SATURDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2013

SAT 19:00 Africa (p010jc6r)
Kalahari

David Attenborough takes a breathtaking journey through the vast and diverse continent of Africa as it has never been seen before.

In Africa's ancient south west corner, two extraordinary deserts sit side by side. Water is in short supply, yet these deserts are somehow full of life because the creatures that live here have turned the rules of survival on their head. This film celebrates nature's ingenuity, no matter how tough it gets.

In the Kalahari scrublands, clever meerkats are outsmarted by a wily bird, solitary and belligerent black rhinos get together to party and giant insects stalk huge flocks of birds. Rain almost never falls in the Namib - instead it must make do with vaporous, vanishing fog. The creatures in this, the world's oldest desert, have gone to the extremes, as spiders wheel to escape and a desert giraffe fights to defend his scant resources in the greatest giraffe battle ever filmed.


SAT 20:00 10 Things You Didn't Know About... (b008pr87)
Tsunamis

Iain Stewart journeys across the oceans to explore the most powerful giant waves in history, with ten remarkable stories about tsunamis.

These massive waves can be taller than the biggest skyscraper, travel at the speed of a jet plane and when they reach land, rear up and turn into a terrifying wall of water that destroys everything in its path. These unstoppable, uncontrollable forces of nature caused the ruin of an entire ancient civilization, may have played a small part in the demise of the dinosaurs, and in World War II were used as a weapon. Yet astonishingly, two men who surfed the tallest wave in history - half a kilometre high - survived.


SAT 21:00 The Young Montalbano (b03bltm0)
Series 1

Back to Basics

Just as he's starting to settle into his new job, Montalbano is surprised, and somewhat irked, by the unexpected arrival of the new deputy inspector Mimi' Augello. The two soon find that their personalities are as alike as chalk and cheese. Together, they investigate the kidnapping of a young child and make the acquaintance of beautiful Genoese architect Livia Burlando. A rivalry immediately ensues for the girl's attentions.

In Italian with English subtitles.


SAT 22:50 Big in America: British Hits in the USA (b01bywsr)
Compilation of British rock 'n' roll acts in performance with tracks that crossed over to the US charts. From The Dave Clark Five to Coldplay, the Brits have rocked America and sometimes even done better across the pond than here - take a bow A Flock of Seagulls, Supertramp and Bush - who are also included here alongside darker British global exports like Black Sabbath and The Cure.


SAT 23:50 The Beatles' Please Please Me: Remaking a Classic (b01qnrb8)
In 2013, on the 50th anniversary of the famous 12-hour session at Abbey Road which resulted in the Beatles' iconic album Please Please Me, leading artists such as Stereophonics, Graham Coxon, Gabrielle Aplin, Joss Stone, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, Paul Carrack, Mick Hucknall and I Am Kloot attempted to record the same songs, in the same timescale, in the same studio.

The results are captured in this programme, presented by Stuart Maconie.

Amongst those paying their own tribute to the album's success are Burt Bacharach and Guy Chambers, as well as people lucky enough to have been there 50 years ago telling the remarkable story of what happened that day, including engineer Richard Langham and the Beatles' press officer Tony Barrow.


SAT 00:50 Top of the Pops (b03b93q5)
David 'Kid' Jensen presents the weekly pop chart show featuring Mick Jackson, Dean Friedman, Boney M, Marshall Hain, Sham 69, the Boomtown Rats and a Legs & Co dance sequence.


SAT 01:20 10 Things You Didn't Know About... (b008pr87)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 02:20 Africa (p010jc6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



SUNDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2013

SUN 19:00 The Golden Age of Canals (b01173hf)
Most people thought that when the working traffic on canals faded away after the war, it would be the end of their story. But they were wrong. A few diehard enthusiasts and boat owners campaigned, lobbied and dug, sometimes with their bare hands, to keep the network of narrow canals open.

Some of these enthusiasts filmed their campaigns and their home movies tell the story of how, in the teeth of much political opposition, they saved the inland waterways for the nation and, more than 200 years after they were first built, created a second golden age of the canals.

Stan Offley, an IWA activist from Ellesmere Port, filmed his boating trips around the wide canals in the 40s, 50s and 60s in 16mm colour. But equally charming is the film made by Ed Frangleton, with help from Harry Arnold, of a hostel boat holiday on the Llangollen Canal in 1961. There are the films shot by ex-working boatman Ike Argent from his home in Nottinghamshire and looked after by his son Barry.

There is astonishing film of the last days of working boats, some shot by John Pyper when he spent time with the Beecheys in the 60s, film taken by Keith Christie of the last days of the cut around the BCN, and the films made by Keith and his mate Tony Gregory of their attempts to keep working the canals through their carrying company, Midland Canal Transport.

There is film of key restorations, the Stourbridge 16 being talked about with great wit and affection by one of the leading activists in that watershed of restorations in the mid-60s, David Tomlinson, and John Maynard's beautiful films of the restoration of the Huddersfield, 'the impossible restoration', shot over two decades.

All these and more are in the programme alongside the people who made the films and some of the stars of them. Together they tell the story of how, in the years after 1945, a few people fought the government like David fought Goliath to keep canals open and restore ones that had become defunct, and won against all the odds.


SUN 20:00 Fabric of Britain (b03bgrvf)
Knitting's Golden Age

Documentary exploring how knitting rose from basic craft to the height of popular fashion in the 20th century. It's a craft that has given us scratchy jumpers, sexy bathing costumes and the infamous poodle loo cover, has sustained Britain through the hardships of war and shown a mother's love to generations of little ones. Today, knitwear has become a staple of every wardrobe thanks to a prince's golfing taste, The Beatles and 80s breakfast television. Warm-hearted and surprising, this is the story of the people's craft, and a very British one at that.


SUN 21:00 Citizen Kane (b0074n82)
Frequently voted one of the best films ever made, Orson Welles's masterpiece tells the story of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane in a series of flashbacks. A reporter is intrigued by the dying Kane's last word - rosebud - and sets out to find a new angle on the life of one of the most powerful men in America. Nine Oscar nominations resulted in only one award for the outspoken Welles - Best Screenplay.


SUN 23:00 Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies (b03b965y)
Pop Goes the Soundtrack

Composer Neil Brand explores how, in the second half of the 20th century, composers and film-makers embraced jazz, pop and rock to bring fresh energy and relevance to film scores.

He shows how in the 1960s, films as diverse as the James Bond movies, spaghetti westerns and Disney's musicals drew on the talents of pop arrangers and composers like John Barry, Ennio Morricone and the Sherman Brothers to create unforgettable soundtracks. But the role of the film composer would subsequently be challenged by directors like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, who showed that a soundtrack consisting of carefully chosen pop songs could be as effective as a specially written one.

Neil's journey sees him meet leading film-makers and composers including Martin Scorsese and composers Richard Sherman (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book), Lalo Schifrin (Bullitt) and David Arnold (Casino Royale).


SUN 00:00 The Joy of Country (b018jmrs)
This celebration of the history and aesthetic of country music tracks the evolution of the genre from the 1920s to the present, exploring country as both folk and pop music - a 20th century soundtrack to the lives of working-class Americans in the South, forever torn between their rural roots and a mostly urban future, between authenticity and showbiz.

Exploring many of the great stars of country from Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams to Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton, director Andy Humphries's meditation on the power and pull of country blends brilliant archive and contributions from a broad cast that includes Dolly Parton, the Handsome Family, Laura Cantrell, Hank Williams III, kd lang and many more.

If you have ever wondered about the sound of a train in the distance, the keening of a pedal steel guitar, the lure of rhinestone or the blue Kentucky hills, and if you want to know why twang matters, this is the documentary for you.


SUN 01:05 Glen Campbell: The Rhinestone Cowboy (b01pwxs8)
In 2011, Glen Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and that he would be bowing out with a final album and farewell tour across Britain and America. This documentary tells Campbell's remarkable life story, from impoverished childhood in Arkansas to huge success, first as a guitarist and then as a singer, with great records like Wichita Lineman and Rhinestone Cowboy. With comments from friends and colleagues, including songwriter Jimmy Webb and Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees, it is a moving story of success, disgrace and redemption as rich as any of the storylines in Campbell's most famous songs.

The peak of Glen Campbell's career was in 1975, when he topped the charts around the world with Rhinestone Cowboy, but his musical journey to that point is fascinating. A self-taught teenage prodigy on the guitar, by his mid-twenties Campbell was one of the top session guitarists in LA, a key member of the band of session players now known as The Wrecking Crew. He played on hundreds of tracks while working for producers like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, including Daydream Believer by The Monkees, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling by The Righteous Brothers, Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra and Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley.

But Campbell always wanted to make it under his own name. A string of records failed to chart until, in 1967, he finally found his distinctive country pop sound with hits like Gentle on My Mind and By the Time I Get to Phoenix. The latter was written by Jimmy Webb, and together the two created a string of great records like Wichita Lineman and Galveston. Campbell pioneered country crossover and opened the way for artists like Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

By the end of the 1960s, Campbell was the fastest rising star in American pop with his own television show and a starring role in the original version of True Grit. Over the following ten years, he had more success with Rhinestone Cowboy and Southern Nights, but his private life was in turmoil. Divorce, drink and drugs saw this clean-cut all-American hero fall from grace and a tempestuous relationship with country star Tanya Tucker was front-page news.

Despite a relapse in 2003, when he was arrested for drunk driving and his police mug shot was shown around the world, the last two decades have been more settled. He remarried, started a new family and renewed his Christian faith, and was musically rediscovered by a new generation. Like his friend Johnny Cash, he released acclaimed new albums with young musicians, covering songs by contemporary artists like U2 and The Foo Fighters. Therefore the diagnosis with Alzheimer's was all the more poignant, but his dignified farewell has made him the public face of the disease in the USA.

The film includes contributions by many of Campbell's friends and colleagues, including his family in Arkansas, fellow session musicians Carol Kaye and Leon Russell, long-time friend and collaborator Jimmy Webb, former Monkee Mickey Dolenz, broadcaster Bob Harris, lyricist Don Black and country music writer Robert Oermann.


SUN 02:05 An Evening with Glen Campbell (b01pyfht)
A special concert recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in 1977, where 80 musicians played new arrangements of Glen Campbell's hit songs.



MONDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2013

MON 19:00 World News Today (b03bl9rs)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Nature's Microworlds (b01qyvnh)
Australia's Red Centre

In Australia's red centre, Steve Backshall reveals two-metre-tall kangaroos, the world's most venomous snake and a burrowing toad living among the throng of animals. Parched by the sun, scorched by fire and prone to unpredictable floods, the heart of this island continent is as inhospitable as it gets. Poor soils make vegetation tough and indigestible even to Australia's largest herbivore, the red kangaroo. However, it teems with animals found nowhere else on Earth. The key to the success of this extraordinary place is as surprising as the creatures that make it home.


MON 20:00 Welsh Railways (b01875ph)
Beating Beeching: Part 1

The steam railways of Wales seemed lost forever with the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, but this series celebrates their revival with wonderful colour archive film combined with the memories of passengers and railwaymen from the age of steam.

In this episode, we meet a schoolboy driver, a station master, firemen and some holidaymakers who share a passion for steam with the volunteers at Llangollen Railway.

We also meet the last generation of Welsh steam railwaymen and visit the heritage railway which keeps their glorious past alive.


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b03bn17y)
Series 8

Lasletts v Pilots

In the first of a brand new series, a family team take on three airline pilots. They compete to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly random.

So join Victoria Coren Mitchell if you want to know what connects:

Bucket | Two onions | Former name of Chennai | Clay oven.


MON 21:00 A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley (p01ftzs2)
The New Taste for Blood

Lucy Worsley investigates the dark and revealing history of our curious relationship with killing. She explores notorious real-life crimes from the first half of the 19th century, finding out how these murders were transformed into popular entertainments.


MON 22:00 Miss Marple (b01lc9s2)
The Body in the Library

Part One

The ordered tranquility of life in St Mary Mead is shattered by a mysterious discovery. Miss Marple's investigations lead her to a seaside hotel where some rather unusual people are staying.


MON 22:55 10 Things You Didn't Know About... (b008pr87)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


MON 23:55 Africa (p010jc6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


MON 00:55 Tribe (b0080934)
Series 3

Penan

Documentary series. Explorer Bruce Parry treks into the jungles of Sarawak, Borneo, in search of the last nomadic Penan. The Penan are hunter-gatherers whose forest home is in the process of being cut down around them and whose traditional way of life is about to disappear forever.


MON 01:55 Only Connect (b03bn17y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 02:25 Nature's Microworlds (b01qyvnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 02:55 A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley (p01ftzs2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2013

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b03bl9sb)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Nature's Microworlds (b01r3njx)
Scottish Highlands

Steve Backshall looks at the Scottish Highlands, home to some of the most iconic wildlife in the British Isles. The two contrasting landscapes of open moor and Caledonian forest are both crucially important to their wild inhabitants and yet the history of the Highlands show that they shouldn't exist side by side. Steve guides us through the landscape and reveals the surprising part that humans have to play in allowing both habitats to thrive, thereby keeping this corner of the British Isles wild.


TUE 20:00 A Pembrokeshire Farm (b007hzfy)
Episode 3

As summer arrives, the farmhouse is stripped down to its bare essentials. Meanwhile Griff takes a tour of the local rock scene with geologist Sid Howells.


TUE 20:30 Britain on Film (b03blvqm)
Series 2

Worlds Apart

Throughout the 1960s, the Rank Organisation's series of cinema documentaries Look at Life captured on colour film myriad aspects of social and cultural life in Britain. Their film-makers also travelled abroad, visiting countries like Australia that were of special interest to British audiences, or to places in the news, including Chile during a state visit by the Queen, or to places of increasing relevance to Britain like Brussels, which was establishing itself as the centre of Europe's new Common Market.

Britain on Film features some of the best of the footage captured by Rank's film-makers during their foreign excursions, including rare colour images of the reindeer herders of Lapland and film of the young Dalai Lama living in India following his exile from his native Tibet.


TUE 21:00 Lost Kingdoms of South America (b01qhl0d)
Kingdom of the Desert

In the spectacular deserts of coastal Peru, archaeologist Dr Jago Cooper explores the dramatic rise and fall of Chimor, the first empire of South America. His journey begins among the ruins of a vast lost city once home to an all-powerful monarchy, whose subjects transformed the desert landscape, created gold and silver treasures and believed so strongly in the power of their gods that they made the most shocking of sacrifices. Chimor thrived despite facing some of the most extreme climate conditions in the world, but not even this powerful empire could withstand the forces that eventually destroyed it.


TUE 22:00 Hunt vs Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals (b0377tb1)
The victory duel for the 1976 Formula 1 Championship has become the stuff of legend. The spectacular battle for supremacy that raged all season between Austrian Niki Lauda and 'True Brit' James Hunt has never been equalled. Could swashbuckling Hunt catch the scientific Lauda? Could Niki overcome an appalling crash to come back from the dead and fight James all the way to the last race of the season?

This powerful story captures the heart of the 1970s - told through unseen footage and exclusive interviews with the people who were really there - the team managers, families, journalists and friends who were in the front row of the season that changed Formula 1 forever.


TUE 23:00 The Deadliest Crash: the Le Mans 1955 Disaster (b00sfptx)
At 6.26 pm, June 11th 1955, the world of playboy racers and their exotic cars exploded in a devastating fireball. On the home straight early in the Le Mans 24-Hour race, future British world champion Mike Hawthorn made a rash mistake. Pierre Levegh's Mercedes 300 SLR smashed into the crowd, killing 83 people and injuring 120 more. It remains the worst disaster in motor racing history.

The story was quickly engulfed by conspiracy theory, blame and scandal. Was the mysterious explosion caused by Mercedes gambling all on untried technologies? Did they compound it by using a lethal fuel additive? Have the French authorities been covering up the truth ever since? Or was the winner, the doomed British star Mike Hawthorn, guilty of reckless driving and did his desire to win at all costs start the terrible chain of events?


TUE 00:00 France on a Plate (b00fvfmf)
Why does food mean so much more to the French than it does to us British? One reason is that from the time of Louis XIV to the present day, French kings, emperors, and presidents have used it as a tool of power and prestige.

In this unusual programme, cultural historian Andrew Hussey takes us on a gastronomic tour through French history - from Versailles, the spiritual centre of French power politics, and the birthplace of French cuisine, via the French Revolution and the creation of the Michelin guide, through to nouvelle cuisine and ethnic fusion food.

For Hussey, France emerges as 'the Republic of Food', a place where the health of both its democracy and its civilisation can at any one time be gauged by how well its people are being fed. Some of France's top chefs, including Paul Bocuse and Pierre Gagnaire are among those he meets on the way.


TUE 01:00 Britain on Film (b03blvqm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


TUE 01:30 A Pembrokeshire Farm (b007hzfy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 02:00 Nature's Microworlds (b01r3njx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 02:30 Lost Kingdoms of South America (b01qhl0d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2013

WED 19:00 World News Today (b03bl9t0)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Nature's Microworlds (b01l2s60)
Galapagos

A visit to arguably the most famous archipelago on earth, the Galapagos. It's home to a myriad of bizarre and unique creatures endemic to these islands - but how did they get here and what is the key to these extraordinary islands that allows them to thrive? The programme reveals that this key holds not just the secret to life here, but also to how Darwin was able to leave with the ideas that would revolutionise biology.


WED 20:00 Guilty Pleasures: Luxury in... (b0126vdc)
Ancient Greece

Luxury isn't just a question of expensive and the beautiful objects for the rich and the powerful. It has always been much more, and much more important, than that, especially in the ancient and medieval worlds.

This first episode follows the debate about luxury which convulsed ancient Greece from the beginning of the classical era. In Athens, it explores the role of luxury in the beginnings of democracy - how certain kinds of luxury came to be forbidden, and others embraced. A simple luxury like meat could unite the democracy, and yet a taste for fish could divide it. Some luxuries were associated with effeminacy and foreigners. Others with the very idea of democracy.

Yet in Sparta there was a determined attempt to deny luxury, and the guilty contradictions of this eventually brought what had been the most powerful state in Greece to its downfall. When Sparta was replaced by the Macedon of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, the absolute luxury of his court set new standards for luxury as political propaganda. Yet the guilty anxiety of ancient Greece could not be suppressed and still affects our ideas of luxury today.


WED 21:00 Fabric of Britain (b03bm1rg)
The Story of Wallpaper

Paul Martin presents the surprisingly compelling story of wallpaper. From its origins in the 16th century to the present day, wallpaper has always had something to say about us and our tastes and aspirations. It's a journey that takes Paul from the grandest of stately homes to the poorest of two-up-two-downs, the height of luxury to industrial grime and infestation. There are some fascinating tales along the way; wallpaper may seem insignificant, but governments have tried to control it, and it's even threatened to poison us.

The programme also reveals the art and craft of wallpaper. Paul learns how to make flock wallpaper, very much a deluxe item in the 18th century, helps to uncover a rare antique piece of wallpapering from a building site, and prints the designs of Marthe Armitage. Along the way, he meets contemporary designers and makers, and tells the stories of such historical wallpaper luminaries as Pugin and William Morris.


WED 22:00 Grand Prix: The Killer Years (b00z8v18)
In the 60s and early 70s it was common for Grand Prix drivers to be killed while racing, often televised for millions to see. Mechanical failure, lethal track design, fire and incompetence snuffed out dozens of young drivers. They had become almost expendable as eager young wannabes queued up at the top teams' gates waiting to take their place.

This is the story of when Grand Prix was out of control.

Featuring many famous drivers, including three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, twice world champion Emerson Fittipaldi and John Surtees OBE, this exciting but shocking film explores how Grand Prix drivers grew sick of their closest friends being killed and finally took control of their destiny.

After much waste of life, the prestigious Belgian and German Grands Prix would be boycotted, with drivers insisting that safety be put first. But it would be a long and painful time before anything would change, and a lot of talented young men would be cut down in their prime.

This is their story.

'Something was terribly wrong. I loved the sport, but it was wrong. I prayed to God whether or not to continue.' - Emerson Fittipaldi

'It made me angry. The sport was way wrong.' - Sir Jackie Stewart OBE.


WED 23:00 A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley (p01ftzs2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


WED 00:00 Lost Kingdoms of South America (b01qhl0d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 01:00 Guilty Pleasures: Luxury in... (b0126vdc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


WED 02:00 Nature's Microworlds (b01l2s60)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 02:30 Fabric of Britain (b03bm1rg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2013

THU 19:00 World News Today (b03bl9tr)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b03bm2fw)
Peter Powell presents the weekly pop chart show featuring Showaddywaddy, Boney M, Rolling Stones, Colorado, Buzzcocks, Frankie Miller and the Jam. With dance sequences by Legs and Co.


THU 20:00 The Final Frontier? A Horizon Guide to the Universe (p00yjn1x)
Dallas Campbell looks back through almost 50 years of the Horizon archives to chart the scientific breakthroughs that have transformed our understanding of the universe. From Einstein's concept of spacetime to alien planets and extra dimensions, science has revealed a cosmos that is more bizarre and more spectacular than could have ever been imagined. But with every breakthrough, even more intriguing mysteries that lie beyond are found. This great journey of discovery is only just beginning.


THU 21:00 Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies (b03bm2fy)
New Frontiers

In the last of three programmes in which composer Neil Brand celebrates the art of cinema music, Neil explores how changing technology has taken soundtracks in bold new directions and even altered our very idea of how a film should sound.

Neil tells the story of how the 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet ended up with a groundbreaking electronic score that blurred the line between music and sound effects, and explains why Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds has one of the most effective soundtracks of any of his films - despite having no music. He shows how electronic music crossed over from pop into cinema with Midnight Express and Chariots of Fire, while films like Apocalypse Now pioneered the concept of sound design - that sound effects could be used for storytelling and emotional impact.

Neil tracks down some of the key composers behind these innovations to talk about their work, such as Vangelis (Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner), Carter Burwell (Twilight, No Country for Old Men) and Clint Mansell (Requiem for a Dream, Moon).


THU 22:00 Blade Runner (b00plcmt)
The 2007 final cut of Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic.

Los Angeles, 2019. Mankind has succeeded in creating replicants - near-perfect humanoids superior in intelligence even to humans - but as a result of a mutiny on a human colony in outer space, it is now illegal for unlicensed replicants to be on Earth. The punishment, if they are caught, is death.

Four replicants have escaped and fled back to Earth, and android hunter or 'blade runner' Deckard is charged with identifying and 'retiring' them...


THU 23:50 The Final Frontier? A Horizon Guide to the Universe (p00yjn1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 00:50 Top of the Pops (b03bm2fw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 01:30 The Golden Age of Canals (b01173hf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


THU 02:30 Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies (b03bm2fy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2013

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b03bl9v9)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 The Sound and the Fury: A Century of Music (b01qnp5f)
Wrecking Ball

The first episode looks at the shift in the language and sound of music from the beautiful melodies and harmonies of the giants of classical music such as Mozart, Haydn and Brahms into the fragmented, abstract, discordant sound of the most radical composers of the new century - Schoenberg, Webern, Stravinsky and beyond.

It examines how this new music, which can perplex and upset even the most contemporary of audiences, was a response to the huge upheaval in the world at the start of the 20th century - with its developments in technology, science, modern art and the tumult of the First World War.

Featuring specially-shot performances of some of the key works of the period, performed by the London Sinfonietta, members of the Aurora Orchestra and the American composer and pianist Timothy Andres, the story of this radical episode in music history is brought to life through the contributions of some of the biggest names in modern classical music, among them Steve Reich, John Adams, Michael Tilson Thomas, Pierre Boulez, George Benjamin and Alex Ross, music critic of the New Yorker.

From the atonal experiments of Vienna to the jazz-infused sounds coming from New York in the 1920s, the film travels the world to place this music in context and to uncover the incredible personalities and lives of the composers whose single-minded visions changed the course of classical music for ever.


FRI 20:30 Transatlantic Sessions (b03bgnv2)
Series 6

Episode 1

Music co-directors, Shetland fiddle virtuoso Aly Bain, dobro ace Jerry Douglas and their all-star house band, host a gathering of the cream of Nashville, Irish and Scottish talent in a spectacular new location overlooking the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

This programme features not only established favourites Karen Matheson, Cara Dillon and Andy Irvine but also exciting newcomers such as Boston's Aoife O'Donovan, Teddy Thompson, son of the legendary Richard and, from Scotland, Ewan McLennan.


FRI 21:00 50s Britannia (b01sgbw2)
Rock 'n' Roll Britannia

Long before the Beatles there was British rock 'n' roll. Between 1956 and 1960 British youth created a unique copy of a distant and scarce American original whilst most parents, professional jazz men and even the BBC did their level best to snuff it out.

From its first faltering steps as a facsimile of Bill Haley's swing style to the sophistication of self-penned landmarks such as Shakin' All Over and The Sound of Fury, this is the story of how the likes of Lord Rockingham's XI, Vince Taylor and Cliff Richard and The Shadows laid the foundations for an enduring 50-year culture of rock 'n' roll.

Now well into their seventies, the flame still burns strong in the hearts of the original young ones. Featuring Sir Cliff Richard, Marty Wilde, Joe Brown, Bruce Welch, Cherry Wainer and The Quarrymen.


FRI 22:00 The Enigma of Nic Jones - Return of Britain's Lost Folk Hero (b03bsrrb)
Nic Jones is a legend of British folk music. His 1980 record Penguin Eggs is regarded as a classic. In a poll by The Observer a few years ago, Penguin Eggs was rated number 79 of the 100 Best Records of All Time, just above Station to Station by David Bowie and just below Let It Bleed by The Rolling Stones - amazing for an LP that never actually charted. His iconic song Canadee-i-o has even been covered by Bob Dylan.

Many believe that Nic was destined for international stardom; his funky, rhythmical and percussive guitar style and smooth singing meant that his music crossed musical barriers.

In 1982, Nic Jones was at the peak of his career, but driving home from a gig one night a near-fatal car crash changed his life forever. Almost every bone in his body was broken and neurological damage meant that he would never play his guitar in front of an audience again. Apart from a couple of tribute concerts, Nic Jones disappeared from the public eye for thirty years. Then in the summer of 2012, encouraged by friends and family, Nic returned to the stage to play several festival performances accompanied by his guitarist son, Joe Jones and keyboard player Belinda O'Hooley. The concerts were a resounding success and for his old and new fans, a moving comeback for their musical hero.

The film is the emotional story of Nic's return but also demonstrates why he is so revered, not just in folk circles but across all music genres. Nic has inspired a whole generation of younger artists including BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards winners Jim Moray, Eliza Carthy, Sam Carter and Blair Dunlop. They all appear in the film, as does American singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell. Folk legends Martin Carthy, Martin Simpson, Chris Wood and ex-Fairport Convention founder Ashley Hutchings are also featured.


FRI 23:00 BBC Four Sessions (b01rgr1n)
Richard Thompson: Goodbye Television Centre

As part of the Goodbye TV Centre celebrations, guitarist, singer and songwriter Richard Thompson plays a one-off concert filmed in TC8.

Thompson has been performing in BBC TV studios since 1969, starting on Top of the Pops with Fairport Convention and then making frequent appearances on the Old Grey Whistle Test, The Late Show and Later with Jools Holland as a solo artist and bandleader.

Filmed before the opening night of the tour celebrating the Top 20 placing of his album Electric, Thompson leads his current power trio through songs from that album, including Salford Sunday and Stony Ground, alongside classics from his songbook like I Want to See the Bright Lights and Tear Stained Letter. Thompson is joined on a couple of acoustic songs by former Fairport bandmate and master fiddler Dave Swarbrick, frequent collaborator Pete Zorn adds sax to Al Bowlly's In Heaven and his daughter Kami Thompson harmonises on Waltzing for Dreamers.

Filmed before a small studio audience in the bare style of some of the previous BBC music shows on which Thompson has appeared, this concert celebrates Thompson and a tradition of popular music performance from TV Centre.


FRI 00:00 Totally British: 70s Rock 'n' Roll (b01r3pm9)
1970-1974

Trawled from the depths of the BBC Archive and classic BBC shows of the day - Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops and Full House - a collection of performance gems from a totally rock 'n' roll early 1970s.

This was a golden era for British rock 'n' roll as everyone moved on from the whimsical 60s and looked around for something with a bit more oomph! In a pre-heavy metal world bands were experimenting with influences that dated back to 50s rock 'n' roll, whilst taking their groove from old-school rhythm and blues. It was also a time when men grew their hair long!

In a celebration of this era, we kick off with an early 1970s Badfinger number direct from the BBC library and continue the groove from the BBC vaults with classic rock 'n' roll heroes like Free, Status Quo, the Faces, Humble Pie and Mott the Hoople. Plus from deep within the BBC archives we dig out some rarities from the likes of Babe Ruth, Stone the Crows, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Man, Heavy Metal Kids and original rockers Thin Lizzy... to name but a few.

Sit back and enjoy a 60-minute non-stop ride of unadulterated Totally British 70s Rock 'n' Roll!


FRI 01:00 Totally British: 70s Rock 'n' Roll (b01r7hk5)
1975-79

A romp through the BBC archive library from 1975 to 1979 has unearthed some seldom-seen performances of the rarely explored genre of pub rock and other late 70s rock 'n' roll gems from classic music programmes like the Old Grey Whistle Test and Top of the Pops. Before the DIY culture of punk took hold there was a whole breed of real musicians who honed their craft in the backrooms of pubs. And towards the end of the 70s men's hair was starting to get shorter too.

This compilation has uncovered rarely seen footage from the likes of Canvey Island's Dr Feelgood, original pub rockers Ducks DeLuxe, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Elvis Costello, Meal Ticket, Steve Gibbons Band, Dave Edmunds and chum Nick Lowe, a pre-Mike & the Mechanics' Paul Carrack in his first band Ace, a post-Faces Ronnie Lane, The Motors, the first TV performance from Dire Straits, Graham Parker and the Rumour and many more.


FRI 02:00 The Enigma of Nic Jones - Return of Britain's Lost Folk Hero (b03bsrrb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 03:00 Transatlantic Sessions (b03bgnv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]