Murray Gold facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Murray Gold
|
|
|---|---|
Gold in his London studio in 2007
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Murray Jonathan Gold |
| Born | 28 February 1969 Portsmouth, England |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Silva Screen |
Murray Jonathan Gold (born February 28, 1969) is a talented English composer. He writes music for plays, movies, and TV shows. He is also a writer for theatre and radio. Many people know him best as the music director and composer for the popular TV show Doctor Who. He worked on the show from its return in 2005 until 2017. Good news for fans: he was announced to be coming back to the series in 2023!
Murray Gold has also created music for other well-known TV shows. These include Queer as Folk, Last Tango in Halifax, and Gentleman Jack. His amazing work has earned him five nominations for the BAFTA awards.
Born in Portsmouth, England, Murray Gold first wanted to work in drama. He enjoyed writing and playing music as a hobby. But then he became the music director for the University of Cambridge's Footlights society. That's when he decided to focus on music instead.
Murray Gold's TV Music
Murray Gold has been nominated five times for a BAFTA award. This award is for the Best Original Television Music. His nominations were for Vanity Fair (1999) and Queer as Folk (2000). He was also nominated for Casanova (2006). He received two nominations for his music in Doctor Who (2009 and 2014).
His music for the film Kiss of Life won a special award. It was called the 'Mozart Prize of the 7th Art' in France in 2003. He has also been nominated four times by the Royal Television Society for his TV music.
Gold has often worked with Russell T Davies. Davies is a writer and executive producer for Doctor Who. They worked together on shows like Casanova, which starred David Tennant. They also collaborated on The Second Coming with Christopher Eccleston. And they worked on Queer as Folk parts 1 and 2.
He also wrote the background music for the 2000s version of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased). He worked on this show with James Bond composer David Arnold.
Recent TV Projects
More recently, Murray Gold wrote music for another David Tennant series. This was for the BBC One show Single Father. For this show, Gold chose a more popular music style. He used a band instead of a full orchestra.
Murray Gold also composed the music for the drama series Last Tango in Halifax. This show ran from 2012 to 2020. In 2014, Gold created the music for the BBC series The Musketeers.
In 2019, Gold worked with Russell T Davies again. This time it was for Davies' series Years and Years. This drama was about a family and how world changes affected them. He also composed music for the BBC and HBO series Gentleman Jack.
In 2021, Gold teamed up with Russell T Davies once more. This was for the series It’s A Sin. This drama focused on the AIDS Crisis in the 1980s. The show won many awards.
Gold also wrote the music for Magpie Murders (2022). He also scored Moonflower Murders (2024). These are mystery shows based on books by Anthony Horowitz.
Music for Doctor Who
From 2005 to 2017, Murray Gold was the music director for Doctor Who. This is a famous science fiction drama from the BBC. He created a new version of the show's main theme song. The original theme was by Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire. Gold also composed all the background music for the show.
His Doctor Who music was released on CDs. The first one, Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack, came out in 2006. It had music from the first and second series. More CDs followed, including Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack – Series 3 (2007) and Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack – Series 4 (2008).
Gold even made a quick appearance in Doctor Who himself! He had a small cameo role in the 2007 Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned". He wore a fake mustache for the part. He appeared again as a pianist in the 2024 episode "The Devil's Chord", playing himself.
Doctor Who Theme and Character Music
Gold's first version of the Doctor Who theme didn't include a certain part. This part is called the "middle eight". But he added it back for a new version of the theme in 2005. This new theme was used in the 2006 series.
Gold created many special music themes for the show. He made two themes for the Doctor himself. These were "The Doctor's Theme" and "The Doctor Forever". He also wrote themes for characters like Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, and Donna Noble. Other themes were for places like Gallifrey and villains like the Master, the Cybermen, and the Daleks.
In 2010, Gold changed the Doctor Who opening theme again for Series 5. For this series, he also created new music for the Eleventh Doctor. These were "I Am The Doctor" and "A Madman With A Box". These replaced the themes for the Ninth and Tenth Doctors. He also wrote a theme for Amy Pond. He continued to use themes for the Cybermen and Daleks.
Early on, Gold's Doctor Who music used mostly computer-generated sounds. But later, he started using more real instruments. His music was often recorded by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Sometimes, singers like Melanie Pappenheim also performed. One famous song is "Abigail's Song," sung by Katherine Jenkins. This was from the 2010 Christmas special, "A Christmas Carol".
Gold also wrote the theme songs for Doctor Who spin-off shows. These include The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood. He also composed music for Torchwood with Ben Foster.
Doctor Who Concerts and Return
Murray Gold has created three special live concerts for Doctor Who music. The first was "Doctor Who: A Celebration" in Cardiff in 2006. The second was the 2008 Doctor Who Prom in London. The third was the 2010 Doctor Who Prom, also in London.
In 2010, his Doctor Who music entered the UK radio station Classic FM's Hall of Fame. It was the second-highest new entry that year.
In February 2018, Gold announced he would leave Doctor Who. He had been the music director since 2005. Segun Akinola took over as the composer for the eleventh series.
But in April 2023, it was announced that Murray Gold would return to Doctor Who as composer!
Gold composed The Goblin Song for the 2023 Doctor Who Christmas special. This episode was called "A Church on Ruby Road". The song became very popular. It reached Number 1 on the UK iTunes Top Songs chart. It also peaked at 12 on the UK Official Singles Chart. Money from the song was given to the BBC's charity, Children in Need.
Film, Stage, and Radio Work
Murray Gold has composed music for many British and American films. These include the BAFTA-winning Kiss of Life. He also scored Death at a Funeral and Mischief Night. Other movies include Ant & Dec's 2006 film Alien Autopsy. He also worked on the 2009 drama film Veronika Decides to Die.
In 2001, his radio play Electricity won the Imison Award. This award is for the best new play. It was first broadcast on Radio 3 in 2000. Later, it was performed as a play in a theatre. Christopher Eccleston played the main role.
Gold also wrote the radio play Kafka the Musical. It was broadcast in 2011 on BBC Radio 3. David Tennant starred in it. This play won the 2013 Tinniswood Award for Best Original Radio Drama.
Images for kids
-
Murray Gold in his London studio
See also
In Spanish: Murray Gold para niños
