---
name: "Norman Kay"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/norman-kay"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "5 January 1929"
died: "12 May 2001"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T15:45:01.967685+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Norman Kay

Composer. Born 5 January 1929 in Bolton. Died 12 May 2001.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 5 January 1929, Bolton
- **Died:** 12 May 2001

## Biography

Norman Forber Kay (5 January 1929 – 12 May 2001) was a British composer and writer. Born in Bolton, he was educated at Bolton School, the Royal Manchester College of Music and the Royal College of Music, where his teachers included Richard Hall and Gordon Jacob. He began his career as a repetiteur at Covent Garden and Glyndebourne.

Kay composed incidental music for three serials in the first season of *Doctor Who* (1963), including *An Unearthly Child*, *The Keys of Marinus* and *The Sensorites*. He provided music and the theme tune for the anthology series *Out of the Unknown* in the 1960s, as well as scores for *Late Night Horror* (1968), the theme for *Special Branch* (1969) and the film *Diamonds for Breakfast* (1968). His concert works included the cantata *King Herod* (1965). He also worked as a music critic for *The Daily Telegraph* and wrote a study of Dmitri Shostakovich.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, tardis.wiki, guide.doctorwhonews.net.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Doctor Who* (1963), Fi1m 81, Music — [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/norman-kay