Remixed version of Dominic Glynn's original demo theme

[Danny Stewart]

Hello everyone,

It is with great pleasure that I am able to post here on DannyStewart.com an exclusive remixed version of Dominic Glynn's original demo theme for Doctor Who. The original demo was made back in 1986 before Dom made the final versions of his theme. Recently, Dom found this old demo version on an 8-track in his collection that he'd forgotten about. He graciously agreed to send me a copy of it, but he warned me that it was totally unmastered and sounded less than stellar, to put it mildly, and told me not to share it with anybody.

I disagreed, though, and while the mix may have been unmastered, I really liked some of the ideas in there, including one or two that didn't make it into his final theme. So I set about producing a remastered and remixed version of the demo theme that I could share with him to show that he had actually produced a great version of the theme, even if it wasn't mastered properly. My new version has been brought up to date a little bit, but overall retains the feel of the original.

I am proud to say that Dom was very impressed with my demo remix, so he has kindly granted me permission to post it for others to listen to. This remix provides a rare glimpse into both the past and the future...

It is now my honor and privilege to present my own remix of Dominic Glynn's original demo theme for Doctor Who.

Please note that this is a DannyStewart.com exclusive. Please do not redistribute it.

[Ronnie Rowlands]

for some reason, the bassline strikes me as a very unusual fusion of the 80's bassline and Delaware bassline. Weird, eh?

You've done a very good job there by the way, well done.

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Rowlands

for some reason, the bassline strikes me as a very unusual fusion of the 80's bassline and Delaware bassline. Weird, eh?

I'll take that as a compliment. That will be the "second layer" that I've added in. Upon reflection, it is sort of like a hybrid of the Howell and Delaware second layers.

Originally Posted by Ronnie Rowlands

You've done a very good job there by the way, well done.

Thanks very much.

[Superkid11]

VERY good job! Well done!

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by Superkid11

VERY good job! Well done!

Thank you very much!

The real credit goes to Dom, though. I only updated his excellent work.

[Dalek104]

Wow, that sounds superb. Well done to both of you!

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by Dalek104

Wow, that sounds superb. Well done to both of you!

Thank you, James!

[Josef Kenny]

I've told you before, but I think its great! I love the way you've added the extra bass layers and polished it up a bit.

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

I've told you before, but I think its great! I love the way you've added the extra bass layers and polished it up a bit.

Thank you!

[Ronnie Rowlands]

Although I suppose no one will ever know how much it has been changed unless we heard the original.

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Rowlands

Although I suppose no one will ever know how much it has been changed unless we heard the original.

Which I'm not at liberty to share, I'm afraid.

I can however post just the elements that I've added to it...

[The Moonlit Door]

Hi Danny, I'm very glad I stopped by.

It's a wonderful gesture for Dominic Glynn to make this adaptation of his work available to us.

My favourite part of it is what's been done with the opening sting. Much more ominous than the sting Glynn eventually went with.

The rest sounds more whimsical than the Trial version as well, and for some reason much more grounded. For instance the whistle-like sounds seem less digitized and I think say "Cosmic Hobo" more obviously.

Great stuff, loved it.

This said, I'd love to hear a Doctor Who theme from somebody that was wholly their own take on the music, not a remix, or involving samples, but generated purely by the musician. Any takers?

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by The Moonlit Door

Hi Danny, I'm very glad I stopped by.

Always great to see you around these parts.

Originally Posted by The Moonlit Door

It's a wonderful gesture for Dominic Glynn to make this adaptation of his work available to us.

I agree, it's very generous of him!

Originally Posted by The Moonlit Door

My favourite part of it is what's been done with the opening sting. Much more ominous than the sting Glynn eventually went with.

Definitely -- the sting is probably my favorite part of the mix as well. It's possible that the only reason he changed it was to conform to the existing visuals for the titles; the reversed sting doesn't work too well with the graphics that were forced on him. He told me once that it was very restricting to have to create a new theme that conformed with graphics that were already made and polished -- I can definitely understand that!

Originally Posted by The Moonlit Door

The rest sounds more whimsical than the Trial version as well, and for some reason much more grounded. For instance the whistle-like sounds seem less digitized and I think say "Cosmic Hobo" more obviously.

I would tend to agree, although I have to admit that I think a little of that comes from the remastering work that I did. The original demo was much more grounded, not to mention somewhat thin-sounding. I added some significant stereo separation and reverb, which loosened things up a bit. I also added my own secondary melody line over top of the whole thing, which might be the "less digitized" component you're referring to. His original melody does sound slightly different to his final theme, but it still comes out sounding a bit thin. Of course I don't mean to insult his original demo theme! I really loved quite a few of the ideas in there, and I thought they deserved a chance to shine, which is why I did the remix in the first place. Dom totally gets all the credit here.

Originally Posted by The Moonlit Door

Great stuff, loved it.

Originally Posted by The Moonlit Door

This said, I'd love to hear a Doctor Who theme from somebody that was wholly their own take on the music, not a remix, or involving samples, but generated purely by the musician. Any takers?

I only have about a million of my own versions scattered around various hard drives throughout my house.

Admittedly, many of them are unfinished, but there are quite a few that I've done that do not rely on any samples or other versions. I'll try and post a couple for you when I can.

[The Moonlit Door]

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

Definitely -- the sting is probably my favorite part of the mix as well. It's possible that the only reason he changed it was to conform to the existing visuals for the titles; the reversed sting doesn't work too well with the graphics that were forced on him.

No, I've just played it alongside the titles and it doesn't go at all.

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

He told me once that it was very restricting to have to create a new theme that conformed with graphics that were already made and polished -- I can definitely understand that!

Yes, quite. Peter Howell and Sid Sutton were able to collaborate more because they were doing the music and the titles at the same time.

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

His original melody does sound slightly different to his final theme, but it still comes out sounding a bit thin. Of course I don't mean to insult his original demo theme! I really loved quite a few of the ideas in there, and I thought they deserved a chance to shine, which is why I did the remix in the first place. Dom totally gets all the credit here.

Yes, exactly, it's a demo after all. Just a summary of where he wanted to take the theme.

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

I only have about a million of my own versions scattered around various hard drives throughout my house. Admittedly, many of them are unfinished, but there are quite a few that I've done that do not rely on any samples or other versions. I'll try and post a couple for you when I can.

That'd be great. Murray Gold's version is starting to sound very stale these days…(!)

[BritCanuck]

Originally Posted by The Moonlit Door

Murray Gold's version is starting to sound very stale these days…(!)

He said in either a radio or podcast interview that he was working on a revamped version of his theme, but no one's heard anything since, so that's probably still just a rumor at this stage.

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by BritCanuck

He said in either a radio or podcast interview that he was working on a revamped version of his theme, but no one's heard anything since, so that's probably still just a rumor at this stage.

Yes, but what did you think of the demo theme?

[BritCanuck]

It's great. I like the opening sting, much more sinister than the "spangle" in the broadcast version. Perhaps he'll get to officially release the demo version one day, maybe on a 50th Anniversary album?

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by BritCanuck

It's great. I like the opening sting, much more sinister than the "spangle" in the broadcast version. Perhaps he'll get to officially release the demo version one day, maybe on a 50th Anniversary album?

I don't think so, I'm afraid. He's told me he's not very proud of the demo theme, so I doubt he'd really want it to see release in any form! His exact words were "sounds like shit," "completely flat and untreated," and "please don't spread this far and wide or I'll never work again!"

Somehow I doubt we'll ever be seeing this on CD.

[BritCanuck]

That is Mr. Glynn's choice, of course, but I think it's a good demo.

[James P.]

Necromancing again? Shame to me!

Anyway... Whoa. This is awesome, really awesome. I'd love to use this in a series if I ever made one. Too bad I can't. Oh well, easy come, easy go!