Thu, Apr 28, 2016
Disco is widely assumed to have high-kicked into life in 1978 following the cinema release of "Saturday Night Fever", but its origins go back at least eight years earlier to a series of loft parties in New York fuelled by L.S.D. Producer Trevor Horn, choreographer Toni Basil and Gonzalez lead singer Lenny Zakatek are among those considering the history of Disco, putting classic performances by The Bee Gees, Donna Summer, Carl Douglas and Chic back into the spotlight.
Top-rated
Thu, May 5, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music genres: David Bowie and Marc Bolan daubed themselves in glitter paint and blazed a dazzling trail that other bands were keen to follow, shocking the British establishment to its Christian core. Mud star Rob Davis joins William Ritchie and Annie Nightingale to consider rare performance videos of Bowie, T-Rex and other great Glam Rock bands.
Top-rated
Thu, May 12, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music genres. The British 2 Tone Ska craze lasted from 1979 to 1981, when bands like Madness, The Selecter, The Beat and The Specials took it in turns to top the charts. Lasting only two years, it packed a mighty punch and its influence is still felt today. It was also one of the first urban musical subcultures to promote the union of black and white writers and performers on the same stage. Two of the genre's stars join experts and enthusiasts to look back on their work, and remember the original Caribbean Ska artists who inspired them.
Thu, May 19, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music genres. Owing a huge debt to James Brown and Bootsy Collins, Funk evolved during the 1960s to reflect the struggles of Black America and later soundtracked many a "Blaxploitation" movie. By the mid-70s its sound had crossed the racial divide and gone global. Brit-funk star David Grant and choreographer Toni Basil are among those putting classic performances by Brown, Isaac Hayes, Kool and the Gang, George Clinton and Bootsy Collins back into the spotlight.
Thu, May 26, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music genres. Glen Matlock, Don Letts, Annie Nightingale and Rusty Egan consider how Punk Rock exploded onto the scene in 1976 as a riposte to the excesses of stadium bands, before disappearing almost overnight. The programme includes rare performance videos of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Buzzocks, Siouxsie and the Banshees plus American punk stars The Ramones.
Thu, Jun 2, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music genres. The prospect of Mutually Assured Destruction in a nuclear war terrified millions of families in the West in the late twentieth century - and inspired music in almost every genre. Starting with a Talking Blues song in 1945, nuclear protest songs can be found in Western Swing, Country and Gospel, Jazz and Rockabilly, as well as the world of pop. In this programme, classic tracks by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Nik Kershaw, Sting, Culture Club and Genesis are celebrated by producer Trevor Horn, singer Billy Bragg, writer Bob Stanley, plus OMD's Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys.
Top-rated
Thu, Jun 9, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music genres. Acid House, Balearic Beats and outdoor raves inspired a new breed of British club kids in the late 1980s. But when they stopped drinking alcohol in favour of bottled water, they faced a showdown with an outraged establishment fearful of repetitive beats and chemical highs. Arguably it all started on a lads' birthday holiday to the Balearic Islands in 1987. Paul Oakenfold - whose Ibizan party trip started it all, arguably - joins Trevor Fung, Paul Hartnoll, Martin Glover and Annie Nightingale to recall the halcyon days of all-time highs. Music includes Orbital, Underworld, Frankie Knuckles, Phuture, Cola Boy, Elkin & Nelson and... Chris Rea.
Thu, Jun 16, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music genres. There's a certain kind of pop music that sums up the 1980s, namely cheerful, catchy, synth-led songs, direct from the studios of Stock, Aitken & Waterman. Reunited on camera together for the first time in many years, the songwriting/production trio outline the methods they used to claim their place as the architects of this pop music success story. The programme features the music of their best-known artists Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Rick Astley, Sonia and Pete Burns from Dead or Alive, while Sonia and Pete contribute guest interviews.
Top-rated
Thu, Jun 23, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music genres. Prog Rock was the 1970s genre that saw rock fans discarding three-minute pop singles in favour of challenging concept albums. They were played by flamboyant keyboardists and virtuoso guitarists, all keen to show off their musical prowess. Rick Wakeman of Yes and Billy Ritchie from Clouds are among the stars considering the ornate performances, while looking back at classic songs by The Moody Blues, The Nice, Genesis and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Thu, Jun 30, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music genres. In the mid-to-late 70s, a generation of geeks and boffins were about to change the entire face of contemporary music. They had grown up on a diet of electronic sound effects in TV shows like Doctor Who and Supercar, and embraced the Do-It-Yourself school of punk philosophy. Some fashioned their own instruments from tea trays and knitting needles, while others adopted state-of-the-art synthesizers to take the charts by storm. The programme includes all-new interviews with Gary Numan and Kraftwerk's Wolfgang Flür, alongside Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
Thu, Jul 7, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music genres. The Madchester scene was at the forefront of British rock 'n' roll during the 1980s, characterised by performers with a "mad for it" attitude. The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses are the best known, along with a brace of bands who owe their careers to the Factory Records label created by Tony Wilson. Arguably the Big Bang moment for all of this was a memorable gig in 1976, when art students who later formed The Buzzcocks persuaded Punk rockers The Sex Pistols to play a gig in the city. It was attended by young musicians who would shape the Manchester scene in the following decade, including founder members of Joy Division, The Fall and The Smiths. The programme celebrates the music of these great bands and interviews both fans who attended these early gigs, as well as the Madchester maracas maniac, Mark 'Bez' Berry.
Thu, Jul 14, 2016
Noddy Holder narrates the surprising origins of our favourite music. By the mid-1980s, Gothic Rock or "Goth" had become a catch-all title for any band with a fondness for black clothing. Bands like The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Sisters of Mercy all scored top twenty hits, and provided a contrast to mainstream pop stars and power balladeers. Even so, a definition of "Goth" seems harder to grasp than a handful of graveyard fog. Most bands labelled with the moniker have rejected it vigorously. Including interviews with Killing Joke's Martin Glover and UK Decay's Steve Abbott, the programme investigates why they doth protest too much. Classic performances include the aforementioned "usual suspects" as well as their Gothic Rock precursors, from Alice Cooper and Leonard Cohen to Nico of The Velvet Underground.