E-Space³ = RWS² - ATSM Interviews with Composers Paddy Kingsland and Peter Howell

One of the neat things about the E-Space Trilogy on the Doctor Who Bar is that it is at the heart of Series 18, the first season where the BBC Radiophonic Workshop provided not only a revised version of the Doctor Who theme, but the incidental music as well. From the opening minutes of The Leisure Hive we knew that Doctor Who was changing and in a way, Series 18 was a grand experiment. While Roger Limb would be involved later with the Keeper of Traken, two composers made significant contributions to this trilogy - Radiophonic Workshop composers Paddy Kingsland (who would score Full Circle and State of Decay) and Peter Howell (Warrior's Gate). The amount of music both contributed to Series 18 is staggering - both Peter Howell's opening score to Series 18 The Leisure Hive, and Paddy Kingsland's Logopolis are groundbreaking in a series that would see off not only John Leeson's K9 Mark II and Lalla Ward's Romana II, but the longest serving Doctor himself Tom Baker.

Paddy Kingsland at the Radiophonic Workshop

Patrick ‘Paddy’ Kingsland is a composer of electronic music best known for his incidental music for science fiction series on BBC radio and television whilst working at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. He joined the BBC as a tape editor before moving on to become a studio manager for BBC Radio 1. In 1970 he joined the Radiophonic Workshop where he remained until 1981. His initial work was mostly signature tunes for BBC radio and TV programmes before going on to record incidental music for programmes including The Changes, two versions of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: the second radio series and the TV adaptation, as well as several serials of Doctor Who. His work on the latter series included incidental music for the following serials: Meglos, Full Circle, State of Decay, Logopolis, Castrovalva, The Visitation, Mawdryn Undead and Frontios.

Other well known series which contained music composed by Paddy Kingsland are Around the World in 80 Days and Pole to Pole, both travel series by Michael Palin. Paddy Kingsland also composed music for many schools’ television series including Words and Pictures, Rat-a-tat-tat, Watch, Numbercrew, Storytime, English Express, Music Makers, Hotch Potch House and the Look and Read stories “Joe and the Sheep Rustlers” and “The Boy from Space”. Since leaving the BBC, composed music for the KPM music library, television, commercials and corporate videos. He also owns his own studio, PK Studios. He is currently composing the music for the CITV series “Blips” produced by Ragdoll Productions.

In 1973, Fourth Dimension, a compilation of his early signature tune work for the Radiophonic Workshop, was released and in 2002 his incidental scores for the Doctor Who serials “Meglos” and “Full Circle” featured as part of the Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop compilation series. Eight albums of his library music work have been issued by KPM.

Paddy Kingsland – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Kingsland

Paddy Kingsland and PSK Studios - http://www.pkstudios.co.uk/about.html

Listen to our interviews with BBC Radiophonic Workshop Composer Paddy Kingsland:

ATSM Episode 10 – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Paddy Kingsland – Part I – Discussion with Tony/ Siobhan Gallichan

ATSM Episode 11 – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Paddy Kingsland – Part II – Paddy Kingsland Interview Part I

ATSM Episode 12 – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Paddy Kingsland – Part III – Paddy Kingsland Interview Part II

Peter Howell at the Radiophonic Workshop

Peter Howell is a musician and composer who worked at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from 1974-1997 – shortly before the workshop disbanded. His musical career began in the 1960s where he played what is referred to as ‘psychedelic folk’ with groups ranging from Agincourt to others.  Beyond his contributions to Doctor Who, Howell’s prolific output includes scores for science fiction series, dramas, documentaries and children’s television including Horizon, The Body in Question and Michael Palin’s Full Circle. 

Peter Howell began his work on Doctor Who began in 1975 with an uncredited contribution to Revenge of the Cybermen. Carey Blyton composed the incidental music for this serial, but producer Philip Hinchcliffe asked the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to enhance the score, which was done by Peter Howell, adding synthesizer cues to Blyton’s score. Additionally he performed special sound design on Serial 4H – Story 81 – the Planet of Evil. Later, when John Nathan-Turner became producer of Doctor Who in 1980, he approached Peter Howell and the Radiophonic workshop to create a new arrangement of Ron Grainer’s Doctor Who theme as well as to provide incidental music, thus replacing Dudley Simpson who had been the longest-running composer on Doctor Who. In addition to his score to the Leisure Hive, Howell’s incidental music contribution spans the Tom Baker stories Warrior’s Gate, the Peter Davison stories Kinda, Snakedance, the Five Doctors, the Awakening and Planet of Fire as well as the Colin Baker story the Two Doctors – his final contribution to the series. Along with composer Paddy Kingsland, Howell also composed part of the for Meglos, as well as scoring the Doctor Who spinoff special K9 and Company and Jon Pertwee’s Radio Dramas The Paradise of Death and The Ghosts of N-Space. His music would also appear in the 1999 Steven Moffat Doctor Who spoof – the Curse of the Fatal Death – starring Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor.

Since his days at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Peter Howell is the founding Director of Sound Music Design Ltd, a company specializing in providing of music and sound design for the film, television and radio. In May of 2009, Howell participated  in a live concert revival of the Radiophonic Workshop at The Roundhouse in London. Additionally Howell teaches music and sound design at the National Film and Television School, as well as lectures at Bournemouth University’s Media Department, Leeds College of Music, and the Screen Academy Scotland where he has trained over 40 composers who now compose music for feature films, theatre, television and computer games.

Peter Howell – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Howell

Peter Howell's Blog – http://peter-howell.blogspot.com

Peter Howell’s website – http://www.peterhowell.plus.com/

Peter Howell’s early work – http://www.howell-ferdinando.co.uk/

Listen to our interviews with BBC Radiophonic Workshop Composer Peter Howell: 

ATSM Episode 18 – The Ever-Changing Musical Worlds of Peter Howell – Peter Howell Interview Part I

ATSM Episode 19 – The Ever-Changing Musical Worlds of Peter Howell – Peter Howell Interview Part II

Recordings Featuring BBC Radiophonic Workshop Composers Paddy Kingsland & Peter Howell:

Doctor Who – The Music (1983, Reissued by Silva Screen Records in 1992) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_-_The_Music

Doctor Who – The Music II (1983, Reissued by Silva Screen Records in 1992) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_-_The_Music_II

Doctor Who at the Radiophonic Workshop Volume 2: New Beginnings (2000) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_at_the_BBC_Radiophonic_Workshop_Volume_2:_New_Beginnings1970%E2%80%931980

Doctor Who at the Radiophonic Workshop Volume 3: The Leisure Hive (2002) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_at_the_BBC_Radiophonic_Workshop_Volume_3:_The_Lesiure_Hive

Doctor Who at the Radiophonic Workshop Volume 4: Meglos & Full Circle (2002) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_at_the_BBC_Radiophonic_Workshop_Volume_4:_Meglos_%26_Full_Circle 

For more episodes & information on Adventures in Time, Space and Music, please visit us at http://atsm.phillipwserna.com/.