DUDLEY SIMPSON R.I.P.

Sorry To read that Australian music composer, Dudley Simpson has sadly died at the age of 95.  He’s best known to TV Sci-fi fans as the composer of many of the themes and incidental music for cult television series during the sixties and seventies.

Although the iconic theme was provided by fellow Australian Ron Grainer, Dudley provided incidental music for many Doctor Who episodes.

He began with the William Hartnell era 1964 story, Planet of the Giants, and continued working on the series providing incidental music for many those classic episodes right up until the Tom Baker era story, The Horns of Nimon. 

At this point incoming producer John Nathen Turner decided he wanted Doctor Who to rely more on music provided by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

He did, however briefly appear in the series, as the music hall conductor in the Tom Baker 1977 story, The Talons of Weng Chiang.

He also provided the music for the short lived 1973 BBC series Moonbase 3.

He composed the theme to the cult BBC series 1978 Blake 7, and provided incidental music for 50 of the 52 episodes broadcast. (The exceptions were Duel which used stock music and Gambit which was scored by Elizabeth Parker,providing special sounds created by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.)

Over on ITV, Dudley provided the theme and incidental music for another classic 1973 series, The Tomorrow People.

Dudley Simpson 1922-2017. Our sincere condolences to his family