David Cain was a composer and technician for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

BBC Radiophonic Workshop

The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the sound effects units of the BBC, was created in 1958 to produce effects and new music for radio, and was closed in March 1998, although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995. It was based in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware...

. He was educated at Imperial College London

Imperial College London

Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...

, where he earned a degree in mathematics. In 1963, he joined the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 as a studio manager, specialising in radio drama. He transferred to the Radiophonic Workshop in 1967 where he composed various jingles and signature tunes as well as the complete incidental music for the BBC's radio productions of The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds is an 1898 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells.The War of the Worlds may also refer to:- Radio broadcasts :* The War of the Worlds , the 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles...

in 1967, and The Hobbit

The Hobbit (1968 radio series)

The Hobbit is a 1968 BBC Radio adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel of the same name.The series was adapted by Michael Kilgarriff and produced by John Powell in eight half-hour mono episodes for BBC Radio 4.-Story:...

in 1968. He also produced the Workshop's 1973 adaptation of Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...

's Foundation series. He remained with the Radiophonic Workshop until 1973. His 30-second composition "Crossbeat" was used as the original theme for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

's morning radio current affairs program AM

AM (ABC Radio)

AM, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's flagship current-affairs radio program, is one of Australia's longest-running productions. Its tagline is Ensure you are informed.-History and timeslots:...

, which premiered in 1967.