Feature by TIM WORTHINGTON
Between 1967 and 1991, BBC Records & Tapes released the strangest assortment of music you’ve ever heard. In the days before home video, the label issued hundreds of albums and singles of theme tunes, radio shows, sound effects and much more besides, featuring everything from the cast of sitcom Hi-De-Hi! to the sound of someone hitting a telephone. Hardly any of them had any correlation to what came before or after, but that’s what makes the label so fascinating; it’s a snapshot of what was actually popular with – or at least inescapable for – viewers and listeners. Doctor Who played a huge part in its story, and a generation of fans still get nostalgic at the mention of its name.