The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on BBC 4 Contact

RADIO-LISTS: BBC FOUR
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/



SATURDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2010

SAT 19:00 Life (b00p4rl4)
Creatures of the Deep

Marine invertebrates are some of the most bizarre and beautiful animals on the planet, and thrive in the toughest parts of the oceans.

Divers swim into a shoal of predatory Humboldt squid as they emerge from the ocean depths to hunt in packs. When cuttlefish gather to mate, their bodies flash in stroboscopic colours. Time-lapse photography reveals thousands of starfish gathering under the Arctic ice to devour a seal carcass.

A giant octopus commits suicide for her young. A camera follows her into a cave which she walls up, then she protects her eggs until she starves.

The greatest living structures on earth, coral reefs, are created by tiny animals in some of the world's most inhospitable waters.


SAT 20:00 Birds Britannia (b00w4k7j)
Countryside Birds

Countryside birds like the skylark, pheasant and nightingale are amongst the most iconic of all Britain's birds. For centuries, they have been celebrated in music and poetry, used to forecast the weather and hunted for food. They have not just shaped the British countryside, but also defined its nature.


SAT 21:00 OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (b00wbhrf)
The city of Cairo, Egypt, in 1955 is a veritable den of spies. Everyone distrusts everyone, everyone plots against everyone: the British, the French, the Soviets, the family of the deposed King Farouk struggling to regain his throne, and the Eagles of Cheops, a religious sect thirsting for power.

The President of France, René Coty, dispatches his master weapon to bring order to this bedlam before all hell breaks loose. Its name: Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, alias Agent OSS 117.


SAT 22:30 Mad Men (b00w4k7l)
Series 4

Blowing Smoke

Don runs into his old flame Midge and learns her life has taken a disturbing turn. After executives from Philip Morris cancel a meeting for potential business, Don has a full-page ad printed in the New York Times announcing the firm will no longer represent tobacco companies, incensing the other partners and causing Bert Cooper to resign in protest.

Sally is upset when Betty and Henry discuss moving the Francis family to nearby Rye. Layoffs begin in the wake of the agency's financial troubles, reducing the staff by about half.


SAT 23:20 Getting On (b00w4k2j)
Series 2

Episode 5

Darkly comic series that offers a glimpse inside a world a million miles away from traditional hospital dramas. This is the dull, dreary, dog end of the health service with paperwork to fill in, bottoms to wipe and the drama played out in a thousand tiny acts of revenge and kindness, shining a light on the way workplace relationships play out and mapping out the life of a hospital through six shifts (five days and one night) on B4 ward.

A graduate nurse drives a wedge between Den and Kim, and Hilary's elaborate new hand washing protocols hardly help matters. Pippa suffers the indignity of re-applying for her own job. Luckily, Kim and Den find a way of cheering things up, even if Dr Moore may not see the funny side.


SAT 23:50 Delphi: The Bellybutton of the Ancient World (b00w4jtx)
What really went on at the ancient Greek oracle at Delphi, how did it get its awesome reputation and why is it still influential today?

Michael Scott of Cambridge University uncovers the secrets of the most famous oracle in the ancient world. A vital force in ancient history for a thousand years, it is now one of Greece's most beautiful tourist sites, but in its time it has been a gateway into the supernatural, a cockpit of political conflict, and a beacon for internationalism. And at its heart was the famous inscription which still inspires visitors today - 'Know Thyself'.


SAT 00:50 On the Streets (b00vtwp1)
Filmmaker Penny Woolcock spent eight months in a parallel world, the world of the homeless, befriending people and finding out where they eat, sleep and socialise.

While making her film, Woolcock realised that the very real problems of homeless people have very little to do with the lack of a roof over their heads or a bed to sleep in. Their problems come from their past lives - and are less easy to remedy. Despite the efforts of different charities to move people into homes, the streets are often where they feel safe and what they know best.

In this moving documentary, Woolcock gives the seen-but-unheard residents of London's streets a voice.


SAT 02:20 Birds Britannia (b00w4k7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 03:20 Life (b00p4rl4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



SUNDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2010

SUN 19:00 Time to Remember (b00w4k2b)
Civilians at War

The impact of two world wars on the UK's civilian population is told through newsreel footage and voiceover from the original 1950s series Time to Remember. Here are the war stories from the home front.

Includes footage of circus elephants being used as farm animals during the Great War; a pram protected against gas attack; footage of Londoners bedding down in the Underground during World War Two; and the celebrations at the end of both global conflicts.


SUN 19:30 How Earth Made Us (b00qs5l2)
Fire

Professor Iain Stewart continues his epic exploration of how the planet has shaped human history.

Iain explores man's relationship with fire. He begins by embarking on an extraordinary encounter with this terrifying force of nature - a walk right through the heart of a raging fire.

Fire has long been our main source of energy, and Iain shows how this meant that the planet played a crucial role in Britain's industrial revolution, whilst holding China's development back.

Along the way he dives in a mysterious lake in Oregon, climbs a glacier of salt, crawls through an extraordinary cave in Iran and takes a therapeutic bath in crude oil.


SUN 20:30 More Dawn French's Girls Who Do: Comedy (b0074szj)
Series 1

Joan Rivers

Dawn French interviews Joan Rivers about her life in comedy.


SUN 21:00 The Real Cabaret (b00nf012)
Few musicals can claim to capture the mood of a historical period as well as the 1972 classic Cabaret.

Liza Minnelli's unforgettable portrayal of singer Sally Bowles and the film's stylish recreation of the era have become defining images of Weimar Berlin.

In this documentary, actor Alan Cumming explores the truths behind the fiction. He meets many of those closely involved with the original film, including Liza Minnelli, and talks to cabaret artists, among them acclaimed performer Ute Lemper.

Alan explores the origins of the Cabaret story in the writings of Christopher Isherwood and uncovers the story of the real life Sally Bowles, a woman very different from her fictional counterpart.

He talks to the composer of Cabaret about the inspiration for the film's most famous songs and discovers the stories of the original composers and performers, among them Marlene Dietrich. Finally, Alan reveals the tragic fate of many of the cabaret artists at the hands of the Nazis.

The documentary pays tribute to the magic of the original film and explores the fascinating and often shocking reality of the people and stories that inspired it.


SUN 22:00 The Edge of Heaven (b00wbk4n)
Ali is an elderly Turkish widower living in Hamburg and plagued by loneliness. He offers to pay prostitute Yetar to live with him, but their relationship soon runs into trouble. When Yetar dies, Ali's son Nejat travels back to Turkey in an effort to track down her missing daughter, Ayten. But Ayten can't be traced, as she is now a political activist who is fleeing arrest in Turkey by illegally entering Germany.


SUN 23:55 Storyville (b00w4k2d)
Mandelson: The Real PM?

Documentary following Peter Mandelson in the run-up to the 2010 general election. Hannah Rothschild's film shows Mandelson at his ministry, masterminding the election campaign and dealing with colleagues such as Gordon Brown and Alastair Campbell. With unprecedented access to key events and conversations, this is a fascinating behind-the-scenes exploration of British politics.


SUN 01:10 How Earth Made Us (b00qs5l2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


SUN 02:10 Motor City's Burning: Detroit from Motown to the Stooges (b009372j)
Documentary looking at how Detroit became home to a musical revolution that captured the sound of a nation in upheaval.

In the early 60s, Motown transcended Detroit's inner city to take black music to a white audience, whilst in the late 60s suburban kids like the MC5 and the Stooges descended into the black inner city to create revolutionary rock expressing the rage of young white America.

With contributions from Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, George Clinton, Martha Reeves, John Sinclair and the MC5.


SUN 03:10 Time to Remember (b00w4k2b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



MONDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2010

MON 19:00 World News Today (b00wbkkr)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Ancient Worlds (b00w8pwp)
The Greek Thing

Richard Miles explores the power and the paradox of the 'Greek Thing' - a blossoming in art, philosophy and science that went hand in hand with political discord, social injustice and endless war.

He paints a fascinating picture of the internal and external pressures that fuelled this unique political and social experiment, one that would pioneer many of the political systems that we still live with today, from oligarchy to tyranny, from totalitarianism to democracy.


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b00w4jtv)
Series 4

In Laws vs Alesmen

Quiz show presented by Victoria Coren in which knowledge will only take you so far, as patience and lateral thinking are also vital.

In the last quarter-final, a family team featuring a patent lawyer, a graphic designer and a business analyst return to the field of conflict to take their chances against a trio unified by their love of authentic cask-conditioned ales.

They compete to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly random, from early return from transportation to destroying a fishpond, sacrilege and treason.


MON 21:00 Art of Germany (b00wbwg2)
A Divided Land

Andrew Graham-Dixon begins his exploration of German art by looking at the rich and often neglected art of the German middle ages and Renaissance.

He visits the towering cathedral of Cologne, a place which encapsulates the varied and often contradictory character of German art. In Munich he gets to grips with the earliest paintings of the Northern Renaissance, the woodcuts of Albrecht Durer and the cosmic visions of the painter Albrecht Altdorfer. Andrew also embarks on a tour of the Bavarian countryside, discovering some of the little-known treasures of German limewood sculpture.


MON 22:00 Berlin (b00p2986)
Dangerous Ideas

The story of Berlin is one of a clash of ideas that would shape the modern world.

The 18th-century king Frederick the Great was a contradictory character whose legacy would define Berlin as a place of both aggressive militarism and enlightened idealism. He would be embraced as an icon by Hitler and, later, the Communist leaders in East Berlin. But Frederick's liberalism created a city in which new theories of sex and sexuality could flourish, inspiring groundbreaking art.

During the Cold War, the street that bore the king's name, Friedrichstrasse, was also brutally divided - and irreconcilable. Only after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 was King Frederick returned to his desired resting place. The funeral was intended as a laying-to-rest of more than just a body.


MON 23:00 The Real Cabaret (b00nf012)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]


MON 00:00 Art of Germany (b00wbwg2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 01:00 The Edge of Heaven (b00wbk4n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Sunday]


MON 02:55 Art of Germany (b00wbwg2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2010

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b00wbl9s)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Jazz 625 (b00jh665)
The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Steve Race introduces the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet in a restored and re-edited 1964 programme, featuring Paul Desmond on saxophone, Gene Wright on bass, Joe Morello on drums and Brubeck on piano. Songs include Take 5, the first jazz record to sell over one million copies.


TUE 20:00 Newcastle on Film (b00tr1gk)
From bridges to bulldozers and shipyards to sing-alongs, Newcastle is a city rich in history with a thousand different stories to tell. This programme uses archive footage from the 1900s through to the present day to reveal a fascinating glimpse into the life of this great city and its inhabitants.


TUE 20:30 Time to Remember (b00wbl9v)
The Need for Speed

The story of the groundbreaking men, women and machines who, on land and sea and in the air, went furthest and fastest in the first half of the 20th century, told through newsreel footage and voiceover from the original 1950s series Time to Remember.

Includes footage of Malcolm Campbell in Bluebird; the first Monaco Grand Prix; the Spitfire; Amelia Earhart; and Jean Batten, the first person to simultaneously hold the solo flight records between the UK and Australia in both directions.


TUE 21:00 Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia (b00wbmss)
The Prussian king Frederick the Great was one of the greatest warriors and leaders in modern European history, achieving greatness through the Seven Years War and lauded as a philosopher and cultured 'Prince of the Enlightenment'. Yet the reputation of both Frederick and his Prussia was to be tarnished by association with Hitler's Nazi regime. Historian Christopher Clark re-examines the life and achievements of one of Germany's most colourful and controversial leaders.


TUE 22:00 Getting On (b00wbl9z)
Series 2

Episode 6

Darkly comic series that offers a glimpse inside a world a million miles away from traditional hospital dramas. This is the dull, dreary, dog end of the health service with paperwork to fill in, bottoms to wipe and the drama played out in a thousand tiny acts of revenge and kindness, shining a light on the way workplace relationships play out and mapping out the life of a hospital through six shifts (five days and one night) on B4 ward.

Nurse of the Year at King Edward's sees Den pushing the boat out, so it's little wonder Kim has unwisely banked on her annual assessment with Nurse Flixter being a formality with a modest pay rise in the bank.

Pippa's future is under scrutiny for different reasons as she reflects on life away from B4. Mrs Fyvie's decline worsens, with Beedy at her bedside. And the new wing may have found a new life.


TUE 22:30 Accused (b00wbkh5)
Series 1

Helen's Story

Series of dramas, created by Jimmy McGovern, about ordinary people as they face their day in court. Helen, a primary school teacher, stands accused. She tells the jury of the tragedy that led her to commit a terrible crime. Will they find her guilty, or not guilty?


TUE 23:30 OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (b00wbhrf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


TUE 01:05 Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia (b00wbmss)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


TUE 02:05 Getting On (b00wbl9z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


TUE 02:35 Time to Remember (b00wbl9v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


TUE 03:05 Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia (b00wbmss)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 01 DECEMBER 2010

WED 19:00 World News Today (b00wbmsn)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 A History of the World (b00sj29x)
The Man Who Shrank the Globe

Frank Whittle turned our world into a global village with one spark of genius. The jet engine has transformed the way we travel, making journeys of thousands of miles not only possible but affordable for millions. And it all started in a dilapidated foundry in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.

One of the greatest inventors of the 20th century faced a lifelong struggle for recognition and even now his genius is not always recognised - many Germans and Americans believe a German scientist invented the jet engine.

Aeronautical engineer and inventor Jem Stansfield sets out to find out what really happened, talking to witnesses and to Whittle's son, and tracking down historical objects which he believes provide proof that Whittle was the inventor of the turbojet. Using rarely seen archive footage, the film tells the often explosive story of Whittle's fight to get his idea to fly - and what happened next.


WED 20:00 Masterpieces of Vienna (b008m61x)
The Tempest: Kokoschka

Series about Vienna's cultural artefacts looks at Oskar Kokoschka's expressionist masterpiece The Tempest, the product of a passionate love affair between the impoverished Viennese artist and a wealthy, older woman. The film tells the extraordinary story of their relationship and the bizarre behaviour it inspired from the rebellious Kokoschka.


WED 20:30 Julia Bradbury's German Wanderlust (b00wbmsq)
The Rhine

Julia Bradbury takes her boots and backpack to the Continent to explore the landscape of Germany and the cultural movement that made it famous - Romanticism.

The Germans enjoy a relationship with walking that has lasted over 200 years. The exploration of their landscape has inspired music, literature and art, and Romanticism has even helped shape the modern German nation, as Julia discovers. By walking in four very different parts of Germany, she explores river valleys, coastlines, mountains and gorges, following in the footsteps of Richard Wagner, Caspar David Friedrich, Johannes Brahms as well as British Romantics like William Turner and Lord Byron. This is Julia's chance to discover her own sense of wanderlust.

Julia kicks off her tour with a visit to the 'Romantic Rhine', recognised as a must-see of modern Germany, with her two-day walk exploring the most stunning part of the Upper Middle Rhine. Surrounded by castles, vineyards and medieval villages, the Rhine is an obvious walking gem, yet until 200 years ago it was regarded as little more than a great transport artery. Julia sets off along the river, exploring the 19th century transformation that turned the Rhine into the pin-up of Romanticism and the emblem of the German nation.


WED 21:00 Al Murray's German Adventure (b00wbl9x)
Episode 1

Making fun of the Germans has had 'Pub Landlord' comedian Al Murray's audiences laughing in the aisles, but behind the scenes Murray is a serious historian with a fascination for the real Germany.

In this two-part documentary, Al sets out to discover the truth behind the wartime jokes and banter that still plague all things German. In a breathtaking journey through one of Germany's coldest winters, he discovers a country of warm and welcoming people and two centuries of stunning arts and culture.

From Bach to Bauhaus and the Brothers Grimm, Al falls in love with the true historical, natural and cultural beauty of this much-maligned land.


WED 22:00 Mad Men (b00wbmsv)
Series 4

Tomorrowland

Don hires Megan to accompany him and his children on their trip to California after Betty fires Carla unexpectedly. Peggy spearheads a new campaign for a pantyhose company. Betty and Henry prepare to move to a new house in Rye.


WED 22:45 Tales from... (b0074smq)
Series 2

Berlin

Kirsty Wark and Toby Aimes visit Berlin to find out who is responsible for the reinvigoration of Germany's capital. Kirsty meets top fashion designer Wolfgang Joop and hairdresser to the stars Udo Walz. Toby takes an alternative trip through the city to meet fashionable DJ Paul Van Dyk.


WED 23:45 Al Murray's German Adventure (b00wbl9x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


WED 00:45 Julia Bradbury's German Wanderlust (b00wbmsq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


WED 01:15 Getting On (b00wbl9z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Tuesday]


WED 01:45 Tales from... (b0074smq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:45 today]


WED 02:45 A History of the World (b00sj29x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 03:15 Al Murray's German Adventure (b00wbl9x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 02 DECEMBER 2010

THU 19:00 World News Today (b00wbn7w)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia (b00wbmss)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


THU 20:30 The Beauty of Diagrams (b00wbn7y)
Newton's Prism

Series in which mathematician Marcus du Sautoy explores the stories behind some of the world's most familiar scientific diagrams.

In the mid-1660s, Isaac Newton bought a pair of prisms at a fair near Cambridge, which were to be the basis of a series of experiments that would unlock a secret that had occupied scientists for centuries - the nature of light itself.

To explain what he had done, Newton created a diagram. It is called The Crucial Experiment and is a pivotal image in scientific history, a graphic moment when the ancient world was overturned by modern science. Newton demonstrated that white light is not pure, but made up of a number of different colours, the colours of the rainbow.

Newton's ideas transformed our knowledge of what we see and how we see, and the prism and its refracted colours became a captivating image. From fibre-optics to the cover of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album, Newton's work went on to influence centuries of science and art.


THU 21:00 The Art of Cornwall (b00wbn80)
The art colony of St Ives in Cornwall became as important as Paris or London in the history of modernism during a golden creative period between the 1920s and 1960s. The dramatic lives and works of eight artists who most made this miracle possible, from Kit Wood and Alfred Wallis to Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson, are featured in a documentary which offers an alternative history of the 20th century avant-garde as well as a vivid portrayal of the history and landscapes of Cornwall itself.


THU 22:30 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (b00s3v0w)
Poignant drama telling the real-life story of a man left paralysed in the prime of his life who went on to show incredible reserves of spiritual strength to author his memoirs. The editor of France's Elle magazine, Jean-Dominique Bauby was struck down in his 40s by a stroke that left him unable to move a muscle, yet did not affect his mental reflexes. He went on to write his autobiography just by blinking patterns - the only physical activity he could still perform - which followed an alphabetical code.


THU 00:15 The Beauty of Diagrams (b00wbn7y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


THU 00:45 Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia (b00wbmss)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


THU 01:45 The Art of Cornwall (b00wbn80)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


THU 03:15 The Beauty of Diagrams (b00wbn7y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]



FRIDAY 03 DECEMBER 2010

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00wbp62)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Opera Italia (b00spgk8)
The Triumph of Puccini

Three-part series tracing the history of Italian opera presented by Antonio Pappano, conductor and music director at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The series features sumptuous music, stunning Italian locations and some of the biggest names in opera as contributors.

The final episode is devoted to Puccini, the worthy successor to Verdi. Puccini's operas are cinematic in their scale with ravishing, passionate and clever music, as he took Italian opera into the 20th century.

Pappano looks at five of Puccini's most popular operas - La Boheme, Tosca, Madame Butterfly, Gianni Schicchi and Turandot. He travels to Rome to meet stage director Franco Zeffirelli and talk about Puccini and Zeffirelli's famous production of Turandot.

Pappano also talks to one of the great Puccini interpreters, the soprano Renata Scotto, about the composer, Madame Butterfly and the role of Mimi in La Boheme. Also featured are soprano Angela Gheorghiu, tenors Jonas Kaufmann and Roberto Alagna and baritone Sir Thomas Allen.


FRI 20:30 The Highland Sessions (b0074rwf)
Episode 3

Six-part series celebrating the historical and contemporary links between Scottish and Irish Gaelic song by bringing together top exponents of both traditions to sing and play together with no audience except themselves, using a house band of their peers.

This edition features Liam O'Maonlai of the rock band Hothouse Flowers, Scots Gaelic diva Margaret Stewart and James Graham.


FRI 21:00 Arena (b00wbp64)
Dave Brubeck - In His Own Sweet Way

Three young men who emerged in the 1950s - Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Dave Brubeck - not only captured the public's imagination, but in their own unique way determined the evolution of jazz as we know it today.

This Clint Eastwood co-produced documentary tells Dave Brubeck's personal story, tracing his career from his first musical experiences to the overwhelming success of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the iconic status he and his varied forms of musical expression have achieved.

It is told with contemporary interviews, vintage performances, previously unseen archive and additional performances filmed especially for the documentary. The story is also told by Dave and Iola Brubeck, both in their own words and by musical example. Contributors include Bill Cosby, Jamie Cullum, Yo-Yo Ma, George Lucas and Eastwood himself.

In 2009 Brubeck was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, with Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen, Grace Bumbry and Mel Brooks. He played with his sons for President Obama at the White House, and 55 years ago became the first jazz musician to appear on the cover of Time magazine. His classic Take Five is as familiar today as in 1959 when it was a Top 10 hit all over the world.

Brubeck has an unlikely origin for a jazz giant, growing up on a ranch in Monterey, California. Monterey resident Clint Eastwood introduced Brubeck and his Cannery Row Suite at the 2006 Monterey Jazz Festival and each were so inspired by the success of the event they agreed to move forward with this full-length documentary together.


FRI 22:30 Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany (b00nf10k)
Documentary which looks at how a radical generation of musicians created a new German musical identity out of the cultural ruins of war.

Between 1968 and 1977 bands like Neu!, Can, Faust and Kraftwerk would look beyond western rock and roll to create some of the most original and uncompromising music ever heard. They shared one common goal - a forward-looking desire to transcend Germany's gruesome past - but that didn't stop the music press in war-obsessed Britain from calling them Krautrock.


FRI 23:30 Quincy Jones: The Many Lives of Q (b00c18jl)
From the Jazz Age to Hollywood - 1933-1974

In a career spanning six decades, American jazz musician, composer, arranger, record producer and entrepreneur Quincy Jones has won more Grammy awards than any other artist. His list of other honours includes an Emmy for his work on the seminal American television series Roots and an Oscar for his humanitarian work.

This two-part documentary celebrates the life and career of the man who helped make Michael Jackson the king of pop, arranged Frank Sinatra's Fly Me To The Moon, wrote the score for The Italian Job, produced the world's top selling album and single and helped launch the careers of Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith.

At the heart of both films is a wide-ranging interview with Quincy himself, in which he talks candidly about his work and personal life, covering the highs and lows, the triumphs and the tragedies. Family, friends and stars from the music and film industries provide an insight into the man and his unique genius. Both programmes feature archive illustrating the key stages in Quincy's life, including previously unseen home movies and studio footage from his personal archive.

This first part, From the Jazz Age to Hollywood: 1933-1974, spans Quincy's childhood in Chicago, reveals how he discovered music almost by chance and features his first professional engagement at the age of 18, playing trumpet in the Lionel Hampton band. It also charts his Hollywood career writing music for some of the most iconic films of the 1970s and concludes with his life-threatening brain aneurysm.

Contributors include Quincy himself, brother Richard, Harry Belafonte, Michel Legrand, Herbie Hancock, Michael Caine, jazz photographer Herman Leonard, children Martina and Quincy Jones III and former wife Peggy Lipton, and there is footage of Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and Ray Charles.


FRI 00:30 Quincy Jones: The Many Lives of Q (b00c517s)
From the King of Pop to Hip Hop: 1975-2008

Second of a two-part documentary which celebrates the life and career of top American jazz musician, composer, arranger, record producer and entrepreneur, Quincy Jones.

It charts Quincy's recovery from a brain anyeurism and looks at how he went on to produce the biggest selling album of all time, Michael Jackson's Thriller. He also produced and conducted 1985's We Are the World - the American music industry's response to the Ethiopian famine - which is still the biggest selling single of all time. That same year he ventured into new territory, turning Hollywood producer for The Color Purple.

Quincy returned to music with the iconic 1989 album Back on the Block, cross-fertilising the talents of 66 artists including Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin and six young rappers. The programme also looks at the launch of his television company, his conducting of Phil Collins's Big Band, his remixing of the iconic British dance hit Blue Monday, his humanitarian work in Africa and his mentoring younger musicians.

Contributors include Quincy himself, Lionel Richie, Phil Collins, Bob Geldof, Bernard Sumner, Patti Austin, the major players on Thriller - Rod Temperton (British songwriter), Bruce Swedien (recording engineer), Steve Lukather (guitarist) and daughter Kidada. There's also footage of 1980s Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and ex-partner actress Nastassja Kinski.


FRI 01:30 Originals (b0074hkn)
Dinah Washington - Evil Gal Blues

Dinah Washington was perhaps the best American blues singer of the 1940s, jazz singer of the 50s and pop singer of the early 60s, and has been called the female Ray Charles. Raised on gospel and blues in black Chicago, she had just crossed over into the white mainstream with songs like What a Difference a Day Makes and Mad About the Boy when she died at just 39. It was a life of excess - too many pills, parties, mink coats and husbands. In this film, her life and music are assessed by people who knew her well and singers who love her, such as Amy Winehouse.


FRI 02:30 Arena (b00wbp64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]




LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

A History of the World 19:30 WED (b00sj29x)

A History of the World 02:45 WED (b00sj29x)

Accused 22:30 TUE (b00wbkh5)

Al Murray's German Adventure 21:00 WED (b00wbl9x)

Al Murray's German Adventure 23:45 WED (b00wbl9x)

Al Murray's German Adventure 03:15 WED (b00wbl9x)

Ancient Worlds 19:30 MON (b00w8pwp)

Arena 21:00 FRI (b00wbp64)

Arena 02:30 FRI (b00wbp64)

Art of Germany 21:00 MON (b00wbwg2)

Art of Germany 00:00 MON (b00wbwg2)

Art of Germany 02:55 MON (b00wbwg2)

Berlin 22:00 MON (b00p2986)

Birds Britannia 20:00 SAT (b00w4k7j)

Birds Britannia 02:20 SAT (b00w4k7j)

Delphi: The Bellybutton of the Ancient World 23:50 SAT (b00w4jtx)

Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia 21:00 TUE (b00wbmss)

Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia 01:05 TUE (b00wbmss)

Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia 03:05 TUE (b00wbmss)

Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia 19:30 THU (b00wbmss)

Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia 00:45 THU (b00wbmss)

Getting On 23:20 SAT (b00w4k2j)

Getting On 22:00 TUE (b00wbl9z)

Getting On 02:05 TUE (b00wbl9z)

Getting On 01:15 WED (b00wbl9z)

How Earth Made Us 19:30 SUN (b00qs5l2)

How Earth Made Us 01:10 SUN (b00qs5l2)

Jazz 625 19:30 TUE (b00jh665)

Julia Bradbury's German Wanderlust 20:30 WED (b00wbmsq)

Julia Bradbury's German Wanderlust 00:45 WED (b00wbmsq)

Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany 22:30 FRI (b00nf10k)

Life 19:00 SAT (b00p4rl4)

Life 03:20 SAT (b00p4rl4)

Mad Men 22:30 SAT (b00w4k7l)

Mad Men 22:00 WED (b00wbmsv)

Masterpieces of Vienna 20:00 WED (b008m61x)

More Dawn French's Girls Who Do: Comedy 20:30 SUN (b0074szj)

Motor City's Burning: Detroit from Motown to the Stooges 02:10 SUN (b009372j)

Newcastle on Film 20:00 TUE (b00tr1gk)

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies 21:00 SAT (b00wbhrf)

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies 23:30 TUE (b00wbhrf)

On the Streets 00:50 SAT (b00vtwp1)

Only Connect 20:30 MON (b00w4jtv)

Opera Italia 19:30 FRI (b00spgk8)

Originals 01:30 FRI (b0074hkn)

Quincy Jones: The Many Lives of Q 23:30 FRI (b00c18jl)

Quincy Jones: The Many Lives of Q 00:30 FRI (b00c517s)

Storyville 23:55 SUN (b00w4k2d)

Tales from... 22:45 WED (b0074smq)

Tales from... 01:45 WED (b0074smq)

The Art of Cornwall 21:00 THU (b00wbn80)

The Art of Cornwall 01:45 THU (b00wbn80)

The Beauty of Diagrams 20:30 THU (b00wbn7y)

The Beauty of Diagrams 00:15 THU (b00wbn7y)

The Beauty of Diagrams 03:15 THU (b00wbn7y)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 22:30 THU (b00s3v0w)

The Edge of Heaven 22:00 SUN (b00wbk4n)

The Edge of Heaven 01:00 MON (b00wbk4n)

The Highland Sessions 20:30 FRI (b0074rwf)

The Real Cabaret 21:00 SUN (b00nf012)

The Real Cabaret 23:00 MON (b00nf012)

Time to Remember 19:00 SUN (b00w4k2b)

Time to Remember 03:10 SUN (b00w4k2b)

Time to Remember 20:30 TUE (b00wbl9v)

Time to Remember 02:35 TUE (b00wbl9v)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b00wbkkr)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b00wbl9s)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b00wbmsn)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b00wbn7w)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b00wbp62)