Delia Derbyshire Day

Delia Derbyshire Day A Manchester based organisation promoting the education and art of electronic music via the archive and works of Delia Derbyshire (1937-2001).

Delia Derbyshire Day is an electronic music charity honouring the work and legacy of electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire (1937-2001). We offer new art and educational opportunities inspired by The Delia Derbyshire Archive at John Rylands Library, Manchester. Our board of trustees include friends and colleagues of Delia and the Delia Derbyshire Estate.

30/07/2026

Did you know? Delia Derbyshire has a building named after her at Coventry University. Some recognition for a "working class girl from Coventry" (Delia's words).

Our wonderful team of volunteers from our 2025 10th anniversary project recorded these factoids about Delia for us to share with you. And for our podcast series - look up Delia Derbyshire Day on your favourite podcast platform :) The volunteers and the podcast series production were gratefully supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

🛒 Check out our new look shop! 🛒https://deliaderbyshireday.com/shop/We have a humble selection of gifts for you and othe...
22/07/2026

🛒 Check out our new look shop! 🛒
https://deliaderbyshireday.com/shop/
We have a humble selection of gifts for you and others.
All proceeds go to help with our annual costs and activities. Please contact us for overseas shipping costs.

08/06/2026

"Delia is an inspiration!" - Does Delia inspire you?
"We shouldn't be afraid of pushing boundaries and seeing what we can explore creatively."
Composer and electronic music teacher/facilitiator Emma Margetson talks about Delia as she led some workshops for us at Spirit Studios for adults wanting to learn more about Delia's working methods.

22/05/2026

Hello there, have you checked out our Delia Derbyshire Day podcast? Here’s our 2025 volunteer Charlie asking Mark Ayres about the types of material in the at John Rylands Library
🔊🔊 you can listen to the 5 episodes, only 30 mins each, on your favourite podcast platform. Made possible thanks to support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund

13/05/2026

Did You Know...?

Featuring the voices of our brilliant 2025 volunteer team, sharing factoids about the late great Delia Derbyshire.

Jae says "Delia created electronic music before samplers, computers, synths and mixing desks were widely available."

Like many who were making music at that time, Delia used inventiveness and workarounds. Dick Mills, who worked with Delia says "necessity was the mother of invention."

This series is inspired by a Did You Know series produced by our wonderful social media volunteer from 2020/2021 Ste Whiley - thank you Ste!

What's your favourite Delia fact? Have you got a fun Delia factoid?

05/05/2026

Today would have been Delia Derbyshire's 89th birthday...We find that Delia consistently inspires kids of all ages.
This film was made by Belle Vue Productions, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with kids telling the world about Delia Derbyshire. You can find it on our YouTube.

Recommending: Eleanor McDowall's recent radio programme on the history of the imaginative radio feature. It's called 'In...
08/04/2026

Recommending: Eleanor McDowall's recent radio programme on the history of the imaginative radio feature. It's called 'Into the Ether' and was broadcast recently as part of BBC Radio 4's Archive on 4 strand. There are extracts from Delia's work and the Inventions for Radio with Barry Bermange.

Unearthing audio treasures from the radiophonic past.

25/03/2026

Welcome to our 'Did You Know' series for 2026
Featuring the voices of our brilliant 2025 volunteer team, sharing factoids about the late great Delia Derbyshire.

Morgan says "Delia used a single piece of metal string to create that driving bassline of the original theme"

Like many who were making music with tape at that time, Delia used a lot of found sounds (everyday objects/sounds) as sound sources.

This series is inspired by a Did You Know series produced by our wonderful social media volunteer from 2020/2021 Ste Whiley - thank you Ste!

What's your favourite Delia fact? Have you got a fun Delia factoid?

12/03/2026

Check out our podcast as part of our 10th anniversary. Co-designed by our amazing team of younger volunteers and our passionate trustees, we chat about Delia Derbyshire Day and the late great electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire (1937-2001).

In this ​second episode, our trustee Sashwati Mira Sengupta ​and commissioned artist Suzy Mangion talk about Delia's creativity with 2david Vorhaus who worked with Delia and Brian Hodgson to create that cult album "An Electric Storm" in 1969.

You should be able to listen to the 5 episodes (less than half an hour each!) on your favourite podcast platform or ​v​isit our Media page - https://deliaderbyshireday.com/media/

Address

Manchester

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