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UNPOPPED: SEINFELD AND THE TYRANNY OF ENDINGS (320kbs-m4a/98mb/42mins)
BBC Radio podcast: 4th June 2018
Created in 1989, the American television sitcom Seinfeld was almost cancelled after the first episode, but it slowly grew in reputation to become, after nine seasons and 180 episodes, one of the most influential and successful TV series ever. As well as introducing the characters of Seinfeld, Elaine, George and Kramer to the television viewing public, the show invented a lexicon that entered the language including 'yada yada yada', 'double dipping' and 'regifting'. Famously a show about nothing, Seinfeld insisted on a 'no hugging no learning' policy that added a touch of darkness to the comedy.
The show's final episode in 1998 was a huge cultural event, attracting an audience of 76 million people and is still the fourth most-watched television finale of all time. But many were disappointed by the way the show ended - the story was too dark, too big and moved too far away from the persona of the show. The failure of the finale developed into an industry joke and affected many of the stars and creators of the show.
Why was Seinfeld so successful and influential? Why did its finale fail to capture the audience’s imagination? What effect did this have the show's writers and performers and what lessons were learned from the programmes that came after Seinfeld? Discussing this are Lauren Bravo, Darren Richman and Sarah Dempster.
Presenter: Hayley Campbell
Producer: Dale Shaw
UNPOPPED: THE ROOTS OF GRIME AND REPRESENTATION (320kbs-m4a/88mb/38mins)
BBC Radio podcast: 9th April 2018
Emerging from the estates of East London in the early 2000s, Grime threw together elements of garage, jungle, Jamaican dancehall and hip-hop to produce a distinct, home-grown British music genre. Using unorthodox music distribution methods such as pirate radio, raves, mixtapes and DVDs, Grime bypassed the traditional music industry completely, developing its own identity, sound and lifestyle which has been likened to the punk movement of the 1970s.
Fiercely independent and distinctly anti-establishment, Grime developed quickly, attracting critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase. Soon it had its first breakout star in the form of Dizzee Rascal, whose debut album, Boy in Da Corner, won the Mercury Music prize in 2003.
But then Grime appeared to adopt a holding pattern. No other artists of Dizzee Rascal’s stature emerged from the scene and the genre returned to the underground, growing and developing away from the mainstream, re-emerging with Skepta's chart-topping album, Konnichiwa and Stormzy’s international success.
Why did Grime emerge when it did, who were some of its early stars, what did the genre mean to those making and hearing the music during its development and what role do women play in the history and current success of Grime?
WIth Yomi Adegoke and Dr Joy White.
Presenter: Hayley Campbell
Producer: Dale Shaw
UNPOPPED: CHRIS MORRIS AND THE DARKNESS OF COMEDY (320kbs-m4a/104mb/45mins)
BBC Radio podcast: 19th March 2018
Dubbed by one newspaper as ‘the most hated man in Britain’, comedian Chris Morris has always walked a fine line between biting satire and controversy. From his earliest days in local radio, allegedly engaging in stunts that led to his dismissal, to mocking radio and television news structures in On The Hour and The Day Today and skewering moral panics in Brass Eye - Morris has both delighted and appalled critics while gathering a dedicated legion of fans.
Comedic experiments such as Nathan Barley and Blue Jam saw him tinker with the very essence of comedy while his first feature film, Four Lions, dealt with the unlikely subject of domestic terrorism. Some see him as a ‘comedy god’ while others view him as a menace. But what drives Chris Morris to make comedy, who is he making it for and what is he trying to change, if anything?
Host: Hayley Campbell. Producer: Dale Shaw.
UNPOPPED: TWIN PEAKS AND FORENSIC FANDOM (320kbs-m4a/80mb/35mins)
BBC Radio podcast: 5th March 2018
In 1990, celebrated, maverick director David Lynch, fresh from the success of his film Blue Velvet, launched the television series Twin Peaks. A mixture of quirky characters, surrealistic imagery and a murky murder mystery, the show was a massive success enjoying enormous ratings, lavished with critical acclaim and winning numerous awards. But the second season floundered, the audience evaporated, Lynch abandoned the show and the watercooler chatter dried up.
After making a controversial and critically mauled prequel film. Fire Walk With Me, Lynch turned his back on Twin Peaks. Then, last year, Lynch resurrected the show, with a third series as strange and challenging as the original. Why was the show such as massive success when it began, why did its demise happen so quickly, why was David Lynch compelled to return to the series, how did the fans react and what part does nostalgia play in popular culture?
Host: Hayley Campbell. Producer: Dale Shaw.
NICK CAVE IN HIS OWN WORDS (320kbs-m4a/129mb/56mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 3rd June 2018
Nick Cave along with his Bad Seeds has been at the edge of music for four decades, putting his spin on everything from punk rock to lovesick ballads. The Australian singer songwriter is also regarded as one of the most intense and exciting live acts on the planet. From his early days growing up in Melbourne to forming his first band The Birthday Party, his collaborations with Marianne Faithfull and Kylie Minogue to his writing and acting, Nick Cave in his own words offers a glimpse into the artist's private world and the inspirations behind his music.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand (Live In Amsterdam) [Mute]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Tupelo [Mute]
The Birthday Party - Big Jesus Trash Can (BBC Session 02/12/1981)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - From Her To Eternity [Mute]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat (Acoustic Version) [Mute]
Nick Cave & Shane MacGowan - What A Wonderful World
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Straight To You [Mute]
Nick Cave - Do You Love Me? [Mute]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Bring It On [Mute]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Stagger Lee [Mute]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Carry Me [Mute]
Grinderman - (I Don't Need You To) Set Me Free [Mute]
Grinderman - Heathen Child [Mute]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! [Mute]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Jubilee Street [Bad Seed Ltd]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Anthrocene [Bad Seed Ltd]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree [Bad Seed Ltd]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Loverman [Mute]
DAVID BOWIE’S 'HEROES' 40TH ANNIVERSARY - MUSIC EXTRA 07.10.17 (96kbs-m4a/35mb/50mins)
BBC World Service broadcast: 7th October 2017
Florence Welch, from the British band Florence + The Machine, marks the 40th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s seminal “Heroes” LP by exploring the personal and musical factors that influenced the album’s writing and recording in Berlin in 1977.
Florence will feature archive of the late David Bowie explaining why he chose to live and work in Berlin and the impact the city’s history had on the masterpiece he created. She’ll also meet the album’s producer Tony Visconti to get an insight to the unique recording techniques he employed to interpret Bowie’s creative vision and how the characteristics of the famous Hansa Studios, which are situated in a huge former chamber music concert hall, contributed to the album’s influential sounds. Iggy Pop, who was living with Bowie in Berlin during the recording of the album, recalls how a battle with drug addition, bankruptcy and a legal dispute with his ex wife for access to his son all provided inspiration for the album’s lyrics and Brian Eno, who collaborated with David throughout the LP’s recording, explains the unique musical structures he and David employed to compose the innovative songs.
Berlin’s radical cultural diversity had always fascinated Bowie and Florence will explain how the opportunity to live and work in the city during the turbulent political period prior to the fall of `the Wall’ provided the perfect austere environment for David and his collaborators to experiment with music inspired by several German techno bands of the 70’s, including Neu!, Kraftwerk and Can.
(Photo: British pop singer David Bowie in concert at Earl's Court, London during his 1978 world tour. Credit: Evening Standard/Getty Images)
BLONDIE - LIVE APOLLO THEATRE GLASGOW 1979 (320kbs-m4a/127mb/55mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 2nd June 2018
Blondie - Denis
Blondie - The Hardest Part
Blondie - Die Young Stay Pretty
Blondie - Living In The Real World
Blondie - Eat To The Beat
Blondie - Dreaming
Blondie - Slow Motion
Blondie - Atomic
Blondie - Picture This
Blondie - Pretty Baby
Blondie - Heart Of Glass
Blondie - Hanging On The Telephone
Blondie - Sunday Girl
Blondie - One Way Or Another
25 YEARS OF MELTDOWN (320kbs-m4a/132mb/57mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 17th June 2018
Jarvis Cocker looks back on 25 years of the Meltdown Festival featuring David Byrne, Guy Garvey, John Peel and others. Among the highlights is the fact that Jeff Buckley's last UK performance was at Meltdown, having been booked by that year's curator, Elvis Costello. Other notable curators over the years have been David Bowie, MIA, and Jarvis Cocker himself.
David Bowie - Weeping Wall
Jarvis Cocker - Black Magic
George Benjamin, Three Inventions - Ensemble Intercontemporain
Nikolai & Valery Mongoush - Tuvan throat singing
Bang On A Can All Stars - Unknown
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Radio Radio [Universal Music Tv]
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah [Warner Strategic Marketing]
Laurie Anderson - O Superman
Laurie Anderson - Tightrope
Laurie Anderson - O Superman
The Jesus And Mary Chain - Just Like Honey [Emperor Norton]
Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding [Rough Trade]
The Cure - Love Cats [Fiction]
David Bowie - Be My Wife [EMI]
X‐Press 2 - Lazy (Feat. David Byrne) [NOW]
Pete Doherty - Chim Chim Cheree
Yoko Ono - Beautiful Boys
John Lennon - Woman
John Lennon - Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
New York Dolls - Courageous Cat Theme
Nina Simone - I Put A Spell On You [Global Television]
Wink - Higher State Of Consciousness [Manifesto]
Spiritualized - Oh Happy Day
ROBERT SMITH SITS IN FOR IGGY POP - 6 MUSIC 15.06.18 (320kbs-m4a/259mb/1hr53mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 15th June 2018
Robert Smith from The Cure sits in for Iggy Pop with a special show reflecting his curation of this year's Meltdown Festival at London's Southbank Centre.
Robert gives you an insight into the curation process and the overriding theme of his choice of acts for this year. Taking you from the alternative rock of The Psychedelic Furs, through the Japanese instrumental post-rock of Mono, the electronica of Eat Static and even over to the singer-songwriter styling of Suzanne Vega.
Smith is the lead singer and principal songwriter of The Cure, and its only constant member since the group formed in 1978.
Now in its 25th year, Meltdown Festival takes place at London's Southbank Centre, the arts complex including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room. Previous curators of Meltdown have included David Bowie, Yoko Ono, Scott Walker, Nick Cave, Laurie Anderson and Jarvis Cocker.
The Psychedelic Furs - India
Placebo - The Bitter End [Hut Music]
65daysofstatic - Radio Protector
Vessels - Radiart
Alcest - Kodama
Eat Static - In All Worlds (Feat. Robert Smith)
Suzanne Vega - Small Blue Thing
God Is An Astronaut - Shores Of Orion
Death Cab For Cutie - The New Year [Fierce Panda]
Maybeshewill - Sanctuary
Kiasmos - Drawn
MONO - Halo
The Libertines - Heart Of The Matter [Virgin EMI]
The Notwist - Boneless
Manic Street Preachers - A Design For Life [Global Television]
Nine Inch Nails - Every Day Is Exactly The Same
Low - Point Of Disgust
Kristin Hersh - Crooked
My Bloody Valentine - Blown A Wish
Frightened Rabbit - I Feel Better
Mogwai - Batcat
The Cure - The Same Deep Water As You
ADRIAN SHERWOOD'S DUB THEORY - MUSIC EXTRA 30.06.18 (96kbs-m4a/35mb/50mins)
BBC World Service broadcast: 30th June 2018
Legendary British producer and founder of the On-U Sound record label Adrian Sherwood takes us on a personal journey through the experimental, mysterious world of his distinctive production style.
Producing and remixing tracks over the last 30 years by artists as diverse as Public Image Limited, The Slits, The Fall, African Head Charge, Tackhead, Depeche Mode, Primal Scream, Sinead O'Connor and Asian Dub Foundation, Adrian Sherwood's career has epitomised the inter-racial journey of so much UK music, helping to inspire a uniquely British fusion of reggae, post-punk, industrial and electronica.
London-born Sherwood's love affair with Jamaican music began in the late 60s when, as a child of 11, he would hang out at blues parties, dancing to the ska sounds of Prince Buster. It was the start of a passion that would define his career and change the UK's musical landscape forever. Sherwood's reputation as the pioneer of UK dub music has only grown with time, and in recent years, he's become a mentor to many of the leading UK dubstep producers, working with people like Mala, Pinch and Kode 9.
Hearing from his closest collaborators, we discover why Sherwood is such an important figure in UK music, and the continuing influence of his unique approach to production and mixing. Adrian himself takes us deep inside his studio in Ramsgate, deconstructing his brand new collaboration with Lee “Scratch” Perry and explaining first hand his ethos behind the creative streak that has gained him a cult and loyal following.
(Photo: Adrian Sherwood's DJ set at the Trinity Centre, BBC 6 Music Festival, Bristol, 2016)
PEEL, PUNK, BELFAST AND BEYOND (320kbs-m4a/129mb/56mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 28th May 2018
How the punk scene of Northern Ireland found an ally in John Peel, with the music of the period inspiring future generations of noise makers who themselves went on to gain support from the iconic broadcaster. Hosted by BBC producer and Undertones bass player Mickey Bradley with Terri Hooley, Brian Young, Tanya Mellotte and Andy Cairns.
The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
Rudi - Big Time
Bob Marley - One Cup Of Coffee
Ramones - I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You
The Damned - New Rose (Live Peel Session 1976)
Tunic - Wind Blows Strong
Therapy? - Prison Breaker
Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster
The Clash - White Riot
Rudi - Big Time
Therapy? - Meat Abstract
Tunic - Tunic In The Area
The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
BELFAST SOUNDSCAPE (320kbs-m4a/130mb/57mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 28th May 2018
Presented by Stephen McCauley, who delivers a cinematic mix of contemporary classical, electronica and field recordings, with soundscapes recorded within the city itself. The programme will also feature a piece of music about the Titanic specially-commissioned by the BBC from Public Service Broadcasting and performed live at The Biggest Weekend, Belfast.
Cashier No.9 - Goldstar
Hand Models - Skate Shoes
Arvo Party - Liberté
Ruby Murray - Heartbeat
Rachel Boyd - Playing The Skyline
David Holmes - The Ballad Of Sarah And Jack
Phil Kieran - Polyrhythmic
Public Service Broadcasting - The Unsinkable Ship
Public Service Broadcasting - White Star Liner
Public Service Broadcasting - C Q D
Public Service Broadcasting - The Deep
And So I Watch You From Afar - The Voiceless
ELEVATION: THE U2 STORY - 2. PART 2 (320kbs-m4a/136mb/59mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 29th May 2018
From school days in Dublin to globe stadium-conquering monsters, U2 have travelled a long way in a career spanning four decades.
In part two Simon Mayo picks up the story in the 90s with the band's transformation from cowboy chic to flying Trabants, wraparound shades and funky beats. With the release of Achtung Baby, the production that was Zooropa and the TV screens to 1997's Pop taking us up to 2000 with All That You Can't Leave Behind.
B.B. King & U2 - When Love Comes To Town
U2 - Alex Descends Into Hell For A Bottle Of Milk/Korova 1
U2 - One
U2 - The Fly
U2 - Even Better Than The Real Thing
U2 - Numb
U2 - The Wanderer (Starring Johnny Cash)
Frank Sinatra With Bono - I've Got You Under My Skin
Passengers Featuring Luciano Pavarotti - Miss Sarajevo
Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen - Theme From Mission: Impossible
U2 - Discothèque
U2 - Staring At The Sun
M - Pop Muzik (Steve Osbourne U2 Remix)
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (Live In Sarajevo)
U2 - Sweetest Thing
U2 - Beautiful Day
U2 - Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
U2 - Walk On
ELEVATION: THE U2 STORY - 1. PART 1 (320kbs-m4a/136mb/59mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 28th May 2018
From school days in Dublin to globe-conquering stadium monsters, U2 have travelled a long way in a career spanning four decades.
This is the first part of a two part documentary taking them from their humble rocking roots in the 1970s through to making the albums, Boy, October, The Joshua Tree in 1987 and the movie and album Rattle and Hum. There are interviews with the band and many of the producers who've worked with them. Presented by long-term U2 fan Simon Mayo.
U2 - Elevation [Island]
U2 - The Electric Co.
U2 - Out Of Control [Island]
U2 - 11 O'Clock Tick Tock [CBS]
U2 - I Will Follow [Island]
U2 - Gloria [Island]
U2 - Fire [Island]
U2 - New Years Day [Island]
U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday [Island]
U2 - Pride (In The Name Of Love) [Island]
U2 - Bad [Island]
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For [Island]
U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name [Island]
U2 - Desire [Island]
U2 - Zoo Station [Island]
DOUGLAS ADAMS - THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: QUANDARY PHASE (320kbs-m4a/255mb/1hr50mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 11th June to 2nd July 2018
Fourth series of the cult science fiction comedy based on Douglas Adams's book So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: QUANDARY PHASE - EPISODE 1 (320kbs-m4a/64mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 11th June 2018
Arthur Dent has returned home to Earth. Not time travelled but hitchhiked back in his present to the planet he was born on, the planet described in the Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy as "Mostly Harmless" and the planet which was destroyed by the Vogon Constructor Fleet seconds after he escaped with the help of his friend, the Betelgeusian Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Researcher Ford Prefect.
In order to get to Earth, and then more specifically his home in England, Arthur has hitched rides from an Intergalactic Teaser, a lorry driver called Rob McKenna - who is, unbeknownst to himself, a Rain God - and, finally, a Saab driver called Russell whose sister Arthur has inexplicably fallen in love with. Whether or not she returns the sentiment is hard to establish because she is unconscious throughout their first meeting and, as Arthur only caught the name 'Fenny' before being dropped off at his cottage, he may have some trouble re-establishing contact.
Ford meanwhile has been researching drinks prices in a far from harmless bar on a far from harmless planet. Despite encounters with a bird which squawks the name of local contract killers and a disembodied hand with homicidal tendencies, he survives to learn from an update to his copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide that the Earth is suddenly a going concern once again. This gives him a Purpose In Life.
Meanwhile it is giving a headache to Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz , whose Constructor Fleet is recalled to Megabrantis, the administrative hub of the Galaxy, where he must explain how he has apparently broken the most fundamental of Vogon directives and failed to carry out a simple order.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: QUANDARY PHASE - EPISODE 2 (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 18th June 2018
Having rediscovered a mysteriously intact Earth, Arthur Dent finds his cottage and his bedroom in a similar (mysteriously intact) condition. He has also found a mysterious Grey Glass Bowl bearing the inscription 'So Long And Thanks For All The Fish'. Having awoken, washed and breakfasted he has managed to explain his absence from work he has gone in search of Fenny, the unconscious girl he encountered in a Saab on the A303 and, amazingly, has found her.
During the ensuing conversation in a pub - despite the attentions of an over-eager raffle ticket vendeuse - it becomes clear that what the fates laughingly call 'chemistry' is occurring here and these two people are falling in love. It also emerges that the girl's name is Fenchurch and that she has a history of mental instability. This matters to Arthur no one jot. What matters to him infinitely more is that he has won the pub raffle, and the ticket he traded in for his prize bore Fenchurch's phone number.
Meanwhile Ford Prefect, having escaped a particularly nasty fate at the hand of a ... er, hand ... in The Old Pink Dog Bar in Han Dold City, has managed to hitch a ride aboard a Sales Scoutship of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, an organisation he particularly loathes and detests. The re-appearance of the Earth having inspired to a new and startling purpose, Ford has managed to patch the Scoutships comms system into the British Telecom Speaking Clock, a feat which has left him feeling fulfilled but in need of a rest. Unfortunately his choice of cruise vessel proves to be a Xaxisian Robot Ship engaged in a war which could severely shorten his life.
While Ford reprograms the Xaxisian Ship to seek out Possibly The Most Exciting place In The Known Universe (according to the Hitchhikers Guide), Arthur has gone in search of the prehistoric Islington cave we first met him in at the start of the Tertiary Phase, and finds it the site of a mews cottage occupied by ... Fenchurch.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: QUANDARY PHASE - EPISODE 3 (320kbs-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 25th June 2018
Arthur's new love Fenchurch - that is her name, for she was conceived in a ticket queue at that eponymous railway station - is troubled by an experience she had once in a cafe in Rickmansworth, which made her think the Earth was being ripped apart. This event is dismissed by the majority of people on the mysteriously re-appeared Earth as a mass hallucination, but to Arthur Dent it sounds suspiciously like the day the Vogon Constructor Fleet blew up his home planet and exiled him to bootless wandering about the Galaxy.
Meanwhile Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz has been called to account for the fact that the Earth he destroyed is still serenely sitting in that quadrant of the galaxy called ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha. Being a planet in a Plural Zone, the Earth actually exists on several levels of Probability, and thus when one Earth is destroyed, chances are pretty good that another will just pop into existence in its place. The Court of Enquiry on Megabrantis is a dangerous place to develop a tickly cough but it is agreed that a new method of destroying ALL the Potential Earths must be found if the paperwork is to be kept in order. This, however, may have to be undertaken in a less overt, more sneaky manner than before.
After a short romantic interlude, which includes the revelation that Fenchurch's feet do not touch the ground and that she shares Arthur's handy knack of flying, the disappearance of all the dolphins shortly before her nervous breakdown suggests to Fenchurch that a Californian scientist and dolphin expert named Wonko The Sane may be able to advise them on what may have occurred. Using contacts like the friendly if decidedly odd journalist Murray Bost Henson to find Wonko's whereabouts, they travel to the USA and meet him in a curious inside-out house on the shores of the Pacific Ocean called The Outside of The Asylum. It is here that Wonko reveals that the grey glass bowls, both inscribed 'So Long And thanks For All The Fish', are in fact vessels bearing the farewell messages of the dolphins.
This mystery solved, Fenchurch has decided she would like to leave the planet.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: QUANDARY PHASE - EPISODE 4 (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 2nd July 2018
Arthur and Fenchurch return home to England, having discovered from Wonko the Sane that their gifts of mysterious grey glass bowls emit a message from the dolphins when pinged, viz., 'This Bowl Is Brought To you By the Campaign To Save the Humans. We Bid You Farewell'. Hitching a fortuitous ride aboard Rob McKenna's All Weather Haulage lorry from Heathrow, they arrive at Arthur's cottage in Somerset where Ford Prefect sleeps soundly on a sofa, having left a trail of havoc leading back to a huge Flying saucer in which he arrived and which has flattened most of Knightsbridge, London.
The saucer's pilot is a one-hundred foot high Xaxisian Robot who has somehow been led to believe that Bournemouth is one of the most exciting places to visit in the known universe. Having entirely failed either to be taken to a lizard (its preferred negotiating counterpart) or to find anything of interest in Bournemouth, it has decided to leave, and Arthur, Ford and Fenchurch hitch a ride off Earth with the help of the 'Share And Enjoy' novelty ringtone-equipped Sirius Cybernetics phones which Ford liberated on his travels.
As the ship coasts into deep space Arthur and Ford debate why Earth has reappeared and Arthur suggests the answer must be that Earth must exist in several parallel universes. Each time one Earth is destroyed, another takes its place. This may explain the strange existence of not one but two Trillians in his current existence - one, the girl he met at a party in Islington, the other a blonder, earthbound and more American version who goes by Trillian's original name, Tricia MacMillan.
Arthur and Fenchurch voyage to Preliumtarn, where Prak The Truthful said that God's Last Message To His Creation could be found. This, Fenchurch is sure, will help her come to terms with the experience she had in a cafe in Rickmansworth when it seemed as if the Earth exploded. On the way they encounter Marvin The Paranoid Android, now a rusted shell of his former self making a final pilgrimage. Together they help Marvin to where the message can be seen, and it proves to read ""We Apologise For The Inconvenience"". This satisfies Marvin so much that he promptly and poignantly expires on the spot.
Slightly sadder but a little wiser, leaving Preliumtarn to go on a tour of the Galaxy, Arthur and Fenchurch board a slumpjet which makes a routine hyperspace jump. Routine in all aspects except the very important one which involves Fenchurch suddenly not existing at all in Arthur's universe just as the jump occurs.
Arthur has lost the love of his life. His unhappiness is complete.
ARCHIVE ON 4: THE 1981 ASHES (320kbs-m4a/130mb/57mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 17th June 2018
In 1981 Mike Brearley - 39 years old, retired and greying - took over the England team in the middle of a six-match series, already one-nil down against the Australians. His predecessor as captain was still in the side, but the side had not won a game for a year and that captain's poor performances were partly to blame. On his first two days back Australia ran up another huge total and Brearley's own side collapsed. Amidst baying newspaper headlines England were 500 - 1 against winning the game.
Yet Brearley's team achieved a victory to rival any in sport, which galvanised the nation and saw many who had never been interested in cricket before glued to the events on the pitch as Ian Botham led the team to the front pages.
Brearley himself goes back to the archives to tell the inside story of what remains one of the most remarkable summers of sport there has ever been. As the Royal wedding, the rise of the SDP and the inner city riots all came and went, the cricket united the nation. We hear from the players of both sides including Botham, Border, Willis and Lillee, as well as the memories of Sam Mendes, Donald Trelford, Scyld Berry and Gideon Haigh.
ARCHIVE ON 4: IS THAT MACHINE ON? (320kbs-m4a/130mb/57mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 26th May 2018
Stuart Maconie celebrates the golden age of the music press interview.
In the heyday of the printed music media between the mid-sixties and the early noughties, the music interview was many things - combative, intimate, confessional, unhinged, flirtatious, sometimes violent - but it was rarely dull. Still, it seems that long-gilded age of rock journalism is now over.
The days of extraordinary access, when a reporter might spend a week with a band on its tour bus or private plane, hanging out in their dressing rooms and hotel suites, are at an end. The music papers are gone. Earlier this year NME - the last inky survivor - went online only.
Stuart Maconie looks back at the lost world - those revealing encounters between journalist and musician. The programme features classic recorded archive interviews with Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Bob Marley and Michael Jackson - as well as contributions from journalists Caitlin Moran, Barney Hoskyns, Allan Jones, Dawn Slough and others.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Jonathan Mayo
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4.
THE DISAPPEARING ART OF THE MIX TAPE (320kbs-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 16th May 2018
The home-made compilation cassette was a distillation of its maker's character and emotion
Let's face it: kids with MP3s don't know they're born; they'll never grasp the art of crafting a mix tape. It's something personal, the musical expression of a generation...
The cassette age was a temporary window in which the art form of the bedroom briefly shone. Nothing says I love you like spending five hours in front of a tape deck and record player, wearing out the pause button and your stylus. Summing up your emotions through the strictly limited vocabulary of a small pile of records and what you could steal off Radio 1's chart show. But the tape could communicate so much more than romantic intentions. The tape for a new friend explains what kind of person you want to be, the mix for an old and distant friend tells them the person you have become in their absence.
But the download has killed off the cassette - now everyone has access to an almost infinite record collection and playlists can be of unlimited length. Writer, broadcaster and former NME journalist, David Quantick celebrates that art form. We hear from compilation makers including novelist Iain Banks and poet Simon Armitage and hear some of their favourite mix tape tracks. A professor of medieval history tells us how he had sustained a 30 year friendship with an HMV store manager by exchanging tapes every month. And Elbow's Guy Garvey explains how his sister Becky inspired his musical career with the many cassettes she compiled for him...
THE FIRST TIME WITH... SERIES 17 - 4. SHIRLEY MANSON (320kbs-m4a/130mb/57mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 4th March 2018
Shirley Manson talks Matt through the key musical firsts of her life, including her earliest musical memories, influences, live experiences and the formation of her band Garbage.
Garbage - Queer [Mushroom]
Garbage - When I Grow Up [Mushroom]
Shirley Bassey - On A Clear Day You Can See Forever [EMI]
Jacky - White Horses [Mercury]
Helen Barth & Al Smith - Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam
Siouxsie And The Banshees - Happy House [Telstar]
The Pogues - Fiesta [Warner]
Garbage - Vow [Mushroom]
Garbage - Only Happy When It Rains [Global Television]
Patti Smith Group - Revenge [Sony Music]
Julie Andrews (Maria) & Christopher Plummer (The Captain) - Something Good [RCA Victor]
PJ Harvey - Dry
Garbage - No Horses
THE FIRST TIME WITH... SERIES 17 - 3. PAUL WELLER (320kbs-m4a/129mb/56mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 25th February 2018
Paul Weller talks Matt through the seminal musical firsts of his life. He discusses his very earliest influences, the early days of The Jam, the formation of The Style Council and the evolution of his solo career.
Paul Weller - Sunflower [Island]
Paul Weller - Kosmos
Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires - King Creole [RCA]
The Kinks - Wonder Boy [Castle Communications]
The Beatles - Getting Better [Parlophone]
Nina Simone - Mood Indigo [Polydor]
The Jam - In The City [Polydor]
Stevie Wonder - If You Really Love Me [Motown]
Paul Weller - Saturns Pattern [Parlophone]
The Jam - That's Entertainment [Polydor]
The Impressions - Choice Of Colours [Charly]
The Style Council - Speak Like A Child [EMI]
Paul Weller Movement - Into Tomorrow [Island]
Villagers - Courage [Domino]
THE FIRST TIME WITH... SERIES 17 - 2. MAVIS STAPLES (320kbs-m4a/129mb/56mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 18th February 2018
Mavis talks to Matt about the first key musical moments in her life and career to date.
She talks about her earliest experiences singing in church, the Staple Singers distinctive vocal and musical style, but also the racism and violence they faced touring in the late 50s and early 60s, especially in the American South. She also discusses her memories of performing for Martin Luther King; her father Pops was friends with him.
She talks about recording with The Band. The Staple Singers's version of The Weight that closes The Band live film The Last Waltz is regarded as one of the greatest pieces of music ever captured on celluloid. She discusses her more recent output, which has seen her collaborate with Benjamin Brooker and Wilko's Jeff Tweedy, who produced her most recent record If All I Was Was Black.
The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There [Stax]
The Staple Singers - We'll Get Over
Jimmie Davis - You Are My Sunshine
Doris Day - A Bushel And A Peck
Carter Family - Can The Circle Be Unbroken
The Staple Singers - Will the Circle Be Unbroken [Cornbread]
The Staple Singers - Uncloudy Day [Joy Special]
The Staple Singers - Freedom Highway [Columbia]
Mavis Staples - Take Us Back [Anti]
Benjamin Booker - Witness (Feat. Mavis Staples) [Rough Trade]
The Staple Singers - If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) [Global Television]
The Staple Singers - Why? (Am I Treated So Bad) [Epic]
The Band - The Weight [Capitol]
Mavis Staples - Little Bit [Anti]
Mavis Staples - Who Told You That [Anti]
DOUGLAS ADAMS - THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: THE TERTIARY PHASE (320kbs-m4a/383mb/2hrs45mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 30th April to 4th June 2018
Third series of the cult science fiction comedy, based on Douglas Adams's book, Life, the Universe and Everything.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: THE TERTIARY PHASE - EPISODE 1 (320kbs-m4a/64mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 30th April 2018
Arthur Dent awakes to find that he has spent the last four years on prehistoric Earth, alone in all that time save for five minutes with an infuriating alien called Wowbagger who arrived, insulted him, and left. Reunited with Ford Prefect, Arthur discovers that the Hitchhikers Guide he threw in the river still works - and is being updated. Rescue appears in the form of a sofa caught in the Space-Time Continuum and Arthur and Ford disappear in a fashion which would cause stern looks from the Campaign For Real Time.
Aboard the Heart of Gold Zaphod Beeblebrox is nursing a large Pan Galactic Gargleblaster and two headaches. He believes that he survived the Total Perspective Vortex while pursuing a Hitchhikers Guide employee called Zarniwoop and that Arthur marooned him by stealing the Heart of Gold, which of course Zaphod himself stole (but then Zaphod thinks he alone has the right to indulge in excitement, adventure and really wild things).
His girlfriend Trillian (who, as Tricia McMillan, is the only human apart from Arthur to survive the Destruction of Earth by the Vogon Constructor Fleet) has no memory at all of these events and is therefore convinced that Zaphod has had a psychotic episode brought on by too many drinks. Tired of his selfishness she snaps and leaves him, having herself beamed by Eddie the shipboard computer in any direction but here.
Meanwhile in the swamps of Squornshellous Zeta, Marvin the Paranoid Android pivots helplessly in circles on an artificial leg, his only company a talkative mattress called Zem ...
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: THE TERTIARY PHASE - EPISODE 2 (320kbs-m4a/64mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 7th May 2018
Arthur and Ford have travelled in time and arrive at Lords Cricket Ground, where England are defeating Australia to win The Ashes. It turns out our heroes have arrived 24 hours before the destruction of the planet, but this fact almost pales into insignificance with the appearance of Slartibartfast, the elderly planet designer Arthur first encountered on Magrathea (see Primary Phase).
Slarti is here to avert the disastrous abduction of The Ashes (which have some intergalactic significance we can as yet only guess at) by the villainous and lethal Krikkit Robots. This he utterly fails to do, as they arrive, blow up Lords, and leave with their booty. Slarti, Arthur and Ford give chase in the unlikely Starship Bistromath which is powered by the equally unlikely (though not improbable) Somebody Else's Problem Field.
On the swamp planet Squornshellous Zeta, Marvin the Paranoid Android is still helplessly trudging in circles, anchored to one spot by an artificial leg he was fitted with after surviving a near miss with the heart of a blazing star (again, see Primary Phase, and try and keep up for goodness' sake). It is something of a relief for him to have the leg removed by the same eleven Krikkit Robots who have stolen The Ashes. It is even more of a relief when they decide to remove him as well, leaving his talkative but very boring companion, Zem the Mattress, to ponder the infinite and globber gently.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: THE TERTIARY PHASE - EPISODE 3 (320kbs-m4a/64mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 14th May 2018
Slartibartfast provides a rather startling Informational Illusion to give Arthur and Ford the history of the Krikkit Wars, an intergalactic conflict of billions of years ago, where a seemingly innocuous and pleasant race of hominids journeyed beyond the black and opaque dust cloud surrounding their solitary planet with its solitary star and were appalled to discover they were not alone in the universe but surrounded by many other planets teeming with life. The Krikkitmen built lethal white robots wielding war clubs which were used to propel small red grenades over vast distances, to destroy everything in their path - in fact, to kill everything everywhere but their masters.
Eventually defeated, the People of Krikkit (along with robots and family pets) are sentenced to have their solar system with its Dust Cloud sealed in a Slo-Time envelope, locked by The Wikkit Gate, upon an asteroid which orbits it. When all of Creation has become extinct the gate will automatically open, allowing them to finish their existence in a dying universe, alone at last as they have so craved.
Unfortunately eleven Krikkit Robots were unaccounted for at the time the punishment was carried out, and these unpleasant machines are now re-uniting the disparate elements of The Key to that Wikkit Gate. Having collected the Wooden Pillar (The Ashes, now reconstituted into a Cricket stump), The Steel Pillar (The Artificial Leg Marvin was fitted with by a kindly scrap collector), they now board the Heart of Gold to steal the Gold Bail (the driving force behind its legendary Improbability Drive). Bad as this might be, worse is to come when the robots are caught in the act by Zaphod Beeblebrox, who discovers they are about to go to a Party, but not intending to take him with them. In fact they add injury to insult and shoot him instead.
Attempting to reach the same party Arthur, Ford and Slartibartfast use the - surprisingly clean - toilet transportation cubicles of the Starship Bistromath. But something goes wrong and Arthur finds himself diverted to a labyrinth wherein dwells a creature who appears to nurse a very deep and ancient grudge against him...
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: THE TERTIARY PHASE - EPISODE 4 (320kbs-m4a/64mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 21st May 2018
Arthur Dent has been diverted from arriving at the Longest Party Ever Held to find himself in a sinister labyrinth being threatened by a nasty voice through a frankly rather dodgy PA system. This leads him to a subterranean Cathedral of Hate in which a fifty-foot high statue of himself is depicted causing harm to various creatures in hapless ways, such as swatting flies or stepping on ants. It turns out that the organisms that Arthur has inadvertently been killing (and/or eating) throughout his life have all been the same person, reincarnated over and over again, only to be killed - over and over again - by Arthur Dent. Its last, most desperate incarnation, one it had to fight for, and one which gives it a last chance for revenge against his tormentor, is as a four-foot fruitbat with an orthodontic condition. Its name is Agrajag, and even the discovery that it has mis-timed this vendetta (and that Arthur will not die till he reaches a place called Stavromula Beta) will not stop it attempting to kill Arthur Dent. Fortunately for Arthur, Agrajag manages to bring about his own death (yet again), and as the Cathedral collapses about them, Arthur runs into the open air, trips over a boulder - and finds himself flying.
The knack of flying is to throw yourself at the ground and miss, and Arthur is so preoccupied with his problems that he succeeds in carrying off this difficult yet exhilarating feat. He flies just long enough to collide with Ford and Slartibartfast who are clinging to the sides of the Longest Party Ever Held, itself capable of flight thanks to some rather drunken physicists who happened to be invited several generations ago.
Gaining entrance to the Party (thanks to a bottle of retsina which is inside an item of luggage which mysteriously materialised during his practise swoops), Arthur is shocked and not a little jealous to find Trillian in the enormous arms of Thor the Thunder God. An encounter follows with various strange guests, including a woman with a head shaped like the Sydney Opera House and a man who has just won an award which looks suspiciously like a silver cricket bail. This is in fact precisely what it is, as the sudden attack by eleven homicidal Krikkit robots to steal it confirms. As they leave, the Party, now mortally wounded, begins to spiral downward to the planet it has so long ravaged, and Arthur demands that Thor surrender Trillian so they can escape before the inevitable crash. Trillian has been quite enjoying the attentions of a minor Norse deity, but realises Arthur means business when he challenges Thor to step outside to settle the matter. This duly occurs, allowing our friends to depart in pursuit of the Krikkit Robots.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: THE TERTIARY PHASE - EPISODE 5 (320kbs-m4a/64mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 28th May 2018
As Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Trillian and Slartibarfast helplessly watch, the Krikkit Robots open the Wikkit Gate and the planet Krikkit is released from its chronostasis in a mind-hurting instant. Even the sudden appearance of Zaphod Beeblebrox fails to halt the robots, who depart the asteroid to return home to help their masters destroy the universe.
In a frantic but hopeless attempt to alter matters, Arthur, Ford, Trillian and Slartibartfast travel to the Planet Krikkit to attempt to reason with its inhabitants.
Meanwhile Zaphod, who at first was inclined to save his own skin first and be philanthropic later, arrives aboard one of the huge warships orbiting high in the atmosphere of the planet. Here he discovers that the wrecked spaceship which long ago crashed on the planet and inspired its citizens to their psychotic hatred of all other worlds, is, in fact, a fake. And, as Arthur, Trillian, Ford and Slarti are surrounded on the planet below, Zaphod finds he is not the only stranger aboard the battle cruiser. A certain terminally depressed android can be heard singing a dolorous ditty somewhere in the computer room.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: THE TERTIARY PHASE - EPISODE 6 (320kbs-m4a/64mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 4th June 2018
Surrounded by the friendly but murderous citizens of Krikkit, Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect and Slartibartfast are astounded when Trillian reveals she knows why these people have conceived such a hatred of all other worlds in the universe. They have been manipulated by the Dust Cloud that surrounds their solitary planet with its solitary sun. The Dust Cloud is actually the particularised remains of an ancient super computer called Hactar, built by a long-extinct race, the Silastic Armorfiends of Striterax. Hactar invented a Supernova Bomb that could destroy the entire universe in a moment, but thought better of letting the reckless Silastic Armorfiends have it, and thus introduced a flaw. As a reward for this treachery the Armorfiends pulverised Hactar into dust. Now, nursing billions of years of bitterness against all life forms, Hactar has coddled the planet which evolved into Krikkit and infected the minds of its inhabitants with a form of manic xenophobia which has led them to rebuild his Supernova Bomb.
Trillian attempts to talk them out of using it, fails, but is then relieved to discover that it is a dud, she realises the truth of the situation and, with Arthur Dent, confronts Hactar. He freely admits his plan, and, as Eddie pumps out a vibration field from the Heart of Gold, seems content to accept dispersal and thus the end of his plans. He has fulfilled his function.
Meanwhile Zaphod reveals he picked up a hitchhiker on his voyage to Krikkit - a man called Prak who was accidentally overdosed with Truth Serum just as he was taking a legal oath, and thus is now condemned to tell the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But until it kills him. However just before it kills him, Prak reveals to Arthur that although he cannot supply the Final Question to the Ultimate Answer (which is 42, for those of you arriving stupendously late to this narrative) (because they would cancel each other out, for those of you who did know the ""42"" part, but not its corollary and can deal with multiple subordinate clauses in parentheses without getting a migraine), (and if you haven't read the books isn't it about time you did?), he can reveal the location of God's Final Message To His Creation.
This he does - just about - and then drops dead. After a brief discussion, Arthur decides he'd rather not bother with God's Message for now, but would rather travel back in time to Earth at the moment the Krikkit Robots finished attacking Lords Cricket Ground and return the Ashes to their rightful place in the cosmos. This he does, only to discover that the cricket ball he has collected on his travels and is playfully bowling to a lone England batsman is in fact Hactar's Supernova Bomb and Not A Dud and the batsman, is, in fact, a Krikkit Robot with a War Club who will detonate it, and that Hactar's plan is now in fact coming to fruition and he has indeed fulfilled his function.
Unfortunately Hactar's careful scheming has not factored in Arthur's appalling record as a bowler. The Supernova Bomb goes wide, Ford catches it harmlessly, and Arthur relieves the robot of its bat in order to decapitate it neatly. As the sun sets on Lords, our heroes go in search of a quick cup of tea before travelling forward in time to get safely away from Earth, which is still unavoidably doomed by its inevitable and imminent encounter with the Vogon Constructor fleet.
SOULWAX - WITH LAUREN LAVERNE 14.05.18 (320kbs-m4a/116mb/50mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 14th May 2018
Lauren is joined by Soulwax, AKA David and Stephen Dewaele, who are bringing the chat and the tunes for the final hour.
Since the creation of Soulwax in 1995, the Dewaele brothers have consistently pushed the boundaries into new and innovative territory. In addition to Soulwax, the brothers continue to tour the globe as 2manydjs, have their own DEEWEE record label and studio, plus Radio Soulwax - a visual radio station and app, and the Despacio project with James Murphy.
Ever prolific, their 2017 album, FROM DEEWEE, was recorded with their band in one take. But they're already back with another album of original material in June. And it resulted from an invitation to do Radio 1's Essential Mix last May.
They explain: "We chose to do what every sane human being would do, we decided to lock ourselves into our studio for two weeks and make an hour of new music based around the word 'Essential', instead of preparing a mix of already existing music. The product of this otherwise unwise decision is something we ended up being very proud of and is now being released on the piece of plastic you're are currently holding in your hands."
Soulwax are the first artists to ever submit an entire hour's worth of original material for a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix. "It felt like a challenge," the band explain, "and something no-one had done. We loved the challenge of releasing a full record live on a radio show without people having any advance notice.".
Sworn Virgins - FIfty Dollar Bills [Deewee]
10cc - The Worst Band In The World
Charlotte Adigéry - 1,618 [Deewee]
LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great [DFA]
Talking Heads & Tom Tom Club - Burning Down The House (Despacio Edit)
Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol [Clan Celentano]
Stereolab - Percolator [Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks Ltd]
SOUND OF CINEMA: 204. A MARTIAN SENDS A POSTCARD HOME... (320kbs-m4a/135mb/59mins)
BBC Radio 3 broadcast: 12th May 2018
Matthew Sweet looks at films that explore clashes of culture and presents a mix of music for the screen which underscore the world as it might appear from the perspective of someone from another world.
Films on his list include "My Favourite Martian"; "Species"; "The Man Who Fell To Earth"; "The Day The Earth Stood Still"; "Vikaren"; "K-Pax"; "The Brother From Another Planet"; ""PK" and "District 9".
The Classic Score of the Week is Jerry Goldsmith's "Star Trek - The Motion Picture".
This week's featured new release is James Cameron Mitchell's "How To Talk To Girls At Parties" featuring new music by Nico Muhly.
George Greeley - My Favourite Martian (1963-66): Theme [Silva Screen]
John Debney - My Favourite Martian(1999): Medley
Christopher Young - Species (1995): Main Title
Stomu Yamashta - The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976): Poker Dice [UMC]
Stomu Yamashta - The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976): Space Capsule [UMC]
Bernard Herrmann - The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951): Prelude - Outer Space - Radar [20th Century Fox]
Marco Beltrami - Vikaren (The Substitute) (2007): Main Title
Edward Shearmur - K-Pax (2001): 27th July [Universal Classics]
Mason Daring - The Brother From Another Planet (1984): Dos Chase [Daring]
Shantanu Moitra - PK (2014): PK Dance Theme
Clinton Shorter - District 9 (2009): District 9 [District 9 Ltd]
Jerry Goldsmith - Star Trek, The Motion Picture (1979): Ilia's Theme [Columbia]
Jerry Goldsmith - Star Trek, The Motion Picture (1979): The Enterprise [Columbia]
Nico Muhly - How To Talk To Girls At Parties (2018): Requiem [Sony]
John Williams - ET (1982): I'm Keeping Him [MCA]
Murray Gold - Dr Who Series 9 (2017): Shepherd's Boy [Silva Screen]
JOHN BARRY - THE LOST TAPES (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 14th May 2018
One of Britain's premier film composers, John Barry was renowned for his scores for the early James Bond films as well as Midnight Cowboy, Out of Africa and Dances With Wolves. The winner of five Oscars, Barry, who passed away in 2011, was a private man - but 'John Barry - The Lost Tapes' offers a revealing insight into his working life
Author and broadcaster Eddi Fiegel, during the course of many extensive interviews with John for her biography, also recorded a conversation for BBC radio, which was never broadcast and considered lost.
Barry was a vivid raconteur and recounted the first decade of his career, from fledgling pop musician and producer to Oscar winning-composer. He also gave me some rare insights into his song writing craft.
He talked fondly about his early days with his instrumental group The John Barry Seven, his recordings with Adam Faith, the first venture into film and his remarkable recordings on the James Bond movies. With the success of Goldfinger in 1964, barely a week seemed to go by without John receiving a new film commission. It was a prolific time for him and, over the next two years, his scores included Thunderball, Richard Lester's The Knack and The Ipcress File starring a young Michael Caine. The pair became firm friends.
John's Oscar winning score for Born Free made him an international figure and the royal screening of the film saw a leading British actor 'throw a fit' when upstaged in front of the Royal family.
Producer: John Sugar
A Sugar production for BBC Radio 4.
The John Barry Seven - Hit And Miss
Adam Faith - What Do You Want
The John Barry Seven & Orchestra - The James Bond Theme
John Barry - Main Title From "Goldfinger"
John Barry - The Ipcress File
Matt Monro - Born Free
John Barry - The Knack ...And How To Get It (Main Theme)
LET'S EAT GRANDMA - FREAK ZONE PLAYLIST 24.06.18 (320kbs-m4a/137mb/58mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 24th June 2018
Weird, wonderful and obscure playlists compiled by the Freakzone family of artists, musicians and DJs. This week childhood friends Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth, aka Let's Eat Grandma, compile an alt-pop playlist featuring Cornelius, Sophie, Oneohtrix Point Never, Audiobooks and Fat Segal.
Segal - Skins Theme Tune [Fascination]
Cornelius - Breezin' [Cherry Red]
Audiobooks - Gothenburg [Heavenly Recordings]
Mondo Grosso & 満島ひかり - ラビリンス [Cutting Edge]
Oneohtrix Point Never - Toys 2 [Warp]
ANOHNI - 4 Degrees [Rough Trade]
Витас - 7 Элемент [Iceberg Music]
Aphrodite’s Child - Break [Curcio]
Jakob - Safety In Numbers [Conspiracy]
Earthling - By Means Of Beams [Chrysalis / Cooltempo]
Let’s Eat Grandma - Falling Into Me [Transgressive]
SOPHIE - Whole New World / Return World [Transgressive]
