The Planet Skaro Incidental Music Poll Round 3: The 70s

[SiHart]

The 70s weren't a hugely varied time for compsosers of Doctor Who music- we have six composers, but three of them only did one score each. The decade was dominated by Deadly Dudley Simpson, but was he the best of them all? You tell me with your votes!

Our contenders are:

Carey Blyton: The Silurians, Death to the Daleks (with the London Saxophone Quartet), Revenge of the Cybermen (with Peter Howell)

Delia Derbyshire: Inferno

Malcom Clarke: The Sea Devils

Tristam Carey: The Mutants

Geoffrey Burgon: Terror of the Zygons, Seeds of Doom

Dudley Simpson: all the others!

Vote now!

Si xx

[Dirk Gently]

Although Carey Blyton, Delia Derbyshire, Malcom Clarke, Tristam Carey, Geoffrey Burgon are all good you just can't get past the mountain of work that Deadly Dudley did & you just can't beat him for DRAMATIC!

So guess who got my vote?

[Ralph]

seems a sensible vote to me

[SiHart]

Dudley for me too I'm afraid. Simply for the City of Death music, although there are some other greats along the way, once he jacks in the awful synths from the early Pertwee scores anyway!

Si xx

[Pip Madeley]

Geoffery Burgon gave us two of the finest TV incidental scores ever broadcast. So him.

[Ralph]

Malcolm Clarke definitely deserves a vote for his unique experimental style

[Wayne]

I'd like to vote for Blyton, Derbyshire, Carey, & Burgon because they're all good, but it's got to be Dudley for his excellent work on a myriad of stories. 'Pyramids' is a particular favourite, & a great example of someone who understands what the function of incidental music actually is.
ie: to create an atmosphere, & to underscore the drama that we're actually seeing on the screen.
Not to write pretty melodies, & have the music become dominant over what's happening on the screen. (& i'm not just talking about Murray Gold)

[Stephen Morgan]

Although Malcolm Clarke's score for The Sea Devils is a great favourite of mine, I've voted for Dudley Simpson, his were the most prolific, and therefore more familiar scores.
His scores for season 14 number amongst his best, the dramatic Hand of Fear and music hall jocularity for Talons of Weng Chiang are sublime.

[Andrew Curnow]

I like Carey's musical scores, although I think the fact that they are the exception to the norm is part of their charm; the score for "The Sea Devils" doesn't work as it's more interested in being different than in trying to be incidental music; I can't remember much music in "Inferno" and "The Mutants"; the Zygon music is nice enough in an inoffensive way...

...and Dudley, although a lot of his Pertwee stuff sounds too plop-plop-fart-fart for my tastes, scored some gorgeous stuff. One might argue that the music sounds a bit samey, but I don't think it's really that true to say - there was a house style, but within that there are some clearly different styles. The music in "The Deadly Assassin" and "City of Death" couldn't be more different, and I'm also fond of "Robot" and "Pyramids of Mars". It has to be Dudley!!!

[Dave Tudor]

Carey was quirky, Delia was a genius, Malc was underrated, Tristram was past his best, and Geoff really should have done more stories, but...

... in the 1970's Dudley was the daddy. No contest.

[Antony Cox]

Leaving Dudley aside for a moment, I think Geoffrey Burgon's scores for DW were outstanding. They're some of the most atmospheric and creepy the series ever had and it's a shame he only did two.

But Dudely Simpson gets my vote. As has already been said, the OTT synthesiser scores on some of the early Pertwee are awfully in-your-face, but once his style settled down it really came into it's own. Brain of More Beers, Pyramind and City of Death are amonst his best IMHO.

He's 85 now, you know!

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

It simply has to be Dudley.
Carey's saxophone/clarinet stuff in Death to the Daleks has a special place in my heart for nostalgic reasons (nostalgia from 1987 that is rather than from 1974 or whenever it was that Death to the Daleks was broadcast)!!!

But overall it's Dudley - as much as I'm an 80's Radiophonic man I simply can't deny that Dudley is the incidental music God of Doctor Who.

Obviously it wouldn't have swayed my decision in amy way, but there's the Blake's Seven theme too!!!!

[Nathan]

Delia Derbyshire never actually wrote music for Doctor Who though, did she?

They just used some of her unrelated compositions as stock music in Inferno.

If you are counting that then I salute you in your dedication for the upcoming research for the sixties thread

[Milky Tears]

Carey Blyton rocks my tiny world.

[Nathan]

Peter Howell was drafted in to augment his Revenge stuff.

[SiHart]

Delia Derbyshire never actually wrote music for Doctor Who though, did she?

They just used some of her unrelated compositions as stock music in Inferno.

I know, I just wanted to bulk this part of the poll out a bit!

Si xx

[Nathan]

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