SATURDAY 24 MAY 2014

SAT 19:00 Jazz Legends in Their Own Words (b044yqv1)
A journey into the BBC archives unearthing glorious performances and candid interviews from the golden age of jazz. Featuring some of the greatest names in American music, including the godfather of New Orleans jazz Louis Armstrong, the King of Swing Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald.


SAT 20:00 Jazz 625 at the BBC (b045bscj)
Programme celebrating the archive of this legendary BBC jazz concert show from the mid 1960s, so titled because the newly launched BBC 2 was broadcasting on 625-UHF lines (the HD of the time) unlike the 405-VHF of BBC 1 and ITV. It features classic performances from legends such as Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck and Dizzy Gillespie and the Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley Sextet, alongside rarely seen sessions from the likes of Wes Montgomery, Marian McPartland, Chris Barber's Jazz Band and Willie 'The Lion' Smith.


SAT 21:00 Wallander (b03m3g3j)
Series 3

Missing

When eight-year-old Ella disappears on her way to school, suspicion falls upon her parents, who are involved in a bitter custody battle. Both seem to have airtight alibis and are equally distraught over their daughter's disappearance, but Wallander realises there are similarities between this case and an unsolved case from ten years earlier.

In Swedish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:30 History of the Eagles (b02xd1g6)
Episode 1

Subtitled The Story of an American Band, this two hour forensic documentary features rare archival material, concert footage, and never-before-seen home movies that explore the evolution and enduring popularity of one of the world's biggest-selling and culturally significant American bands, chronicling the band's creation and rise to fame in the 1970s through its break-up in 1980.

More than 25 new and exclusive interviews were conducted with all current band members - Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B Schmit - as well as former members Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner and Don Felder. Also featured are new and exclusive interviews with Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers, Irving Azoff and many other seminal artists and band contemporaries who have been closely involved with the Eagles' history.

While personal stories from band members, managers, and music industry luminaries frame the narrative, it is the unexpected moments, recording sessions, backstage interactions, and even a whimsical sequence from the Desperado cover shoot, that convey the extraordinary bond linking the artists, their music, and the times - an era when country-tinged rock and finely-honed harmonies spoke to a nation still reeling from unrest.


SAT 00:30 Top of the Pops (b0446m6t)
David 'Kid' Jensen presents another edition of the weekly pop chart show, including performances from the Skids, Roxy Music, ELO, Tubeway Army, Liner, David Bowie, Blondie and Elvis Costello and the Attractions. With dance sequences by Legs & Co.


SAT 01:10 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01kcq0k)
New Wave - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

By the end of the 70s the world had changed and so had music. In America, it was all about memorable melodies, great guitar rhythms, a little bit of post-punk angst and looking really cool. In the UK it was about Brit style cheekiness, social commentary, a melody and a hook, a lot of attitude - and looking really cool. This episode goes beyond punk and looks into the dawning of a new decade and the phenomenon of New Wave, including performances from Elvis Costello, the Police, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Squeeze, Blondie, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Cars, Patti Smith and Iggy Pop.


SAT 01:40 Jazz 625 at the BBC (b045bscj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 02:40 Jazz Legends in Their Own Words (b044yqv1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



SUNDAY 25 MAY 2014

SUN 19:00 The Mysterious Mr Webster: BBC Arts at the Globe (b044z964)
The story of the son of a coach-maker with a highly developed sense of the macabre, who ended up rivalling Shakespeare. John Webster's life was shadowy and his plays darkly imagined - it was once said that he 'saw the skull beneath the skin'. But his masterpiece The Duchess Of Malfi is one of the jewels of the English Renaissance. This gothic tale of forbidden love, intrigue, betrayal and murder is the most frequently performed play of the period not written by Shakespeare.

In this documentary, Professor James Shapiro goes in search of the mysterious man behind the play. Piecing together the fragments of Webster's life, he explores how he came to write it just at the moment when the Jacobeans were inventing modern indoor theatre. On hand to help is Gemma Arterton, who plays the Duchess in The Globe candlelit production which can be seen on BBC Four.


SUN 20:00 The Duchess of Malfi: BBC Arts at the Globe (b044yrgg)
From the Globe theatre in London, Andrew Marr presents a unique television premiere - a new production of John Webster's bloody revenge tragedy The Duchess of Malfi (1614) performed in a perfect recreation of an early Jacobean theatre. Lit entirely by candlelight, the production evokes a murky world of plotting and intrigue, where even the most pure in heart are caught in a web of murder and revenge.


SUN 22:25 Secret Voices of Hollywood (b03bxrxj)
In many of Hollywood's greatest movie musicals the stars did not sing their own songs. This documentary pulls back the curtain to reveal the secret world of the 'ghost singers' who provided the vocals, the screen legends who were dubbed and the classic movies in which the songs were ghosted.


SUN 23:55 Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark (b0446mwz)
Nat King Cole was the only black television star in Hollywood at a time when America groaned under the weight of racial segregation and prejudice. Yet he possessed a natural talent so great that these issues were seemingly swept to one side to allow him to become one of the greatest jazz icons of all time. However, behind closed doors those around him were trying to think of a way to package him as something he was not: bi-white.

This candid account of what really happened in and around his 'fairytale' life is taken from his private journals, interviews with his widow Maria and contributions from other family members, Tony Bennett, Buddy Greco, Harry Belafonte, Nancy Wilson, Sir Bruce Forsyth, George Benson, Aaron Neville, Johnny Mathis and many more.

Featuring archive never seen before, it reveals Nat King Cole's feelings behind his ultimate calling as a 'beacon of hope' to the legions of the oppressed.


SUN 01:25 Legends (b00tr86l)
Herb Alpert, Tijuana Brass and Other Delights

This is the story of deals on the beach, accidental pop stars, friendship, comebacks, multimillion dollar deals and new discoveries - the story of musician, producer, record industry mogul and artist, Herb Alpert.

Herb is probably best known as the trumpet player who created the Tijuana Brass and sold America, and the world, the sound of Mexico. Or the crooner that made the ladies swoon when he sang This Guy's in Love With You. From his first job working with soul legend Sam Cooke to creating A&M Records, Alpert's life reads like a wonderful story of dreams come true. This profile follows him today and platforms his music and artwork as he exhibits his sculptures for Hollywood's art elite. Contributors include Lou Adler, Quincy Jones, Richard Carpenter, Sting, Jam & Lewis and Stephen Fry.


SUN 02:25 Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas (b01sbxqw)
A celebration of some of the greatest female jazz singers of the 20th century. It takes an unflinching and revealing look at what it actually took to be a jazz diva during a turbulent time in America's social history - a time when battle lines were being constantly drawn around issues of race, gender and popular culture.

The documentary tracks the diva's difficult progress as she emerges from the tough, testosterone-fuelled world of the big bands of the 30s and 40s, to fill nightclubs and saloons across the US in the 50s and early 60s as a force in her own right. Looking at the lives and careers of six individual singers (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone and Annie Ross), the film not only talks to those who knew and worked with these queens of jazz, but also to contemporary singers who sit on the shoulders of these trailblazing talents without having to endure the pain and hardship it took for them to make their highly individual voices heard above the prejudice of mid-century America.

This is a documentary about how these women triumphed - always at some personal cost - to become some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, women who chose singing above life itself because singing was their life.


SUN 03:25 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01glwkz)
Arthouse Glam - Get in the Swing

Performances from The Kinks, Roxy Music, Elton John, New York Dolls, Queen, Sparks, Rod Stewart and the rediscovered David Bowie performance of The Jean Genie from January 1973.

Welcome to gender-bending, boys getting in the swing and girls who would be boys and boys who would be girls in this mixed-up, shook-up 70s world.



MONDAY 26 MAY 2014

MON 19:00 The Joy of ABBA (b03lyzpp)
Between 1974 and 1982 ABBA plundered the Anglo-Saxon charts but divided critical opinion. This documentary explores how they raised the bar for pop music as a form and made us fall in love with the sound of Swedish melancholy. A saga about the soul of pop.


MON 20:00 Great British Railway Journeys (b00xhxxf)
Series 2

Telford to Wrexham

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain, as his journey follows the route of the Irish Mail from Ledbury to Holyhead.

Michael visits the world's first iron bridge at Coalbrookdale, explores the historic Chirk Castle and has a go at making traditional Cheshire cheese.


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b044ytdp)
Series 9

Europhiles v Heath Family

Two teams who lost their first round return for another chance to make it to the semi-finals. A trio of Europhiles take on a family team, competing 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: normal, boring, intercourse and hell.


MON 21:00 Timeshift (b044yw1d)
Series 14

Mods, Rockers and Bank Holiday Mayhem

A trip back to the days when 'style wars' were just that - violent confrontations about the clothes you wore. Spring 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the bank holiday 'battles of the beaches', when hundreds of mods and rockers flocked to seaside resorts on scooters and motorbikes in search of thrills and spills.

Timeshift tells the story of how this led to violence, arrests and widespread concern about the state of British youth. But mods and rockers had more in common than was first obvious - they were the first generation of baby boomers to reach their teenage years at a time when greater prosperity and wider freedoms were transforming what it meant to be young.


MON 22:00 How the Wild West Was Won with Ray Mears (b044jl70)
Mountains

Ray Mears looks at how the landscapes of America's three great mountain ranges - the Appalachians, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada - challenged the westward push of the early pioneers.

As Ray travels through each landscape he discovers how their awe-inspiring geography, extreme weather, wild animals and ecology presented both great opportunities and great challenges for the native Indians, mountain men, fur traders, wagon trains and gold miners of the Wild West.

Ray begins his westward journey in the Appalachians where he explores how their timbered slopes fuelled the lumber industry and provided the fuel and building material for the emerging nation. Native Appalachian Barbara Woodall and lumberjack Joe Currie share their family history with him, and he gets to grips with the rare 'hellbender' salamander.

Further west, in the high jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains, Ray goes mule trekking with modern-day mountain man Stu Sorenson and he has close encounters with beaver, elk and black bear.

Finally, in the desert mountains of the Sierra Nevada, he explores the tragic story of the Donner Party wagon train whose members allegedly turned to cannibalism to survive. His journey ends as he pans for gold with modern day gold prospector John Gurney, and explores the boom and bust story of ghost town, Bodie.


MON 23:00 ABBA at the BBC (b03lyzpr)
If you fancy an hour's worth of irresistible guilty pleasures from Anni-Frid, Benny, Bjorn and Agnetha, this is the programme for you. ABBA stormed the 1974 Eurovision song contest with their winning entry Waterloo, and this programme charts the meteoric rise of the band with some of their greatest performances at the BBC.

It begins in 1974 with their first Top of the Pops appearance, and we even get to see the band entertaining holidaymakers in Torbay in a 1975 Seaside Special. There are many classic ABBA tunes from the 1979 BBC special ABBA in Switzerland, plus their final BBC appearance on the Late Late Breakfast show in 1982.

This compilation is a must for all fans and includes great archive interviews, promos and performances of some of ABBA's classics including Waterloo, Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, Thank You for the Music, SOS, Fernando, Chiquitita and many more.


MON 00:00 The Joy of ABBA (b03lyzpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


MON 01:00 Rick Stein Tastes the Blues (b017758n)
Ever since the early 1960s, Rick Stein has been in love with the blues and years later he is fascinated by the dishes ingrained in its lyrics - fried chicken and turnip greens, catfish and black-eyed peas, and the rest. In this film, Rick pays homage to the musicians who created this music and to the great dishes of the Mississippi Delta that go hand in hand with the blues.


MON 02:00 Only Connect (b044ytdp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 02:30 Britain on Film (b021270b)
Series 2

Times of Change

In 1959 Britain's biggest cinema company, the Rank Organisation, decided to replace its newsreels with a series of short, quirky, topical documentaries that examined all aspects of life in Britain. During the 1960s - a decade that witnessed profound shifts across Britain's political, economic and cultural landscapes - many felt anxiety about the dizzying pace of change.

Look at Life reflected the increasing social and moral unease in films that tackled subjects ranging from contraception to immigration, from increasing stress at work to the preservation of the Sabbath, and from the environmental implications of waste management to the threat of nuclear weapons. Through these films, we can glimpse many of the seismic societal transformations of the Sixties developments that polarised the nation and changed life in Britain forever.


MON 03:00 Timeshift (b044yw1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 27 MAY 2014

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b044v8y8)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00xhxys)
Series 2

Chester to Conwy

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain, as his journey follows the route of the Irish Mail from Ledbury to Holyhead.

Michael takes a tour of Chester's Roman remains and discovers a secret World War II chemical weapons plant at Rhydmwyn. After spending the night in Llandudno, he goes mussel fishing on the beautiful Conwy estuary.


TUE 20:00 Ocean Giants (b013wpxz)
Deep Thinkers

Humans have long wondered if the universe may harbour other intelligent life forms. But perhaps we need look no further than our oceans?

Whales and dolphins, like humans, have large brains, are quick to learn new behaviours and use a wide range of sounds to communicate with others in their society. But how close are their minds to ours? In the Bahamas, Professor Denise Herzing believes she is very close to an answer, theorising that she will be able to hold a conversation with wild dolphins in their own language within five years.

In Western Australia, dolphins rely on their versatile and inventive brains to survive in a marine desert. In Alaska, humpback whales gather into alliances in which individuals pool their specialised talents to increase their hunting success. We discover how young spotted dolphins learn their individual names and the social etiquette of their pod, and how being curious about new objects leads Caribbean bottlenose dolphins to self-awareness and even to self-obsession. Finally, the film shows a remarkable group of Mexican grey whales, who seem able to empathize with humans and may even have a concept of forgiveness.


TUE 21:00 The Crusades (b01bbrcc)
Clash of the Titans

In the second episode of this three-part series, Dr Thomas Asbridge offers a piercing examination of the Third Crusade and the two renowned figures who have come to embody Crusader war: Richard the Lionheart, king of England, and the mighty Muslim sultan Saladin, unifier of Islam. Drawing on fascinating eyewitness accounts and contemporary records, Dr Asbridge constructs an insightful and nuanced picture of these men and their fiercely fought struggle for the Holy Land.

Almost perfectly matched as adversaries, these two titans of holy war clashed during a year-long campaign that raged across Palestine. Both were willing to commit appalling atrocities in pursuit of victory. Each brought the full force of his military genius, guile and cunning to bear, all in pursuit of the ultimate prize: Jerusalem. Dr Asbridge reveals how this shattering conflict brought Saladin and Richard to their knees, even as it served to forge their legends.


TUE 22:00 Do We Really Need the Moon? (b00yb5jp)
The moon is such a familiar presence in the sky that most of us take it for granted. But what if it wasn't where it is now? How would that affect life on Earth?

Space scientist and lunar fanatic Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock explores our intimate relationship with the moon. Besides orchestrating the tides, the moon dictates the length of a day, the rhythm of the seasons and the very stability of our planet.

Yet the moon is always on the move. In the past, it was closer to the Earth and in the future it will be farther away. That it is now perfectly placed to sustain life is pure luck, a cosmic coincidence. Using computer graphics to summon up great tides and set the Earth spinning on its side, Aderin-Pocock implores us to look at the Moon afresh: to see it not as an inert rock, but as a key player in the story of our planet, past, present and future.


TUE 23:00 Hidden Histories: Britain's Oldest Family Businesses (b03qlp97)
Toye the Medal Maker

Fiona Toye married into a family that has been making regalia for generations, including OBEs for the royal family. The film follows Fiona as she steers this traditional company through the 21st century.

Narrated by Margaret Mountford.


TUE 00:00 Timeshift (b044yw1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


TUE 01:00 Ocean Giants (b013wpxz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 02:00 Do We Really Need the Moon? (b00yb5jp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


TUE 03:00 The Crusades (b01bbrcc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 28 MAY 2014

WED 19:00 World News Today (b044v8yf)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Stanley Spencer: The Colours of the Clyde (b03yggd0)
Stanley Spencer's Shipbuilding on the Clyde is one of the most astonishing - and least likely - achievements in British art. These colossal portraits of shipyard life were created by a painter best known for his intense, spiritual visions of the English countryside.

World War II uprooted Spencer and sent him to Scotland. But the harsh industrial landscape of Port Glasgow inspired an astonishing vision - and revived Spencer's creative passion. Artist Lachlan Goudie - who himself has been painting in the last of the Clyde shipyards - goes in search of his hero, tracking down the original designs for Spencer's ambitious scheme, meeting the shipyard foreman who helped the eccentric Englishman with his work, and revealing how one of the 20th century's greatest artworks began as a doodle on a roll of cheap toilet paper.


WED 20:00 Medieval Lives: Birth, Marriage, Death (b03cv0lm)
A Good Birth

For a medieval woman approaching the moment of labour and birth, there were no antiseptics to ward off infection or anaesthetics to deal with pain. Historian Helen Castor reveals how this was one of the most dangerous moments a medieval woman would ever encounter, with some aristocratic and royal women giving birth as young as 13. Birth took place in an all-female environment and the male world of medicine was little help to a woman in confinement. It was believed that the pains of labour were the penalty for the original sin of humankind - so, to get through them, a pregnant woman needed the help of the saints and the blessing of God himself.


WED 21:00 The History Boys (b01shmjd)
Alan Bennett's adaptation of his acclaimed, long-running play set in 1980s Yorkshire.

A class of likely lads, caught in a clash of educational styles as they prepare to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, find their loyalties as well as their intellects tested.


WED 22:50 The Golden Age of Steam Railways (b01p8w38)
Small Is Beautiful

Two-part documentary telling the remarkable story of a band of visionaries who rescued some of the little narrow gauge railways that once served Britain's industries. These small railways and the steam engines that ran on them were once the driving force of Britain's mines, quarries, factories and docks. Then, as they disappeared after 1945, volunteers set to work to bring the lines and the steam engines back to life and started a movement which spread throughout the world. Their home movies tell the story of how they helped millions reconnect with a past they thought had gone forever.


WED 23:50 Parks and Recreation (b01ryv5d)
Series 2

Greg Pikitis

Leslie asks Dave and Andy to help her catch a teenage vandal. Ann makes plans to throw a Halloween party.


WED 00:10 Parks and Recreation (b01ryv5j)
Series 2

Ron and Tammy

Ron's ex-wife Tammy still has a powerful hold over him. Leslie is forced to fight off a rival bid for her lot by the library department.


WED 00:35 Frost on Sketch Shows (b01sg96h)
Many of Britain's biggest comedy stars cut their teeth on sketch shows and many of our most-loved comedy series began as sketches.

Sir David Frost traces the development of the sketch show over the last 50 years - from the variety theatre to peak-time television, from Arthur Haynes to Morecambe and Wise and The Two Ronnies, from Monty Python to Not the Nine o'Clock News and Catherine Tate.

He is joined by TV comedy greats including Ronnie Corbett, Stephen Fry and Michael Palin as they look back on the highs and lows of their own sketch show experiences. And together with comedy veterans Michael Grade and Richard Curtis, they ask if, in an age dominated by stand-up and sitcoms, the sketch show can continue to flourish and survive.


WED 01:30 Jazz Legends in Their Own Words (b044yqv1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


WED 02:30 Jazz 625 at the BBC (b045bscj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]



THURSDAY 29 MAY 2014

THU 19:00 World News Today (b044v8z0)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b044z1jy)
Paul Burnett presents another edition of the weekly pop chart show including performances from Quantum Jump, Chas and Dave, Sparks, Fischer-Z, Peaches and Herb, Voyager, Blondie and Hot Chocolate. With a dance sequence from Legs & Co.


THU 20:00 Clydebuilt: The Ships that Made the Commonwealth (p01n4kb7)
Cutty Sark

David Hayman explores the stories of four ships, built on the river Clyde, that helped forge links with countries throughout the Commonwealth of Nations - from iconic ships such as Cutty Sark and HMS Hood to the lesser-known CS Mackay-Bennett, a ship that laid the foundations of a Victorian communications revolution and played a crucial role in the world's worst maritime disaster.

Also, David investigates the story of a paddle steamer called Robert E. Lee and the controversial role Glasgow shipbuilders and captains played in the American Civil War. Cutty Sark, built on a tributary of the River Clyde near Glasgow and launched in 1869, is one of the most famous ships in the world.

In this programme, David Hayman travels to Australia to uncover the links Cutty Sark forged with this Commonwealth country, and to reflect on her legacy. It's a story of adventure, money, mutiny and murder. Ravaged by fire in 2007, Cutty Sark has been restored and today stands as a testament to the craftsmanship and ingenuity of Scottish ship designers.


THU 21:00 How the Wild West Was Won with Ray Mears (b044z1k0)
Great Plains

Ray Mears explores how 500,000 square miles of flat, treeless grassland was the setting for some of the Wild West's most dramatic stories of Plains Indians, wagon trains, homesteaders and cattle drives.

Ray joins the Blackfeet Indian Nation as they demonstrate bareback riding skills before a ritual buffalo hunt and sacrifice, and learns how their ancestors were dependent upon the buffalo for their survival. He follows in the wagon ruts of the early pioneers along the Oregon Trail and hitches a ride on a prairie schooner with wagon master Kim Merchant. He discovers the stories of the early homesteaders who lived in sod-houses and farmed the wild grassland around them.

At a cattle auction in Dodge City he explores the story of the railways, cow-towns and the buffalo massacre. His journey across the Great Plains ends at Moore Ranch where he joins a long-horn cattle drive and learns about the life and myth of one of the Wild West's most iconic figures, the cowboy.


THU 22:00 Ripping Yarns (b0074sb4)
Series 2

Roger of the Raj

A tale of social guilt and sexual awakening in dramatic, all-action living colour. Pubescent Roger Bartlesham comes of age in the turbulent climate of colonial India, when circumstances beyond his control drive him towards the most deplorable act known to the British army.


THU 22:30 The Golden Age of Steam Railways (b01pdsy6)
Branching Out

For more than 100 years steam trains ran Britain, but when steam started to disappear in the 1950s bands of volunteers got together to save some of the tracks and the steam engines that ran on them. Some of these enthusiasts filmed their exploits and the home movies they shot tell the story of how they did it, and how they helped people to reconnect to a world of steam most thought had been lost forever.


THU 23:30 The Crusades (b01bbrcc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


THU 00:30 Top of the Pops (b044z1jy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 01:15 Clydebuilt: The Ships that Made the Commonwealth (p01n4kb7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 02:15 How the Wild West Was Won with Ray Mears (b044z1k0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 30 MAY 2014

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b044v900)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Concerto at the BBC Proms (b01k031g)
Mendelssohn Violin

Another chance to hear a live performance from the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall of one of the most popular and frequently performed violin concertos of all time, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, recorded at the first night of the BBC Proms in 2005. Exciting and versatile violin soloist Janine Jansen performs with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor, Sir Roger Norrington.


FRI 20:00 Kathleen Ferrier: An Ordinary Diva (b0074qm0)
Profile of the great British contralto Kathleen Ferrier. Contributors include Janet Baker, George Christie, Evelyn Barbirolli and Ian Jack.


FRI 21:00 Storyville (b044z275)
Searching for Sugar Man

Oscar-winning documentary which tells the remarkable story of the American rock icon who never was. With a great soundtrack, moving interviews and a breathtaking twist, this is the ultimate film about the resonating power of music.

In the late 60s, Detroit-based singer Sixto Rodriguez was momentarily hailed as the finest recording artist of his generation. But when his album bombed, he disappeared into oblivion amid rumours of a gruesome onstage suicide. The film tells the astonishing story of how a bootleg recording found its way into apartheid South Africa and became a phenomenon. Two South African fans turned detectives to find out what really happened to their hero. Their investigation led them to a story more extraordinary than any of the existing myths about the artist known as Rodriguez. This is a film about hope, inspiration and the realisation of deferred dreams.

The film is directed by Malik Bendjelloul who sadly died in May 2014.


FRI 22:20 Troubadours: The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter (b012cr37)
Morgan Neville's full-length documentary is James Taylor and Carole King's first-hand account of the genesis and blossoming of the 1970s singer-songwriter culture in LA, focusing on the backgrounds and emerging collaboration between Taylor, King and the Troubadour, the famed West Hollywood club that nurtured a community of gifted young artists and singer-songwriters.

Taylor and King first performed together at the Troubadour in November 1970, and the film explores their coming together and the growth of a new, personal voice in songwriting pioneered by a small group of fledgling artists around the club. Contributors include Taylor, King, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, JD Souther, Peter Asher, Cheech & Chong, Steve Martin and Elton John.


FRI 23:45 Singer-Songwriters at the BBC (b00tzpbq)
Series 1

Episode 1

Compilation which unlocks the BBC vaults to explore the burgeoning singer-songwriter genre that exploded at the dawn of the 1970s and became one of the defining styles of that decade.

Featuring Elton John's Your Song, whose line 'My gift is my song and this one's for you' helps define this new, more personal style of songwriting, alongside an eclectic selection of classic artists and songs. James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Harry Nilsson, Sandy Denny, Steve Goodman, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Judee Sill, Jackson Browne, Neil Diamond, Tim Hardin, Joan Armatrading, Tom Waits all feature next to more commercial hits from the likes of Terry Jacks and Gilbert O'Sullivan.

Programme sources include The Old Grey Whistle Test, In Concert, Top of the Pops, The Shirley Bassey Show and Twiggy's Show of the week.


FRI 00:45 Storyville (b044z275)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 02:05 Troubadours: The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter (b012cr37)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:20 today]