Dudley Simpson facts for kids

Dudley George Simpson (born October 4, 1922 – died November 4, 2017) was an Australian composer and conductor. He was a very busy musician who wrote music for many TV shows in Britain.

Dudley Simpson is best known for his work on the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who. He wrote background music for this show throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He composed music for 62 Doctor Who stories, which was nearly 300 episodes! This was more than any other composer.

He also created music for other popular TV shows. These included Moonstrike (1963), The Brothers (1972), The Tomorrow People (1973), Moonbase 3 (1973), The Ascent of Man (1973), and Blake's 7 (1978). He even wrote music for some plays in the BBC Television Shakespeare series.

Early Life and Music Career

Dudley Simpson was born in Malvern East, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. He started learning piano when he was a child.

During World War II, he served in New Guinea. After the war, he studied music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. This school is part of the University of Melbourne.

Simpson became an assistant conductor and pianist for the Borovansky Ballet Company. This company later became The Australian Ballet. He then moved to the United Kingdom. He worked as a guest conductor at Covent Garden. For three years, he was the main conductor for the Royal Opera House orchestra. He also toured with the Royal Ballet, working with the famous ballerina Margot Fonteyn.

Dudley Simpson began working for the BBC in 1961.

Composing for Science Fiction TV

Music for Doctor Who

Dudley Simpson's first music for Doctor Who was in 1964. This was for the story Planet of Giants, starring William Hartnell as the First Doctor. However, he is most famous for his work on the show in the 1970s.

He even appeared on screen once! He played a music hall conductor in the Fourth Doctor story The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977). The show's producer, Philip Hinchcliffe, invited him to do it.

In 1980, a new producer, John Nathan-Turner, wanted to update the music for Doctor Who. He decided to use music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop instead. So, Dudley Simpson's last broadcast music for Doctor Who was for the story The Horns of Nimon.

In 1993, some of Simpson's Doctor Who music was released on an album. It was called Pyramids of Mars. When a lost Doctor Who story called Shada was restored in 2017, it included a special thank you to Dudley Simpson in the credits.

Music for Blake's 7

In 1978, the BBC launched a new science fiction series called Blake's 7. It was produced by David Maloney, who used to direct Doctor Who. The show ran for four seasons and had 52 episodes.

Dudley Simpson created the main theme music for Blake's 7. He also wrote the background music for 50 of the episodes. His music was heard from January 1978 to December 1981. Only two episodes used different music.

Music for The Tomorrow People

Dudley Simpson also composed the theme song for the ITV science fiction series The Tomorrow People. This show was made by Thames Television and ran from 1973 to 1979.

Doctor Who Music List

Between 1964 and 1980, Dudley Simpson composed the background music for these Doctor Who stories:

See also

In Spanish: Dudley Simpson para niños