The BBC’s Doctor Who theme, first heard when the series began in 1963, became an early landmark in electronic music. Composer Ron Grainer wrote the music, while Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop transformed it into the distinctive, eerie recording audiences recognise; the article says the dispute over credit for that work has lasted for decades.

With synthesizers not yet available, Derbyshire assembled the sound using painstaking tape and recording techniques, including filtered white noise and a plucked string. Grainer supplied simple sheet music with evocative notes such as “wind bubble” and “clouds”, and reportedly struggled to recognise his composition in the finished version. The theme has since been altered by later composers, but its core remains associated with the programme.