Dudley Simpson

Dudley Simpson was one of Australia's most accomplished musical exports. He learned piano as a child before serving in the Second World War in New Guinea. He then studied orchestration and composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. He became an assistant conductor and pianist at the Borovansky Ballet, later becoming its musical director. In this capacity he met Margot Fonteyn when she visited Australia. He moved to England and became guest conductor for a season at Covent Garden. He progressed to become Principal Conductor of the Royal Opera House Orchestra, accompanying the touring section of the Royal Ballet with Fonteyn as principal ballerina. Simpson moved into composing music for television, which brought his name to its widest audience. He composed incidental music for BBC television's Doctor Who (1963) in the 1960s and became the series' regular composer throughout the 1970s, when the series was at the height of its popularity. He also composed the theme tunes for other popular science-fiction series The Tomorrow People (1973) and Blake's 7 (1978). Simpson left Doctor Who (1963) in 1980 when the new producer, John Nathan-Turner, decided he wanted to use electronic composers for the series. Simpson continued to work in British television in the 1980s before moving back to Australia for his retirement.