Doctor in Distress (song)

In 1985, when production of the series was suspended for 18 months and it looked as if it faced cancellation, a charity single was produced and released in March. It was written by Ian Levine and freelancer Fiachra Trench, who had previously collaborated on the theme music for the TV pilot K-9 and Company, a Doctor Who spin-off from 1981. When the single was announced in early March, it was rumoured that the recording session would include the Village People alongside Doctor Who fans Elton John and Holly Johnson. This, however, did not occur. Instead, organisers Paul Mark Tams and Jeff Weston (managing director of Record Shack) secured 25 performers, some of whom were attached to Weston's label. The resulting supergroup recorded the single under the name Who Cares?, with the participation of four regulars from the TV series: Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor), Nicola Bryant (companion Peri Brown), Nicholas Courtney (recurring character Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) and Anthony Ainley (the Master). It was intended that proceeds from the single should go to the charity Cancer Relief (now Macmillan Cancer Support). However, sales were so poor that it failed to recover expenses. No money went to the charity. == Reception ==

The single, which was released on Friday 15 March 1985, was universally panned and failed to chart in the UK. The BBC refused to broadcast the song on the grounds of poor quality. An accompanying video was also released. This was directed by Keith Barnfather of Reeltime Pictures, a film production company that specialised in Doctor Who-related projects, including documentaries and spin-off video dramas. More than two decades later, the video for the single was included as a special feature on Disc Four of The Trial of a Time Lord DVD boxed set. In the documentary Trials & Tribulations included on the same disc, Levine admitted that it had been conceived by John Nathan-Turner's partner Gary Downie "in a drunken moment". == Personnel ==

In addition to the four Doctor Who regulars mentioned above, the recording session, and the accompanying video, included the following: • Phyllis Nelson • Richie Pitts from the cast of the stage musical Starlight Express • John Rocca from Freeez • Sally Thomsett (actress) • David Van Day from Dollar • Members of Matt Bianco (Basia Trzetrzelewska and Danny White) • Members of the Moody Blues (Justin Hayward and John Lodge) • Members of Tight Fit (Steven Grant and Julie Harris) • Members of Time UK (Rick Buckler, Ronnie Ball, Fletcher Christian, Jimmy Edwards, Ray Simone and Nick Smith) ==References==