Published
Mon, Nov 28, 2016, 19:09
- The composer behind the Doctor Who theme was one of early electronic music's key figures.
The late Delia Derbyshire will have a street named in her honor in her hometown of Coventry.
Derbyshire got her start in 1960, working at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the pioneering in-house electronic music studio for the British television network. She's best known for the iconic theme for the television program Doctor Who. Her 1963 interpretation of Ron Grainer's score is one of the first instances of entirely electronic television music. She'd continue to experiment with electronic techniques up until the time of her death in 2001, composing scores and collaborating with the likes of Sonic Boom.
Fifteen years after her death, Derbyshire is set to be honored by her hometown of Coventry, who will rename one of its streets Derbyshire Way, the BBC reports. "Originally it was to be named Derbyshire Road," Pete Chambers of the Coventry Music Museum told the BBC. "I suggested 'Way' instead, so it gave a double meaning, as Delia was a genius and strong personality and really did do things in her own way."
Listen to her 1971 track "Dance From Noah."