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 22 OCTOBER 2011

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 Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (b00zj0vc)
Episode 2

Exclusive behind-the-scenes series which follows English National ballet on their 60th anniversary and reveals the complexities of staging world class ballet.

We join the company as they fight to finish their most ambitious production of the year - Rudolf Nureyev's Romeo & Juliet. From tensions on stage to challenging rehearsals using real weaponry, the men are performing for their lives. The company are already undermanned so it's crucial that no dancers are injured, but it's only a matter of time before the demanding schedule takes its toll.


SAT 21:00 Monty Python's Life of Brian (b016ltyg)
Surreal and controversial comedy about a man named Brian who is mistakenly hailed as the Messiah by a trio of not-so-wise men. Doomed to a life of public exposure, he is doggedly followed by a troop of admiring worshippers. At the time of the film's release, the glaring parallels with the life of Christ caused controversy on both sides of the Atlantic.


SAT 22:30 Holy Flying Circus (b0162zbx)
In 1979, Monty Python made Life of Brian and the debate about what is an acceptable subject for comedy was blown wide open. This is a fantastical re-imagining of the build-up to the release of the film and the controversy it caused.


SAT 00:00 Top of the Pops (b01692kw)
07/10/76

Jimmy Savile introduces Pussycat, T Rex, Paul Nicholas, Smokie, Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots, the Manhattans and Abba. Dance sequence by Ruby Flipper.


SAT 00:30 Singer-Songwriters at the BBC (b016300t)
Series 2

Episode 4

The celebration of the singing songwriting troubadours of the 1960s and 70s concludes with a further trawl through the BBC archives for timeless and classic performances.

Starting things off, a 23-year-old Bob Dylan performing on the BBC's Tonight programme in 1964. On It's Lulu from 1971, 'Bisto Kid' lookalike singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, while from a concert in 1970 buddies Graham Nash and David Crosby perform Nash's Marrakesh Express. Londoner Labi Siffre makes an appearance from the archives, as does fellow English songwriter Michael Chapman.

From the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1976, Gil Scott-Heron performs alongside his band and life-long collaborator Brian Jackson, and the musician's musician Roy Harper performs One of Those Days in England with a full band on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Grammy award winner Janis Ian performs Tea and Sympathy and, to round things off, a rare sighting of Kate Bush performing on The Leo Sayer Show in 1978.


SAT 01:30 Songwriters' Circle (b016300r)
Series 2

Neil Finn, Janis Ian, Ryan Adams

The final concert in this series of the songwriters' show sees Kiwi favourite Neil Finn joined on stage by American legend Janis Ian and alt-country poster boy Ryan Adams.

Finn genially guides proceedings, with songs that sound like old friends pulled from different phases in his career - Crowded House favourites Distant Sun and Don't Dream It's Over are mixed with Split Enz's She Will Have Her Way and Golden Child, a new song written with his wife Sharon about their kids flying the nest.

Janis Ian has been writing songs since she was 12 years old and on this evidence she is still at the top of her game. Her intelligent lyrics, by turns introspective and socially-engaged, are couched in lovely melodies and her guitar playing is a delight, from the jazzy Bright Lights and Promises to her evergreen classic At Seventeen.

Ryan Adams crouches over his distinctive striped guitar and delivers a series of exquisitely mournful songs, from debut solo album Heartbreaker's Oh My Sweet Carolina (helped by gorgeous harmonies from his compadres) to Invisible Riverside from his album Ashes and Fire.

Quickly-rehearsed collaborative moments bring new textures to familiar tunes, and there is banter aplenty between the three artists, resulting in some hugely enjoyable digressions, with surreal spontaneously created 'songs', the whole thing rounded off with an ensemble version of Finn's Weather with You.


SAT 02:40 Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (b00zj0vc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 23 OCTOBER 2011

SUN 19:00 Julia Bradbury's Icelandic Walk (b0110grr)
Julia Bradbury heads for Iceland to embark on the toughest walk of her life. Her challenge is to walk the 60 kilometres of Iceland's most famous hiking route, a trail that just happens to end at the unpronounceable volcano that brought air traffic across Europe to a standstill in 2010. With the help of Icelandic mountain guide Hanna, Julia faces daunting mountain climbs, red hot lava fields, freezing river crossings, deadly clouds of sulphuric gas, swirling ash deserts and sinister Nordic ghost stories as she attempts to reach the huge volcanic crater at the centre of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier.


SUN 20:00 Britain's Park Story (b00t9qv8)
The British invented them for the world, and they have been described as 'the lungs of the city - historian Dan Cruickshank reveals the history of our public parks.

Cruickshank travels the country to discover the evolution of the nation's urban public parks, a story of class, civic pride, changing fashions in sport and recreation which helps re-evaluate the amazing assets they are.

From their civic heyday in the 19th century to the neglect of the 1980s and their resurgence today, the documentary is a fascinating and entertaining history of an often-overlooked great British invention.


SUN 21:00 Tales from the National Parks (b016dr0x)
The Lake District

The National Parks are Britain's most treasured landscapes, but they are increasingly becoming battlefields. They were designated 60 years ago as places for everyone, but is that still the case? In this series the award-winning film-maker Richard Macer spent a year amid conflicts in three different parks, on a journey to discover who they are really for.

In each park the stories are very different, but there is something that unites them all - fiercely divided communities who are prepared to fight in order to preserve their right to enjoy the countryside. In each film, Macer has secured access to the National Park Authority - an organisation which looks after the landscapes and decides upon planning matters. In all of these stories the Park Authorities have a key role to play in trying to find amicable solutions to the problems which confront them.

In the Lake District, entrepreneur Mark Weir wants to build a giant zip-wire ride from the top of a beautiful, remote mountain. But does it have any chance of getting permission when there are over 400 objectors to it? Unfortunately a tragic accident during filming means that Mark will never see if his zip-wire becomes a reality.


SUN 22:00 Katalin Varga (b016mw1d)
In a remote rural village in the Transylvanian mountains, Katalin Varga is cast out of her home in when her husband discovers that her son Orbán is not his. Taking Orbán with her, Katalin sets out on a long journey to track down and punish the men who raped her 11 years earlier.


SUN 23:20 Tales from the National Parks (b016dr0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


SUN 00:20 Britain's Park Story (b00t9qv8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SUN 01:20 Light Fantastic (b0167fkh)
Petroc Trelawny introduces a concert of the very best in light music to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain. John Wilson, the modern champion of light music, conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra with great panache in a concert from London's South Bank, including works by Eric Coates, Edward German and Robert Farnon.


SUN 03:00 Tales from the National Parks (b016dr0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 24 OCTOBER 2011

MON 19:00 World News Today (b016dr32)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Perfume (b0126vf0)
Something Old, Something New

Today, all perfumers face the same challenge: how to make their fragrance stand out in a market crowded with product. We spend a year with two very different perfume houses as they attempt to win over the next generation of consumer.

In Paris, the ancient house of Guerlain looks outside the family for the first time for its next perfumer-in-chief. But Thierry Wasser has to tread carefully - adapting the iconic fragrance Shalimar for the 21st century without upsetting the old guard. When esteemed head of the family Jean-Paul Guerlain lands himself in hot water with a racist remark, the slow transfer of power is dramatically accelerated.

Meanwhile at Estee Lauder in New York, executives are devising a mass-market fragrance for designer Tommy Hilfiger. Getting the concept and packaging right is as important as important as the smell. But will buyers get this liquid rendition of rock and roll?


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b016dr34)
Series 5

Edwards Family vs Trade Unionists

A father, son and daughter-in-law pit their wits against three members of an executive council trade union group in the third of the quarter-finals. They compete to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly random, from Little Venice to Silver to Christopher Columbus to The Equator.


MON 21:00 Ceramics: A Fragile History (b016drl7)
The Art of the Potter

Towards the end of the 19th century, a group of craftsmen decided to break the monopoly of the great ceramic factories. Studio pottery was born, a movement that celebrated traditional artisanship and decorative flair over the monotony of the production line. Through practitioners like William De Morgan, Bernard Leach and William Staite Murray, studio pottery was soon recognised as a powerful and uniquely British contribution to the story of modern art, drawing disciples from all over Europe.

In the second half of the 20th century, female ceramicists like Lucie Rie and Alison Britton re-energised the movement. The programme ends with portraits of Grayson Perry and Edmund de Waal, two of the greatest potters working anywhere in the world today.


MON 22:00 I Never Tell Anybody Anything: The Life and Art of Edward Burra (b016fmxs)
Edward Burra (1905-76) was one of the most elusive British artists of the 20th century. Long underrated, his reputation has been suddenly rehabilitated, with the first major retrospective of his work for 25 years taking place in 2011 and record-breaking prices being paid for his work at auction.

In this film, the first serious documentary about Edward Burra made for television, leading art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the remarkable story of his life.

Crippled by a rare form of arthritis from an early age, Burra placed art at the centre of his life from his teenage years onwards. Although his illness meant that he would predominantly only be able to work in the physically undemanding medium of watercolour, he created unexpectedly monumental images peopled by the men and women who fascinated him.

The follows Burra from his native town of Rye to the jazz clubs of prohibition-era New York, to the war-torn landscapes of the Spanish Civil War and back to England during the Blitz. It shows how Burra's increasingly disturbing and surreal work deepened and matured as he experienced at first hand some of the most tragic events of the century. Through letters and interviews with those who knew him, it paints an entertaining portrait of a true English eccentric.


MON 23:00 The Secret Life of Waves (b00y5jhx)
Documentary maker David Malone delves into the secrets of ocean waves. In an elegant and original film, he finds that waves are not made of water, that some waves travel sideways, and that the sound of the ocean comes not from water but from bubbles. Waves are not only beautiful but also profoundly important, and there is a surprising connection between the life cycle of waves and the life of human beings.


MON 00:00 Ceramics: A Fragile History (b016drl7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 01:00 Only Connect (b016dr34)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 01:30 I Never Tell Anybody Anything: The Life and Art of Edward Burra (b016fmxs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


MON 02:30 Perfume (b0126vf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 03:30 Ceramics: A Fragile History (b016drl7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2011

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b016fn21)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00ndvtg)
Episode 3

Griff Rhys Jones continues with phase two of the restoration of his farm in Pembrokeshire.

Restoration work on the miller's cottage moves to the inside of the building. Across the lane, building work at the mill has ground to a halt as the planning authorities investigate local objections to Griff's plans. Meanwhile, Griff makes plans for a music festival in Pembrokeshire.


TUE 20:00 Britain's Best Drives (b00jf4jn)
The Trossachs

Actor Richard Wilson takes a journey into the past, following routes raved about in motoring guides of 50 years ago.

For his final drive, Richard returns to the country of his birth in a splendid 1950s Bentley. He drops in on his sister, returns to the original 'Dr Finlay' house, takes to the water to find out how Sir Walter Scott inspired a deluge of sightseers to the region, drives Scotland's most famous road in the company of a bevy of vintage bikers, and discovers just what it is about great vistas that gives us all such a thrill.


TUE 20:30 Welsh Greats (b00j092z)
Series 2

Harry Secombe

Aled Jones presents the funny, warm and moving life story of comedian and singer Harry Secombe, a down-to-earth Swansea lad who became one of the nation's best-loved entertainers.

From The Goons to Highway, from Pickwick to Songs of Praise, he 'ruled the world' with a giggle and a song. But Harry's good humour gave no hint of the serious challenges he had faced, from the brutality of war to life-threatening illness.

Featuring Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, the programme reminds us of Harry's natural warmth, his faith, and his infectious humour.


TUE 21:00 The Story of Music Hall with Michael Grade (b016fn23)
Michael Grade traces the raucous history of the music hall in a revelatory journey that takes him from venues such as Wilton's Music Hall in London to Glasgow's once-famous Britannia. Talking to enthusiasts and performers, Lord Grade discovers the origins of this uniquely British form of entertainment and revisits some of the great acts and impresarios, from Charles Morton and George Leybourne to Bessie Bellwood and Marie Lloyd.

Featuring Jo Brand and Alexei Sayle, with performances from Barry Cryer and many more, Grade hears about dudes, swells, mashers and serio-comics and hears how, in many a house, no turn was left unstoned.


TUE 22:30 On Show (b007hz94)
Two Ton Tessie!

Although she styled herself Two Ton Tessie from Tennessee and affected a Lancashire accent, the exuberant Teresa O'Shea was born in Riverside, Cardiff just before the First World War began, and by the end of it had already made her stage debut.

She was part of a generation of variety performers who built their popularity the hard way, slogging their way through endless summer seasons and tours. Some were lucky enough to branch out into radio, film and eventually television, and Tessie did all of that and more, acquiring an Oscar nomination and a Tony Award along the way.

This film looks at the colourful career of the music hall star with contributors Stan Stennett and Wyn Calvin.


TUE 23:00 Monty Python's Life of Brian (b016ltyg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


TUE 00:30 Music Hall Meltdown (b007gm0j)
Phill Jupitus and Marcus Brigstocke host a comedy, variety and music show that recreates the sights and the sounds of the original Edwardian music hall in a modern context. Featuring Harry Enfield, Madness, Frankie Boyle, magic act Barry and Stuart, comedians Milton Jones and Jo Caulfield, children's entertainer Mr Jeremy Lion, music from Mr Hudson and the Library and sketches by We Are Klang. There's also the Puppini Sisters, a turn from Count Arthur Strong, and a near-competent slideshow from gap year student extraordinaire Giles Wemmbley Hogg.


TUE 02:00 Ceramics: A Fragile History (b016drl7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


TUE 03:00 The Story of Music Hall with Michael Grade (b016fn23)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2011

WED 19:00 World News Today (b016fp8s)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Johnny Kingdom's Year with the Birds (b00vnf8g)
Episode 1

Johnny Kingdom, gravedigger-turned-amateur filmmaker spends a year recording the bird life in and around his home on his beloved Exmoor.

Johnny has spent three years creating a wildlife habitat on his 52-acre patch of land on the edge of Exmoor. He's been busy nailing nest boxes on tree trunks, planting a wildflower meadow, dredging his pond, putting up remote cameras and wiring them up to a viewing station in his cabin on the land - all the time hoping against hope that not only will he attract new wildlife but also that he will be able to film it.

This year he is turning his attention to the bird life, hoping to follow some of the species he finds near his home and on his land, across the seasons. We see the transitions from the lovely autumn mists of the oak wood, through the sparkling snow-clad landscape of a north Devon winter, into spring's woodland carpet of bluebells and finally the golden glow of early summer.

The bulk of the series is from Johnny's own camera. Don't expect the Natural History Unit - instead expect passion, enthusiasm, humour and an exuberant love of the landscape and its wildlife.

The series begins at the end of autumn, with Johnny clearing out bird boxes and sorting out his new remote cameras in preparation for the winter. There are two birds in particular that he wants to film - the great spotted woodpecker and the wren. But the harsh winter looks as if it could spell trouble for the wrens and it will be spring before Johnny knows how well they have fared.

He has better luck with the woodpecker and eventually finds their roost. Meanwhile, at home, he struggles to get shots of a mistle thrush as his wife Julie and his neighbours disturb this shy bird as it feasts on a rowan tree.


WED 20:00 Tales from the National Parks (b016dr0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]


WED 21:00 David Suchet on Sid Field: Last of the Music Hall Heroes (b016fp8v)
Legendary actor David Suchet uncovers the amazing lost story of Sid Field. Sid's unique brand of comedy thrilled wartime audiences and he was one of the greatest comic stars of the 1940s, but today he is virtually unknown. How did someone who was such a household name disappear?

David Suchet played Sid Field in a 1994 stage play about his life and ever since he has been fascinated by Sid's life. David discovers that Birmingham-born Sid started touring the country aged just 12. It took two decades of hard slog until his big break in the West End in 1943. David meets stars like Eric Sykes, Leslie Phillips and Nicholas Parsons who remember Sid's epic stage show, Strike a New Note, with a mixture of awe and nostalgia. David reunites two of the original cast of the show and they reveal the secrets of the first night.

Sid was a pioneer of sketch comedy and camp, and modern comedy owes him a huge legacy. Julian Clary helps David show his camp side and shows him his comic techniques. Having sold a million seats for his stage shows Sid should be revered today, yet tragically there is very little archive to show his genius. He made three films and the biggest, London Town, was a terrible flop. Co-star Petula Clark recalls working with Sid and how out of place he seemed.

Before Sid Field had the chance for a television career he died aged just 45. David Suchet hopes that with this film he can put Sid firmly back on the comedy map of Britain.


WED 22:00 Miss Marie Lloyd: Queen of the Music Hall (b007qcxg)
Costume drama inspired by the life and loves of London's East End music hall legend Marie Lloyd.

Spotted by Percy Courtney, her true love and first husband, Marie is soon topping the bill. However, fame takes its toll on the marriage and it ends bitterly. As Marie struggles to juggle her private and public life she falls out with lifelong friend/dresser Freddie and into the arms of fellow performer, the dependable Alec Hurley.

Marie leads a music hall strike and triumphs, but at home she tires of Alec's humdrum ways. Sticking to the principle, as sung, that A Little of What You Fancy Does You Good, Marie chases the champagne lifestyle, taking up with toyboy jockey Bernard Dillon. Respectable society is scandalised and Marie is dropped from the Royal Command Performance, but hits back with an alternative Command Performance.

Riding high professionally but battling failing health and with her personal life in tatters and splashed across the newspapers, she begins to buckle. A faithful but helpless Freddie stands by as Marie is determined that the show must go on.


WED 23:20 The Story of Music Hall with Michael Grade (b016fn23)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 00:50 Katalin Varga (b016mw1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Sunday]


WED 02:10 Tales from the National Parks (b016dr0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]


WED 03:10 David Suchet on Sid Field: Last of the Music Hall Heroes (b016fp8v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 27 OCTOBER 2011

THU 19:00 World News Today (b016fpyt)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b016fpyw)
14/10/76

David Hamilton introduces 1976 chart hits by Simon May, Liverpool Express, JALN Band, Sherbet and David Essex. Dance sequence by Ruby Flipper.


THU 20:00 The Secret Life of Ice (b016fpyy)
Ice is one of the strangest, most beguiling and mesmerising substances in the world. Full of contradictions, it is transparent, yet it can glow with colour, it is powerful enough to shatter rock, but it can melt in the blink of an eye. It takes many shapes, from the fleeting beauty of a snowflake to the multimillion-tonne vastness of a glacier and the eeriness of the ice fountains of far-flung moons.

Science writer Dr Gabrielle Walker has been obsessed with ice ever since she first set foot on Arctic sea ice. In this programme, she searches out some of the secrets hidden deep within the ice crystal to try to discover how something so ephemeral has the power to sculpt landscapes, to preserve our past and inform our future.


THU 21:00 Frank Skinner on George Formby (b016fpz0)
George Formby was a huge star of stage and film. In his heyday he was as big as The Beatles, earning vast sums of money on stage and starring in films which broke box office records. Formby's trademark ukulele still inspires millions of dedicated fans, including comedian and performer Frank Skinner, who believes Formby was the greatest entertainer of his time.

Playing the ukulele and performing the songs that keep the Formby legend alive today, Skinner follows the music hall star's extraordinary rise to fame and fortune, explores his worldwide popularity and reveals the ruthless exploitation that surrounded his sudden and tragic death.


THU 22:00 The Slap (b016lvbz)
Hector

It's Hector's 40th birthday and he's having a barbecue party. Everything should be wonderful, but there are tensions and deceptions under the surface and when an adult slaps an annoying child around the face it's a catalyst for hidden feelings to explode.

The story unfolds through the points of view of eight characters as a court case proceeds, as affairs begin and end, as a pregnancy is decided and marriages morph and change. Each character's life is profoundly affected by 'the slap'; each character is in some way 'slapped' and forced to face up to fundamental truths about themselves.


THU 22:55 BBC Four Sessions (b0074pq4)
Bert Jansch

Legendary Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist Bert Jansch performs a career retrospective concert at LSO St Luke's in East London to celebrate his 60th birthday. Guests include ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, Ralph McTell and fellow Pentangle member Jacqui McShee.

Bert Jansch was one of the key trailblazers of the British folk scene of the 1960s. As a soloist, and then with folk-jazz outfit Pentangle, Jansch blazed a trail for an iconoclastic blend of folk, blues, jazz and original songs that has made him a hero to the likes of Neil Young and Jimmy Page. His guitar and singing style remain unique.

This concert features many of the songs that Jansch has played throughout his career, including Davy Graham's Anji, Jackson C Frank's Blues Run The Game and traditional material like Blackwaterside, together with more recent songs like Riverbank and Crimson Moon.


THU 23:55 Top of the Pops (b016fpyw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 00:25 Frank Skinner on George Formby (b016fpz0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


THU 01:25 David Suchet on Sid Field: Last of the Music Hall Heroes (b016fp8v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]


THU 02:25 The Secret Life of Ice (b016fpyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



FRIDAY 28 OCTOBER 2011

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b016fr40)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Elgar: The Man Behind the Mask (b00vv0zx)
The composer of Land of Hope and Glory is often regarded as the quintessential English gentleman, but Edward Elgar's image of hearty nobility was deliberately contrived. In reality, he was the son of a shopkeeper, who was awkward, nervous, self-pitying and often rude, while his marriage to his devoted wife Alice was complicated by romantic entanglements which fired his creative energy.

In this revelatory portrait of a musical genius, John Bridcut explores the secret conflicts in Elgar's nature which produced some of Britain's greatest music.


FRI 21:00 Upside Down: The Creation Story (b016myqs)
Millions of sales on both sides of the Atlantic, near bankruptcy, pills, thrills, spats, prats, successes, excesses, pick-me-ups and breakdowns - all spiralled together to create some of the most defining music of the 20th century.

This is the definitive and fully-authorised documentary of the highs and lows of the UK's most inspired and dissolute independent record label - Creation Records. Over 25 years after Creation's first records, it follows the story from the days of the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Primal Scream and Teenage Fanclub to the Boo Radleys, the Super Furry Animals and of course Oasis, among many, many more.

The label's enigmatic founder Alan McGee talks candidly of the trail which led from humble beginnings in Glasgow, via drink and drug dependency to being wined and dined at No 10 Downing Street by Tony Blair.


FRI 22:40 Creation at the BBC (b016myqv)
A trip through the BBC archives from programmes such as Whistle Test, the Oxford Road Show, Top of the Pops and Later with Jools Holland to find some rare and some familiar footage of the bands who were on one of the UK's most seminal and important record labels, Creation Records.

Founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green and Jo Foster, Creation Records was started off as a cottage industry producing 7" singles from a bedroom and went on to sign the one of the biggest bands in the world - Oasis.

From East Kilbride the Reid brothers, Jim and William, bandmate Douglas Hart and drummer Bobby Gillespie exploded onto the scene as the Jesus and Mary Chain on Whistle Test in 1985, and from the same year a rare piece of footage from Peter Astor's band The Loft on the Oxford Road Show. The Loft morphed into his next project the Weather Prophets, who we see on the Whistle Test later that year.

My Bloody Valentine nearly bankrupted Creation but produced one of the label's flagship albums, Isn't Anything, while Slowdive were front runners in the 'shoegazing' scene. The 1990s heralded the halcyon days of Creation with the release of Primal Scream's zeitgeist album Screamadelica and arguably the most important band of the decade, Oasis, signing to the label in 1993. Thus followed a string of chart successes for Creation with Ride, the Boo Radleys, Super Furry Animals, Teenage Fanclub and, of course, Oasis.

The label disintegrated in 1999, but undoubtedly produced some of the most important records of the late 1980s and 1990s.


FRI 23:40 Omnibus (b007bf0l)
Alan McGee - The Man Who Discovered Oasis

A rollercoaster ride through the life and times of the man who has lived the rock 'n' roll dream. Alan McGee almost burned himself out with drugs and drink before finding the biggest band of the 90s, Oasis, and making a million in the process. Abrasive and honest, this is a no-holds-barred portrait of one of the most influential figures in popular music.


FRI 00:30 Do it Yourself: The Story of Rough Trade (b00j4dx5)
The Rough Trade story begins more than thirty years ago on 20th February 1976. Britain was in the grip of an IRA bombing campaign; a future prime minister was beginning to make her mark on a middle England in which punk was yet to run amok; and a young Cambridge graduate called Geoff Travis opened a new shop at 202 Kensington Park Road, just off Ladbroke Grove in west London. The Rough Trade shop sold obscure and challenging records by bands like American art-rockers Pere Ubu, offering an alternative to the middle-of-the-road rock music that dominated the music business.

In January 1977, when a record by Manchester punk band Buzzcocks appeared in the shop, Rough Trade found itself in the right place at the right time to make an impact far beyond that of a neighbourhood music store. When Spiral Scratch was released in 1977, the idea of putting out a single without the support of an established record company was incredible. But Rough Trade was to become the headquarters of a revolt against this corporate monopoly - it was stocking records by bands inspired by the idea that they could do it themselves.

But selling a few independent records over the counter was not going to change the world. Early independent labels had to hand over their distribution to the likes of EMI or CBS. But one man at Rough Trade challenged that monopoly. Richard Scott joined Rough Trade in 1977 and became the architect of a grand scheme that was nothing short of revolutionary: independent nationwide distribution.

The shop could now offer experimental musicians the chance to sell records nationwide and so it was inevitable that Rough Trade became a record label in its own right. In 1978 the Rough Trade label was born and by the end of the year it had released a dozen singles by an eclectic mix of post-punk artists and become not just an alternative ideological force, but genuine competitors in the commercial music world.


FRI 02:00 Creation at the BBC (b016myqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:40 today]


FRI 03:00 Upside Down: The Creation Story (b016myqs)
[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)

Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet 20:00 SAT (b00zj0vc)

Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet 02:40 SAT (b00zj0vc)

BBC Four Sessions 22:55 THU (b0074pq4)

Britain's Best Drives 20:00 TUE (b00jf4jn)

Britain's Park Story 20:00 SUN (b00t9qv8)

Britain's Park Story 00:20 SUN (b00t9qv8)

Ceramics: A Fragile History 21:00 MON (b016drl7)

Ceramics: A Fragile History 00:00 MON (b016drl7)

Ceramics: A Fragile History 03:30 MON (b016drl7)

Ceramics: A Fragile History 02:00 TUE (b016drl7)

Creation at the BBC 22:40 FRI (b016myqv)

Creation at the BBC 02:00 FRI (b016myqv)

David Suchet on Sid Field: Last of the Music Hall Heroes 21:00 WED (b016fp8v)

David Suchet on Sid Field: Last of the Music Hall Heroes 03:10 WED (b016fp8v)

David Suchet on Sid Field: Last of the Music Hall Heroes 01:25 THU (b016fp8v)

Do it Yourself: The Story of Rough Trade 00:30 FRI (b00j4dx5)

Elgar: The Man Behind the Mask 19:30 FRI (b00vv0zx)

Frank Skinner on George Formby 21:00 THU (b016fpz0)

Frank Skinner on George Formby 00:25 THU (b016fpz0)

Holy Flying Circus 22:30 SAT (b0162zbx)

I Never Tell Anybody Anything: The Life and Art of Edward Burra 22:00 MON (b016fmxs)

I Never Tell Anybody Anything: The Life and Art of Edward Burra 01:30 MON (b016fmxs)

Johnny Kingdom's Year with the Birds 19:30 WED (b00vnf8g)

Julia Bradbury's Icelandic Walk 19:00 SUN (b0110grr)

Katalin Varga 22:00 SUN (b016mw1d)

Katalin Varga 00:50 WED (b016mw1d)

Life 19:00 SAT (b00p4rl4)

Light Fantastic 01:20 SUN (b0167fkh)

Miss Marie Lloyd: Queen of the Music Hall 22:00 WED (b007qcxg)

Monty Python's Life of Brian 21:00 SAT (b016ltyg)

Monty Python's Life of Brian 23:00 TUE (b016ltyg)

Music Hall Meltdown 00:30 TUE (b007gm0j)

Omnibus 23:40 FRI (b007bf0l)

On Show 22:30 TUE (b007hz94)

Only Connect 20:30 MON (b016dr34)

Only Connect 01:00 MON (b016dr34)

Perfume 19:30 MON (b0126vf0)

Perfume 02:30 MON (b0126vf0)

Return to Pembrokeshire Farm 19:30 TUE (b00ndvtg)

Singer-Songwriters at the BBC 00:30 SAT (b016300t)

Songwriters' Circle 01:30 SAT (b016300r)

Tales from the National Parks 21:00 SUN (b016dr0x)

Tales from the National Parks 23:20 SUN (b016dr0x)

Tales from the National Parks 03:00 SUN (b016dr0x)

Tales from the National Parks 20:00 WED (b016dr0x)

Tales from the National Parks 02:10 WED (b016dr0x)

The Secret Life of Ice 20:00 THU (b016fpyy)

The Secret Life of Ice 02:25 THU (b016fpyy)

The Secret Life of Waves 23:00 MON (b00y5jhx)

The Slap 22:00 THU (b016lvbz)

The Story of Music Hall with Michael Grade 21:00 TUE (b016fn23)

The Story of Music Hall with Michael Grade 03:00 TUE (b016fn23)

The Story of Music Hall with Michael Grade 23:20 WED (b016fn23)

Top of the Pops 00:00 SAT (b01692kw)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b016fpyw)

Top of the Pops 23:55 THU (b016fpyw)

Upside Down: The Creation Story 21:00 FRI (b016myqs)

Upside Down: The Creation Story 03:00 FRI (b016myqs)

Welsh Greats 20:30 TUE (b00j092z)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b016dr32)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b016fn21)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b016fp8s)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b016fpyt)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b016fr40)