Horror of Glam Rock
Encyclopedia
Horror of Glam Rock is an audio drama based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions
and was broadcast on BBC 7
on 14 January 2007.
during a blizzard in 1974. In the car park, they find the mauled body of a glam rock
musician. The Doctor and Lucie encounter a would-be pop group, The Tomorrow Twins, and their manager – and brutal bear-like monsters, which besiege the establishment. The controllers of the monsters have been communicating with Tommy Tomorrow through his stylophone, a compact electronic piano-like musical instrument, as they plan to use him as a bridgehead to Earth. The aliens, calling themselves The Only Ones in pretence of being the only life besides that on Earth, intend to use humans, most notably the fans of the band, rather like the service station on the M62 – as a place to stop off for a meal before going on their way. They are eventually trapped in Lucie's MP3 player, as the Doctor builds a machine that uses the aliens' sonics-based technology against them, transferring The Only Ones back into sound waves. As the Doctor and Lucie leave, The Headhunter arrives, only to find that Lucie has escaped her again...
. The single did not appear on any of his albums, or work with Boyzone
. The single was released after its inclusion in "Horror of Glam Rock
". The song features Clare Buckfield
, who appears in the audio drama itself.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
and was broadcast on BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
on 14 January 2007.
Plot
Attempting to take new companion Lucie Miller back home to Blackpool in 2006, the two travellers arrive instead at a service station on the M62 motorwayM62 motorway
The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
during a blizzard in 1974. In the car park, they find the mauled body of a glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
musician. The Doctor and Lucie encounter a would-be pop group, The Tomorrow Twins, and their manager – and brutal bear-like monsters, which besiege the establishment. The controllers of the monsters have been communicating with Tommy Tomorrow through his stylophone, a compact electronic piano-like musical instrument, as they plan to use him as a bridgehead to Earth. The aliens, calling themselves The Only Ones in pretence of being the only life besides that on Earth, intend to use humans, most notably the fans of the band, rather like the service station on the M62 – as a place to stop off for a meal before going on their way. They are eventually trapped in Lucie's MP3 player, as the Doctor builds a machine that uses the aliens' sonics-based technology against them, transferring The Only Ones back into sound waves. As the Doctor and Lucie leave, The Headhunter arrives, only to find that Lucie has escaped her again...
Cast
- The DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
— Paul McGannPaul McGannPaul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role... - Lucie MillerLucie MillerLucie Miller is a character in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions for BBC7 based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
— Sheridan SmithSheridan SmithSheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,... - The Only Ones/Headhunter — Katarina Olsson
- Arnold Korns — Bernard CribbinsBernard CribbinsBernard Cribbins, OBE is an English character actor, voice-over artist and musical comedian with a career spanning over half a century who came to prominence in films in the 1960s, has been in work consistently since his professional debut in the mid 1950s, and as of 2010 is still an active...
- Flo — Una StubbsUna StubbsUna Stubbs is an English actress and former dancer who has appeared extensively on British television and in the theatre, and less frequently in films. She is particularly known for her roles in the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part and Aunt Sally in the children's series Worzel Gummidge.-Film and...
- Tommy Tomorrow — Stephen GatelyStephen GatelyStephen Patrick David Gately was an Irish pop singer–songwriter, actor, dancer, musician and author, who, with Ronan Keating, was one of two lead singers of the pop group Boyzone. All of Boyzone's studio albums hit number one in the United Kingdom, their third being their most successful...
- Trisha Tomorrow — Clare BuckfieldClare BuckfieldClare Buckfield is an English actress, best known for playing the role of Jenny Porter in the BBC sitcom 2point4 children for most of the nineties and Natasha Stevens in the CBBC series Grange Hill.-Biography:...
- Pat — Lynsey Hardwick
Production and casting
- The play's title is a play on the title of the 1977 Doctor Who serial Horror of Fang RockHorror of Fang RockHorror of Fang Rock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 September to 24 September 1977.-Synopsis:...
.
- Bernard Cribbins plays music-business manager Arnold Korns; he previously appeared as policeman companion Tom in the Peter CushingPeter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
1960s DalekDalekThe Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
film Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 ADDaleks - Invasion Earth 2150 ADDaleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. is the second of two films based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. It was the sequel to Dr. Who and the Daleks , and starred Peter Cushing in his return to the role of the eccentric inventor and time traveller "Dr. Who". It also...
. Since recording this episode, he became a recurring character during the fourth series of the television showDoctor Who (series 4)The fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 25 December 2007 with the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes aired, starting with "Partners in Crime" on 5 April 2008 and ending with "Journey's End"...
in the role of Wilfred MottWilfred MottWilfred "Wilf" Mott is a recurring fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Bernard Cribbins. He is the maternal grandfather of the Tenth Doctor's companion Donna Noble, and father of character Sylvia Noble...
, the grandfather of companion Donna NobleDonna NobleDonna Noble is a fictional character played by Catherine Tate in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A secretary from Chiswick, London, she is a companion of the Tenth Doctor, appearing in one scene at the end of the final episode of the 2006 series,...
. Mott later himself became the last companion of the Tenth Doctor in The End of TimeThe End of TimeThe End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe, also sold with the alternate subtitle The Next Revolution in Physics, is a 1999 science book in which the author Julian Barbour argues that time exists merely as an illusion.-Auto-biography:The book begins by describing how...
.
- The play contains many in-joke references to 1970s rock groups such as The Only OnesThe Only OnesThe Only Ones are an English rock band. They were initially active in the late 1970s and were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the musical territory in between punk, power pop and hard rock, with noticeable influences from psychedelia...
and Arnold CornsArnold CornsArnold Corns was a band formed by David Bowie in 1971. The name was inspired by the Pink Floyd song "Arnold Layne".This was one of Bowie’s side projects and something of a dry run for Ziggy Stardust. The band was formed in Dulwich College and Bowie agreed to write for them...
, and certain songs such as "Tommy, Can You Hear Me?Tommy, Can You Hear Me?"Tommy Can You Hear Me?" is a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who. It appears as the sixteenth track on the group's first rock opera, Tommy . After the events in "Go to the Mirror!", Tommy is still captivated by the mirror. He remains captivated while his parents try to reach him. The song...
"
- The play includes an original song, Children of Tomorrow, with music by Tim Sutton and lyrics by Barnaby EdwardsBarnaby EdwardsBarnaby Edwards is a British actor, writer, director and artist. He is best known for his work on the popular British science-fiction series Doctor Who. His various roles include being a Dalek operator for the revived series in many Dalek stories...
; it is performed by Stephen GatelyStephen GatelyStephen Patrick David Gately was an Irish pop singer–songwriter, actor, dancer, musician and author, who, with Ronan Keating, was one of two lead singers of the pop group Boyzone. All of Boyzone's studio albums hit number one in the United Kingdom, their third being their most successful...
and Clare Buckfield. Sutton also arranged a glam rock version of the Doctor Who theme musicDoctor Who theme musicThe Doctor Who theme is a piece of music composed by Ron Grainer and realised by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Created in 1963, it was one of the first electronic music signature tunes for television and after nearly five decades remains one of the most easily...
which is performed over the end credits. Both songs are included as extras on the story's CD release. Later in 2007, the song became downloadable on iTunes.http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EEllEAFpZEsvLMdLSB&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle
- Clare Buckfield appears in the Doctor Who adventures Dead LondonDead LondonDead London is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions.-Cast:*The Doctor — Paul McGann*Lucie Miller — Sheridan Smith...
and The One DoctorThe One DoctorThe One Doctor is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.- Plot :The Sixth Doctor and Mel come up against an impostor Doctor and his companion Sally-Anne....
.
- Una Stubbs appeared alongside Third DoctorThird DoctorThe Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
actor Jon PertweeJon PertweeJohn Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
in the 1970s children's TV series Worzel GummidgeWorzel GummidgeWorzel Gummidge is a British children's fictional character who originally appeared in a series of books by the novelist Barbara Euphan Todd. A walking, talking scarecrow, Gummidge has a set of interchangeable turnip, mangel worzel and swede heads, each of which suit a particular occasion or endow...
.
Children of Tomorrow
Children of Tomorrow is the fourth and final single released by popular artist Stephen GatelyStephen Gately
Stephen Patrick David Gately was an Irish pop singer–songwriter, actor, dancer, musician and author, who, with Ronan Keating, was one of two lead singers of the pop group Boyzone. All of Boyzone's studio albums hit number one in the United Kingdom, their third being their most successful...
. The single did not appear on any of his albums, or work with Boyzone
Boyzone
Boyzone are an Irish boy band comprising Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating,Shane Lynch, and formerly Stephen Gately. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ire charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12...
. The single was released after its inclusion in "Horror of Glam Rock
Horror of Glam Rock
Horror of Glam Rock is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions and was broadcast on BBC 7 on 14 January 2007.-Plot:...
". The song features Clare Buckfield
Clare Buckfield
Clare Buckfield is an English actress, best known for playing the role of Jenny Porter in the BBC sitcom 2point4 children for most of the nineties and Natasha Stevens in the CBBC series Grange Hill.-Biography:...
, who appears in the audio drama itself.
Tracklisting
- "Children Of Tomorrow" (Featuring Claire Buckfield) - 3:11
- "Children Of Tomorrow" (Instrumental) - 3:11
Continuity
- Pat is revisited a decade later in her life in next season's story The Zygon Who Fell to EarthThe Zygon Who Fell to EarthThe Zygon Who Fell to Earth is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions.-Plot:...
.
- Arnold's mentioning that he thinks the Doctor's hair must be a wig is a reference to the long wig that Paul McGann wore in his one on-screen appearance as the Doctor in the 1996 television movie.