INTRODUCTION

ABSTRACT

From his earliest memories Malcolm Clarke was most interested in, and stimulated by, visual images. It would therefore seem strange that he should ultimately follow a career specialising in sound. One of the main reasons for this paradox was that his father was severely deaf, but also an accomplished musician. Malcolm became an interpreter for him by using visual images. For Malcolm, sound and image became merged, and the creative systems and rules for either were interchangeable.

Malcolm decided to become a painter, but after a year in the real world he realised that he was not going to make a living this way and applied to the BBC for a job of any kind. In 1962 he became a trainee sound engineer at Broadcasting House, London, where he worked in the old control room, new control room and Recording Unit.

In 1966 he moved to Programme Operations and became a studio manager, specialising in music. This involvement with various music departments prompted him to do a six-month attachment at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a department specialising in the experimental use of sound in broadcasting. This attachment was extended, and after a year he was appointed as 'Producer/Composer BBC Radiophonic Workshop', where he remained until his retirement in 1995.

His work at the RWS covered every type of programme for television, radio, schools broadcasting, local radio, the Open University and the World Service, etc. As a producer, Malcolm wrote, produced and realised about four of his own programmes a year. One of these programmes, 'August 2026', was inspired by the invention of the vocoder. This production became the first radio drama where speech, sounds, backgrounds and music were all electronic [or electronically processed].

A wide range of other programmes are also included [in this thesis] and it is interesting to note how many of the radio productions are intensely visual. Some of these programmes have won prestigious awards, which include:

Since his retirement, Malcolm [prior to his untimely death in 2003] has become interested once again in the visual - in particular, combining sound and image to mutually enhance each other within the unifying environment of the personal computer.

©Malcolm Clarke 2003

EDITOR'S PREFACE

Of all the hugely talented people that made up the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Malcolm Clarke was one of its most colourful characters. Jovial and determined, often provocative, sometimes pretentious, and frequently evoking both joy and angst in equal measure, he followed a deep personal conviction that his work constituted 'fine art'. Although sometimes gently mocked by his peers for the latter, his determination only drove him on to create programmes that received accolades and awards that were justly deserved.

His persistence in all things, such as digging his own swimming pool by hand, or creating a replica Bugatti car from an assemblage of parts, also empowered him in his creations at the Workshop. This version of his thesis of 2003 is reproduced here, not only as an important element in the historical record of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, but also as a personal tribute to the unique individual that was Malcolm Clarke.

This thesis was originally published in the form of an interactive CD, along with other discs containing samples of his work. I would like to thank Malcolm's son, Ollie Clarke, for allowing me to publish this material to a wider audience. I have tried to match the original content as far as possible, albeit with minor changes to text, typography and layout, additional and expanded graphics, and with any significant changes or comments enclosed in square brackets, thus [ ].

• Dedicated to the memory of Malcolm JS Clarke (1943-2003).

©Ray White 2019