Thoughts on autonomy, sound and artistic compromise: three experimental radio broadcasts of poetry with radiophonic sound by Delia Derbyshire (1965–1966)

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This article explores three experimental radio programmes made for the BBC during the mid-1960s. Each one contains work by the electronic music composer Delia Derbyshire who worked as part of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop: a studio located in the national public broadcaster. Derbyshire is often presented as a pioneer in the history of electronic music but the lack of a coherent body of musical works positions her outside the canon. I argue that the apparent lack is an integral part of her history that could be affirmed to challenge assumptions surrounding the aesthetic value of autonomy.