BeebRock - The BBC4/BBC3/BBC2/BBC1 Music Programmes thread

Skid L. GoldenAxe


I'd probably want to improve my guitar playing a small bit first

Hiya. BBC4's new 'Sound of Song' starts on Friday at 9pm



Only three episodes long, it seems like a lot to cram in. Still, it might be good. BBC Four has not one but two TOTP2's tonight. Nothing fills a hole in the schedule like TOTP2!


Thursday BBC4

11pm TOTP2 80s Special
Mark Radcliffe presents a selection of memorable Top of the Pops performances from the 1980s. Featuring appearances by Adam and the Ants, Bucks Fizz, Soft Cell, Dexys Midnight Runners, Madness, Culture Club, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Duran Duran, Wham!, Pet Shop Boys, the Communards, Whitney Houston, Bros, Tiffany, Yazz & the Plastic Population, Kylie and Jason, Black Box and Lisa Stansfield

1am Boogie Fever: A TOTP2 Disco Special
Steve Wright presents performances of disco classics from the BBC archives, featuring George McCrae, Chic, Gloria Gaynor, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Edwin Starr, the Weather Girls, Liquid Gold, Heatwave, the Bee Gees, Earth Wind & Fire, Tina Charles, the JALN Band, Hi-Tension, Sylvester, the Village People, Boney M, Linx, Yazz, Infernal, the Three Degrees, Blondie, the Gibson Brothers and Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots



Friday BBC4

7.30pm Sounds of the Sixties
Ep 3 The Beat Room A selection of archive footage from the arrival of the so-called beat boom in 1964, which catered to the art-school craze for rhythm and blues. Featuring performances by Tom Jones, the Kinks, Manfred Mann, the Rolling Stones, John Lee Hooker and the Pretty Things

8pm Gershwin's Summertime: The Song that Conquered The World
How George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward's song Summertime became a standard around the world. The film tells the story of its first appearance in the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess, charts how it has been reinterpreted by artists including Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, Mahalia Jackson, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald, and explores the many meanings that have been derived from it through the decades. Narrated by Pauline Black

9pm & 1am: Sound of Song
Ep1/3 The Recording Revolution Composer and musician Neil Brand investigates how songs were recorded for the first time, the listening revolution that followed and the crooner style of singing brought about by the arrival of the microphone. He also looks at the songwriting prowess of Irving Berlin, as well as the interpretative powers of singers Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby

10pm & 2am Sings The Great American Songbook
A compilation of archive performances of hits composed by American songwriters including Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen. Featuring music by Shirley Bassey, Bryan Ferry, Captain Sensible, Jamie Cullum and Florence and the Machine

11pm & 3am Blues at the BBC
Archive footage of blues performances from the past 50 years. Featuring famous songs by Son House, the Kinks, BB King, John Lee Hooker and Eric Clapton, plus lesser-known tracks by Freddie King, Delaney & Bonnie and Long John Baldry that were originally recorded for shows including The Beat Room, The Old Grey Whistle Test and The Late Show

Midnight Sings Bacharach and David
Archive performances of songs penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, featuring artists including Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, the Carpenters, Sandie Shaw and the Stranglers. The programme also features Bacharach himself performing alongside Rufus Wainwright on Later with Jools Holland



Saturday BBC4

10.50pm Blondie's New York and the Making of Parallel Lines
The story behind the rock band's third album Parallel Lines - a record that is said to capture the spirit of 1970s New York at a time of poverty, crime and artistic endeavour. The seven individuals who wrote, produced and performed its songs discuss their aim to create a game-changing album full of sure-fire hits. Including commentary from lead singer Debbie Harry who talks about writing music, the media's focus on her appearance and the lyrical content inspired by ex-boyfriends

11.40pm Blondie @ Glastonbury
Coverage from the Other Stage of the Debbie Harry-fronted American rock band, who were sure to attract a sizeable crowd with their selection of classics such as Heart of Glass and Atomic, as well as tracks from their 2014 album Ghosts of Download. Introduced by Mark Radcliffe

12.35am Synth Britannia
An examination of the musical backdrop of the 1980s when synthpop was all the rage, having been popularised by bands including Depeche Mode, Ultravox and Soft Cell. The documentary also studies how this genre influenced the future of electronic music and groups such as Pet Shop Boys and New Order. Featuring interviews with Bernard Sumner, Gary Numan and Neil Tennant



Sunday BBC4

11pm BBC Four Sessions - The Great American Songbook
Artists perform their interpretations of songs by renowned American composers at Air Studios in London, singing standards by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen. Featuring performances by musicians including Paolo Nutini, Melody Gardot, Claire Martin, Sharleen Spiteri and Jose James


Elsewhere, Sky Arts 1 has an Eric Clapton weekend http://www.sky.com/tv/show/eric-clapton-crossroads and the Freddie Mercury tribute concert on Sunday http://www.sky.com/tv/show/freddie-mercury-tribute-concert

gucci wrote: »

Apologies as this is radio instead of TV, but I think it might interest some here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04w75xl

Nice one gucci, he very rarely does interviews, that'll be a nice series for Van fans.

Hello, Sound of Song continues on BBC4 this weekend, the first episode was generally well received. Quiet enough on the BBC, but not on Sky Arts where it's a Metal weekend. Details of that down the bottom ...


All programmes listed are on BBC4

Thursday

7pm & 1.35am Top of The Pops 1980
Kid Jensen presents a vintage edition of the chart show, first broadcast on January 10, 1980. Featuring performances by the Nolan Sisters, UFO, Skids, Joe Jackson, Dollar, Abba, Sheila B and Pink Floyd. Plus, a dance sequence by Legs & Co

2.15am Sounds of the Sixties
The Beat Room A selection of archive footage from the arrival of the so-called beat boom in 1964, which catered to the art-school craze for rhythm and blues. Featuring performances by Tom Jones, the Kinks, Manfred Mann, the Rolling Stones, John Lee Hooker and the Pretty Things


Friday

8pm The Joy of Mozart
Tom Service travels to Vienna and Salzburg in Austria to examine the life and times of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He explores the key cities and rooms in which the 18th-century composer lived and worked, and is given the opportunity to play some of his original instruments and scores before learning about his tragic death at 35 years old. Contributors include John Eliot Gardiner, Nicola Benedetti and Paul Morley


9pm & 1am The Sound of Song
Ep 2 Reeling and Rocking Musician Neil Brand explores the elements that come together to make classic songs by recreating some of the most famous recording sessions in history, analysing features such as Elvis Presley's slapback echo effect in Memphis, the Beatles' tape loops at Abbey Road, Phil Spector's `wall of sound' technique, and the Beach Boys' pop symphonies. The presenter also looks at how an American soldier's discovery of magnetic tape in the ruins of Second World War Germany drove the emergence of the music studio and the rise of the producer as a new creative force for shaping the sound of song


10pm & 2am Elvis That's Alight - 30 Years On
Actor and musician Sam Palladio hosts a musical tribute to Elvis Presley, 60 years after the artist recorded his first single That's All Right at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The presenter traces Elvis's story from a childhood spent in poverty to the moment he entered a recording booth to perform the track that would act as a springboard to his success. Featuring performances of a selection of the King of Rock 'n' Roll's finest songs from artists including Candi Staton, the Pierces and Laura Bell Bundy


11pm The Beatles' Please Please Me - Remaking a Classic
Stereophonics, Joss Stone, Graham Coxon, Gabrielle Aplin, Chris Difford and Mick Hucknall recreate the band's 12-hour recording session at Abbey Road Studios for Please Please Me - their first album. With contributions from Burt Bacharach and Guy Chambers, as well as people who witnessed the original event in 1963, including engineer Richard Langham and Beatles' press officer Tony Barrow. Presented by Stuart Maconie


Midnight Motown at the BBC
A compilation of studio performances by some of Motown's greatest artists, originally broadcast to mark the record label's 50th anniversary. Featuring Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Jackson Five, the Four Tops and Stevie Wonder



Saturday

10.55pm Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story
An insight into the lives of the 1970s pop duo the Carpenters, whose wholesome brother-and-sister image hid a destructive secret. Behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with friends, family and surviving band member Richard, trace the story that ended in the untimely death of Karen Carpenter in 1983


11.55pm Duets at the BBC
Performances of romantic duets from the BBC archives. Among the collaborations are Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue, Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, Shirley Bassey and Neil Diamond, Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, and Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. The show also features performances by specialist double acts, including Billy Preston and Syreeta, Peaches and Herb, Sonny and Cher, and Danish folk duo Nina and Frederik


12.55am Top of The Pops 1980

1.30am Sounds of the 70s 2: Art House Glam - Get in the Swing
Collection of archive performances by artists including the Kinks, Roxy Music, Elton John, New York Dolls, Queen, Sparks and Rod Stewart. Plus, a rediscovered recording of David Bowie singing The Jean Genie from January 1973


As I was saying, Sky Arts has a Deep Purple/Iron Maiden heavy 'metal' weekend ...

FRIDAY 23rd - Deep Purple Night

7.20pm - Deep Purple Rises Over Japan
8pm - Deep Purple: Machine Head - Classic Albums
9pm - Deep Purple: Perfect Strangers

SATURDAY 24th - Iron Maiden Night

​8pm - Iron Maiden: Number Of The Beast - Classic Albums
​9pm - Iron Maiden: Rock In Rio
​11pm - Iron Maiden: Flight 666

SUNDAY 25th - Metal Night

6pm - Guns N' Roses: Video Killed The Radio Star - Artist's View
6.30pm - Slash: Made In Stoke
9pm - Alice Cooper: Welcome To My Nightmare
10.30pm - Megadeth: Video Killed The Radio Star



And on Monday night at 10.30pm RTE2 starts their new comedy music quiz I can't believe it's not Never Mind The Buzzcocks Hey Ho Lets Go.

Anyone hoping for a Ramones tribute will be disappointed. As will anyone expecting to be entertained, probably. :pac: Until next time ...