years as titles such as Dr Who and The Exillons, The Destructors, The Enemy Within and Dr Who and The Zygons didn't correspond with episode titles broadcast on television.
Doctor Who Sound Effects Album Recalls Audio Before Audiobooks
For those who heard this album first time around it will either be incredibly nostalgic or still considerably baffling as to why it was ever released in the first place. The albums unusual concept however makes it an essential piece of Doctor Who history.
It doesn’t contain music or narrative soundtrack but it does have the power to whisk the listener off into the worlds of classic Doctor Who and remains an interesting glimpse into the few audio releases connected with the series before the arrival of videos, DVDs and audiobooks over a decade later.
This can only be compared to travelling back in time to be entertained by minimalistic programming on a home-made 1920s radio set, when one is used to the flexibility of anytime viewing on a satellite TV box.
No doubt it will still entertain too, easy track selection on the CD will give the album new life for any amateur dramatic society looking for space age sound effects or a Doctor Who fan looking to download a Dalek gun blast as a mobile phone ringtone.
- Doctor Who Sound Effects No.19 has a total running time of 33 minutes and is available on AudioGO’s Vintage Beeb label on Compact Disc and as an MP3 download.
