skip to main |
skip to sidebar
PAUL MERTON'S BEATLES - 2. AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF BEATLE HISTORY (320kbs-m4a/127mb/55mins)
BBC Radio 2 broadcast: 5th June 2017
Join Paul Merton on the commentator's microphone as the Fab Four take to the boards once more.... This week's episode imagines the second half of this imaginary concert.
Paul McCartney - Getting Better
Paul McCartney - Got To Get You Into My Life [MPL]
George Harrison - Something [Dark Horse]
Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm Amazed [Parlophone]
John Lennon - Mother (feat. Plastic Ono Band) [Parlophone]
John Lennon - Come Together [Apple]
Paul McCartney - All My Loving [Parlophone]
George Harrison - Here Comes The Sun
George Harrison - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Paul McCartney - Let It Be [MPL]
Paul McCartney - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End
Ringo Starr - With A Little Help From My Friends [Rykodisc]
PAUL MERTON'S BEATLES - 1. AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF BEATLE HISTORY (320kbs-m4a/127mb/56mins)
BBC Radio 2 broadcast: 29th May 2017
The year is 1974. Labour's Harold Wilson is Britain's Prime Minister, and Richard Nixon is in the White House. Abba win Eurovision, Germany win the World Cup and a new writer called Stephen King publishes his first novel.
After 5 years of tension, ill feeling and fraught negotiation the four Beatles have buried their individual hatchets and are moving tentatively towards a full scale reunion, hopefully culminating in their first new album since 1969.
As a warm up for the recording sessions, the Beatles - and some of their famous friends - have come together once more for a surprise concert, their first time live on stage since 1966 when they gave up live appearances after a show at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
Join Paul Merton on the commentator's microphone as the Fab Four take to the boards once more....
Well, kind of. Well, all right, not at all. Not really.
Like all of us, Paul Merton is a huge Beatles fan and like all Beatle fans his mind often turns to the "What if's..." of their career.
What if they'd never broken up? What if they were still playing live? What if they made another album?
This four part series is Paul's attempt to answer those questions, and to put forward a fantastical version of Beatle history.
Based on the known facts, and using the recordings available, he imagines the concert that the Beatles could have given, and follows it up with the album that they could have made.
The result is a fascinating look into an alternative reality, but also a clear eyed examination of the strengths and of the forces that drove - and drove apart - the greatest band of all time.
It never happened, but it could have. Couldn't it?
Plastic Ono Band - Blue Suede Shoes (Live Peace In Toronto) [Apple]
Plastic Ono Band - Money (Live Peace In Toronto) [Apple]
George Harrison - Taxman [Dark Horse]
Paul McCartney - Paperback Writer
Paul McCartney - Things We Said Today
George Harrison - If I Needed Someone [Dark Horse]
Ringo Starr - What Goes On (Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band Live 2006) [Koch]
Ringo Starr - Yellow Submarine (Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band Live 2006) [Koch]
Paul McCartney - Magical Mystery Tour
Elton John - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Feat. John Lennon) (Here And There) [Rocket]
Elton John - I Saw Her Standing There (Feat. John Lennon) (Here And There) [Rocket]
Paul McCartney - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles - Glass Onion (The White Album) [Parlophone]
The Beatles - Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
SGT. PEPPER: A SPLENDID TIME WAS GUARANTEED FOR ALL (320kbs-m4a/136mb/59mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 31st May 2017
In a programme first broadcast in 1987 (when it was only twenty years ago), Annie Nightingale presents a celebration of the Beatles' most famous LP, released on 1 June 1967.
Featuring comments from producer, George Martin, designer of the cover, Peter Blake and wonderful archive material recorded in 1967, with John Lennon and Paul McCartney , for the BBC show Where It's 's At. One hundred and twenty-nine days or 700 hours in the making, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is viewed by many as the greatest album of all time and its fiftieth anniversary is being celebrated widely.
SGT. PEPPER FOREVER - 2. EPISODE 2 (320kbs-m4a/129mb/56mins)
BBC Radio 2 broadcast: 31st May 2017
Martin Freeman presents Sgt. Pepper Forever, which will reveal the revolutionary studio techniques used during the remarkable sessions dating from November 1966 to April 1967 and also examine the album's huge impact on the history of music. They will feature 'work-in-progress' versions of Sgt. Pepper tracks - and the songs on the double A-side single Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane, which were also recorded during the sessions - to illustrate the pioneering techniques used by The Beatles and George Martin.
SGT. PEPPER FOREVER - 1. EPISODE 1 (320kbs-m4a/129mb/56mins)
BBC Radio 2 broadcast: 24th May 2017
Martin Freeman presents Sgt. Pepper Forever, which will reveal the revolutionary studio techniques used during the remarkable sessions dating from November 1966 to April 1967 and also examine the album's huge impact on the history of music. They will feature 'work-in-progress' versions of Sgt. Pepper tracks - and the songs on the double A-side single Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane, which were also recorded during the sessions - to illustrate the pioneering techniques used by The Beatles and George Martin.
This two-part documentary special features interviews with Paul, George, Ringo and George Martin, and in a new interview composer Howard Goodall talks about, and illustrates on piano, the musical innovations of the album's songs.
Having worked with the original four-track tapes to create a new stereo mix of Sgt. Pepper for its 50th anniversary, producer Giles Martin (son of Sir George Martin) describes the innovative recording techniques used at the time and how he approached making his new version.
There will also be interview material with the album cover's co-designer Peter Blake, Beatles press officer Derek Taylor, Tony King (George Martin's assistant in 1967), Mike Leander (the arranger of She's Leaving Home), poet Adrian Mitchell, DJ John Peel and some of the producers and musicians who were influenced by the achievements of the album, including T Bone Burnett, Dave Grohl, Tom Petty, Jimmy Webb and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.
Martin Freeman says: "Sgt. Pepper is the most celebrated album by my favourite band. These documentaries will shed light on how The Beatles, with George Martin, created a piece of work that marked a watershed for what a long playing record could be. It's my absolute pleasure to help tell you about it.".
SOUND OF CINEMA: 172. ARTHURIAN LEGENDS (320kbs-m4a/135mb/59mins)
BBC Radio 3 broadcast: 20th May 2017
Matthew Sweet presents a selection of film music and takes a look at some of diverse range of films inspired by the Arthurian legends in the week of the release of Guy Ritchie's new film "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" with a score by Daniel Pemberton.
The programme includes music by Trevor Jones, Miklos Rozsa, Franz Waxman, Hans Zimmer, Jimmy Van Heusen, Lerner and Loewe, Anne Dudley and ... Monty Python?
The Classic Score of the Week is Ron Goodwin's "Gawain and the Green Knight".
Monty Python Team - Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975) - Camelot Song [Virgin]
Trevor Jones - Excalibur (1981) - End Credits
Trevor Jones - Merlin (1998) - In Search Of The Grail [Varèse Sarabande]
Miklós Rózsa - Knights Of The Round Table (1953) - Prelude / Excalibur [Film Score Monthly]
Franz Waxman - Prince Valiant (1954) - Main Title
Hans Zimmer - King Arthur (2004) - Woad To Ruin [Hollywood]
Ron Goodwin - Lancelot And Guinevere (1963) - Main Theme [Chandos]
Ron Goodwin - Sir Gawain And The Green Knight (1973) - Main Titles [Intrada Special Collection]
Jimmy Van Heusen - A Connecticut Yankee In The Court Of King Arthur (1949) - Busy Doing Nothing
Frederick Loewe - Camelot (1967) - Prelude / Overture
Monty Python - Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975) - Arthur's Song [Virgin]
Daniel Pemberton - Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017) - Main Theme
Anne Dudley - Tristan And Isolde (2006) - The Tournament
SOUND OF CINEMA: 171. MR S GOES TO WASHINGTON (320kbs-m4a/135mb/59mins)
BBC Radio 3 broadcast: 13th May 2017
Matthew Sweet with a selection of film music inspired by the political world of Washington DC, in the week of the release of 'Miss Sloane' with a score by Max Richter.
The programme looks at some of the many films covering the Nixon era, but also looks back at the ways that Washington has been covered in American cinema from the time of Frank Capra's "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" through to films like "Wag The Dog", "Bulworth", "Advise and Consent", "Lincoln", "Clear and Present Danger" and "Enemy of the State". The Classic Score of the Week is David Shire's music for Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation".
KING AYISOBA, ADRIAN SHERWOOD, TOM CHALLENGER - LATE JUNCTION SESSION 21.06.17 (320kbs-m4a/62mb/27mins)
KING AYISOBA, ADRIAN SHERWOOD, TOM CHALLENGER - LATE JUNCTION SESSION 21.06.17 (mp4/44mb/5mins)
BBC Radio 3 broadcast: 21st June 2017
A collaboration session capturing the first meeting of musicians from different musical realms: Ghanaian master kologo player King Ayisoba, dub producer Adrian Sherwood, and improvising reeds player Tom Challenger. Recorded at the BBC's Maida Vale studios, it also features multi-instrumentalist Skip McDonald, aka 'Little Axe'.
King Ayisoba, Adrian Sherwood, Tom Challenger, Little Axe, Abaadongo Adontanga, Ayuune Sulley, Gemeka Abobe Azure, Ayamga Francis - Adinoma
King Ayisoba, Adrian Sherwood, Tom Challenger, Little Axe, Abaadongo Adontanga, Ayuune Sulley, Gemeka Abobe Azure, Ayamga Francis - Tigaliyataba
King Ayisoba, Adrian Sherwood, Tom Challenger, Little Axe, Abaadongo Adontanga, Ayuune Sulley, Gemeka Abobe Azure, Ayamga Francis - People Talk Too Much
BEHIND THE BREL: THE STORY OF A MUSICAL GENIUS - 3. EPISODE 3 (320kbs-m4a/67mb/29mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 18th May 2017
In part three Marc Almond charts Jacques Brel's unconventional side and the way he turned his back on family life in Belgium to pursue his dream of being a singer in France.
Marc also tells how Brel sensationally quit singing at the height of his career before turning his hand to films.
We also hear how Brel's sense of freedom was so strong that chose to circumnavigate the globe in a sailing boat.
Meanwhile singer and actress Elly Stone explains the American adaptation of Brel's song - La Valse a Mille Temps which was brought to life in the States as Carousel for the musical "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris". Stone explains the rather difficult translation process used for Carousel.
The programme also looks at Brel's last days (when was battling lung cancer) and examines his legacy.
Contributors in this episode include US singer-songwriter Rod McKuen, opera singer Toby Spence, Brel's daughter France and Jean-Michel Boris, who was in charge of the Olympia in Paris for Brel's last concert.
BEHIND THE BREL: THE STORY OF A MUSICAL GENIUS - 2. EPISODE 2 (320kbs-m4a/65mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 17th May 2017
In part two Marc Almond looks at the darker side of the legendary singer-songwriter Jacques Brel.
Apart from Ne Me Quitte Pas (If You Go Away), the Brel song that has been adapted for the English speaking world the most is Le Moribond. Its English translation is the Seasons in the Sun, but it's actually a story about a dying man wishing to see his loved ones for the very last time. Terry Jacks had a huge hit with Seasons in the Sun in America, Canada and the UK in 1973, and it was covered by Westlife in more recent times, but Marc Almond discovers that no one quite sings Brel like Brel.
Marc examines Brel's preoccupation with death, loss and loneliness and how growing up in occupied Belgium during the Second World War had a profound impact on his life and work. The programme also investigates how the French philosophical culture of the 50s influenced him.
As well as Seasons in the Sun, the songs featured in part two include Quand On N'a Que L'Amour (If We Only Have Love), Amsterdam, La Mort, Au Suivant, La Colombe and J'Arrive.
BEHIND THE BREL: THE STORY OF A MUSICAL GENIUS - 1. EPISODE 1 (320kbs-m4a/65mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 16th May 2017
Marc Almond celebrates the music and unconventional life of the revered singer-songwriter Jacques Brel.
Relatively unknown in the English-speaking world (mainly due to him singing in French), Jacques Brel is rightly considered one of the great songwriters of the 20th Century, whose lyrical content is poetically introspective and startlingly honest.
Tackling subjects such as love, death and social issues, Brel's music has been translated by artists such as David Bowie, Scott Walker, Shirley Bassey, Joan Baez, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Rod McKuen, Terry Jacks, Nirvana and Vera Lynn.
Brel songs, which became major hits in the English-speaking world, include Ne Me Quitte Pas (If You Go Away), Seasons in the Sun, Jacky and Amsterdam. In this three part series, Marc Almond investigates why some Brel songs translated well and others didn't.
In the 1950s French society was heavily influenced by the philosophy espoused in Jean-Paul Sarte's existentialism and humanism and Marc examines how this had a direct impact on Brel's songwriting and unconventional lifestyle.
Dubbed "the eternal adolescent" we will hear how Brel lived alone in Paris, despite having a wife and three children in his home town of Brussels, in order to preserve his "artistic inspiration". A man incapable of living a "pipe and slippers" life-style, we discover how his sense of freedom was so strong he attempted to circumnavigate the globe on a sailing boat after sensationally quitting singing whilst at the peak of his career.
SOULWAX - FREAK ZONE PLAYLIST 11.06.17 (320kbs-m4a/134mb/58mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 11th June 2017
Jerry Williams - This Song [Warner Bros.]
Ric Ocasek - This Side Of Paradise [Geffen]
Roland - Galactic Glides
Tumblack - Vaudou [Barclay]
Colourbox - Philip Glass [4AD]
Anji Cakebread - Dear Computer [Magnet]
Alan Price - Sell Sell [Warner Bros.]
Jacques Loussier - Secousse [CBS]
Soft Machine - Hullo Der [Tapestry]
Eric Fraj - Yabumbe [Revolum]
Katia - Ich [Metronome]
Uele Kalabubu - Matata [International Polydor Production]
Shiva - The Legend Of Tutankhamun [DART]
Jean‐Jacques Burnel - Euroman [United Artists]
Cathy La Creme - I Married A Cult Figure From Salford [Rock Steady]
Mahotella Queens - Wozani Mahipi [Earthworks International]
Lydia Tomkiw & Terry Burrows - Pressed In An Atlas [Hamster Records And Tapes]
Latin Playboys - Cuca's Blues [Atlantic]
Medicine Head - Rising Sun [Polydor]
Jac Berrocal - Rock'n Roll Station [d'Avantage]
June - Windom [June]
Neil - Cosmic Jam [EastWest]
Fadaul Et Les Privilèges - Kalam Al Nass [Disque Fan El Hayat]
Lolita Martinez - Persigueme [Hispavox]
Max Greger Jr. - Die Böhmstory (2. Teil) [Dr. Bohm]
STREET CORNER SOUL - 3. EPISODE 3 (320kbs-m4a/61mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 11th May 2017
Ronnie Spector take a look at the rise, fall and influence of doo wop.
By the mid-1950s, hundreds of vocal group records were being released each week and acts like The Penguins, The Five Satins, The Cadillacs and The Moonglows became familiar names in the charts.
As doo wop took root in cities like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and LA; the mainstream music industry moved in for a slice of the action.
Tracks featured in this episode include The Moonglows' Sincerely, The Cadillacs' Speedo, The Penguins' Earth Angel, The Five Satins' In The Still Of The Nite, and The Chords' Sh-Boom!
First broadcast in 2007.
STREET CORNER SOUL - 1. EPISODE 1 (320kbs-m4a/61mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 9th May 2017
Ronnie Spector explores the rise, fall and enduring influence of doo wop.
Like rap in the 1980s, doo wop was once the DIY music of young America. For people who couldn't afford instruments, all that was needed was a talent for singing in harmony.
With the help of the musicians, the producers and the hustlers who made it happen; this series charts the rise, fall, and rise again, of the music. It also considers whether doo wop, as the first black street music to go mainstream, was a precursor to hip hop and rap.
The first programme, Opening Notes, looks at how the success of gospel groups in the late 1940s inspired a new style of close harmony rhythm and blues. And before long, vocal groups like The Swallows, The Ravens and The Orioles were flying high in the charts.
Contributors include: Leonard Puzey of The Ravens, Heman Denby of The Swallows, Ira Tucker of The Dixie Hummingbirds, Deborah Chessler, composer of It's Too Soon To Know by The Orioles, writers Todd Baptista and Marv Goldberg.
The documentary was first broadcast on Radio 2 in 2007.
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 21st April 2017
In celebration of rock 'n' roll hero and 6 Music presenter Iggy Pop's 70th birthday, another chance to hear a programme first broadcast in 2005, in which Pretenders vocalist and Iggy Pop fan Chrissie Hynde describes the evolution of James Newell Osterberg from diligent schoolboy to rock icon.
The programme features contributions from Glen Matlock, who worked with Iggy on the 1980 album Soldier and was the bassist in the Sex Pistols, who covered the Stooges' No Fun, journalist Chris Charlesworth, who has vivid memories of time spent with Iggy, biographer Joe Ambrose, photographer Mick Rock, Boy George and writer and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer.
Iggy Pop - Lust For Life [Virgin]
The Stooges - We Will Fall [Elektra]
The Iguanas - Louie Louie [Norton]
Iggy Pop - Mass Production [Virgin]
The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog [Elektra]
The Stooges - Not Right [Elektra]
The Stooges - 1969 [Elektra]
The Stooges - No Fun [Elektra]
The Stooges - Real Cool Time [Elektra]
The Stooges - T V Eye [Elektra]
The Stooges - Dirt [Elektra]
The Stooges - Loose [Elektra]
Iggy & The Stooges - Gimme Danger [Essential]
Iggy & The Stooges - Raw Power [Columbia]
Iggy & The Stooges - Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell [Columbia]
Iggy & The Stooges - I Need Somebody [Essentials]
Iggy Pop - Funtime [Virgin]
Iggy Pop - Dum Dum Boys [Virgin]
Iggy Pop - The Passenger [Virgin]
Iggy Pop - Mr Dynamite [Arista]
Iggy Pop - Open Up And Bleed [Bomp!]
Iggy Pop - Perverts In The Sun [Virgin]
Iggy Pop - Home [Virgin]
Iggy Pop - Real Wild Child [Telstar]
Iggy Pop - Louie Louie [Jungle]
