A Manchester music charity has secured a £42,000 grant to open up the city’s archive of items from the private collection of Delia Derbyshire.

The celebrated composer will be forever remembered as the person who remixed and recorded the Doctor Who theme tune using groundbreaking analogue recording techniques.

Electronic music charity Delia Derbyshire Day (DD Day) will now be able to mark what would have been the 80th birthday of the pioneering musician by improving access to the collection at John Rylands Library and hosting big shows throughout the year based around her work.

Sitting in the archives at John Rylands - since their donation to the University of Manchester in 2007 - are fascinating working notes and sketches from her days at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, sound cue sheets from Doctor Who, 267 audio tapes, newspaper cuttings clipped by Delia, her old school notebooks, and even ephemera from her home, including gas masks (thought to have belonged to her parents who were moved from Coventry in the Blitz) and an old tin helmet.

(Image: Gwen Riley Jones / University of Manchester)

Known as the Delia Derbyshire papers and sound archive, it has long been a hidden jewel at the library. But the £42,600 Heritage Lottery Grant will let the DD Day charity digitise some items from the collection, as well as create music events, films, and educational programmes and workshops that use the archive directly.

In Manchester, that firstly means getting people to come to see the collection in person, says DD Day’s project manager Caro C.

“The point of what we’re doing is to highlight to people this wonderful archive that is hidden away," says Caro

“The project also focuses on the heritage of electronic music via the archive and works of Delia Derbyshire. A lot of kids still don’t realise that the Doctor Who theme was made by a girl."

(Image: Brigitte Archambault)

“The success of DD Day so far has exceeded our expectations, demonstrating great interest in Delia’s work, her archive and our events and activities.

“We feel (Delia’s work) is a rich source of electronic music heritage right here in Manchester. This support will also help us develop as an organisation which unlocks heritage through the arts.”

A series of big public events will kick off on May 5 to coincide with Delia’s birthday. Coming up in the 12 months ahead are the following special days - many designed for all ages.

May 5, 2017: Delia’s 80th Birthday, screening of a short film about the DD Archive and Deliaphonic Soundbank.

June 10, 2017: DD Day 2017 MCR at Band on the Wall – electronic music-making workshops for families and an evening of live music and arts, archive sharing, expert panel discussion, and Q&As with very special guests.

Aug 5, 2017: DD Day touring event at Full Of Noises (FON) Festival in Barrow-in-Furness, with participatory workshops for families and an evening cultural heritage event with archive sharing, panel discussions, plus live music and visual art performances.

(Image: Gwen Riley Jones / University of Manchester)

Sept-Nov 2017: The launch of an eight week education project in two primary schools in Manchester including the production of a short film about the DD Archive by the young participants.

Dec 5, 2017: DD Day and Digital Women’s Archive North (DWAN) host a symposium event at the Anthony Burgess Foundation in Chorlton Mill, with guest speakers, archive sharing, and an open forum discussion.

To access the Delia Derbyshire collection, sign up for free as a reader at John Rylands Library, Deansgate (library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands / 0161 306 0555 / @TheJohnRylands).