Making the music

Editor: Martin Johnson · Last update: 10 February 2007

The Doctor Who theme is one of the most well known themes ever to come from British television. It has influenced so many people over the years and is instantly recognised from the very first note.

I have been a Doctor Who fan for as long as I can remember and what got me hooked when I was younger was the Doctor’s most feared enemy, the Daleks. It wasn’t because I was scared of them though but because I was fascinated by them. Maybe because the Dalek is so iconic like many things in Doctor Who including the Tardis or maybe it was the perfectly designed alien creature that got so many children across the country imitating them in the playground. I had blured memories of Rememberence of the Daleks from when I was 5 years old and a novel of Destiny of the Daleks kept me interested until the repeat of Genesis of the Daleks back in 1992. It was this story that began my love for Doctor Who and it remains my favorite to this day.

Of course, Doctor Who would not be complete without a good soundtrack to accompany the images on screen. Usually called incidental music, this was most famously provided by Dudley Simpson primarily during the Tom Baker era. There have been many composers through the years from the experimental sounds of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to the orchestral sound of Murray Gold.

I was asked to provide the music score for the stage adaptation Evil of the Daleks back in September 2005 when Rob Thrush heared my orchestral remix of the Doctor Who theme (called For a Darkened People) on a website called Whomix. He was impressed by the cinematic feel it had and asked me about its use in their new stage production. I quickly agreed and sent him a high quality version. Rob then asked how I’d feel doing some music especially for them. To me, this was a chance to do something I’ve wanted to do since I left school in 1999, be a major part in a Doctor Who production.

I’ve been told by many that I am one of the most creative people they’ve met. My lifetime love is making films, trailers, radio plays, documentaries, etc. However, there is a small detail in regards to my music that some would see as a big problem. I can’t actually play an instrument, read or write music scores and I’ve never done anything on this scale and popularity before. However, Rob and Nick were willing to take the risk, which was a big surprise to me as I felt trusted by people I’d never met.

My honest opinion is that you don’t need formal training to do something you truly love. If you have creativity and you can get your idea from the mind into reality and do it well then why not go for it. I have a passion for working in the media industry and I would give up everything to do that. It’s my life and I would not want to do anything else.

The challenge begins. I knew a fair bit about the original story and bought the BBC’s CD version to listen to before getting the script, which in my opinion has been very well adapted for the stage by Nick Scovell. I have a technique that I use to come up with themes for my music and I picked it up from my film composer idol Danny Elfman. I bought a micro-cassette recorder that I carry around with me all the time because ideas will come to me when I least expect it, which is usually when I’m out cycling. I then hum my ideas into the recorder and when I get back to my computer I’ll listen to what I did and turn the different layers I suggested into strings, trombones, piano, horns, etc.

I can cook up a piece of music that is two minutes long in the space of one to two days if I am in the right frame of mind. Sometimes it takes longer if there’s nothing happening in my head and this can be really annoying. If this happens I’ll go out for a walk to clear my head, which really does help. After reading throught the script a few times I then go through and take note of all the music cues and what is happening in the script including lighting, setting, mood and character emotions. The music I create reflects and enhances all of these, however it is the characers emotions that is most important to me. You have to get that part right when composing a score because if you get it wrong there would be sounds and images that contradict each other.

A score can be one of the most powerful part of a film, TV show or stage production and I am privaliged to be a part of Evil of the Daleks and hope fans of the TV series, classic and new, will enjoy the production as much as I am enjoying composing the music.

Martin Johnson 8 July 2006