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 03 DECEMBER 2011

SAT 19:00 Yellowstone (b00jmqk1)
Autumn

Over the summer, Yellowstone has flourished - in late August there are more living things here than at any other time of the year. But winter is around the corner and there are just two months for all Yellowstone's animals to get ready or get out.

An early dusting of snow is a sign for elk to start moving down from the mountains to focus on finding food in the valleys. Although the wolves are waiting for them, the male elk are distracted, their haunting bugle call boasting that they are fired up and ready to fight each other to the death for the right to breed.

As temperatures fall further, beavers get busy in a rush to repair dams and stock underwater larders before ice freezes their ponds. Yellowstone's forests - the aspens, cottonwoods and maples - start to shut down for the winter, their colours painting the park a blaze of red and gold. Meanwhile, another tree is coming into its own, the whitebark pine. It offers up a bumper crop of pine nuts which fatten grizzly bears and squirrels alike. But its nuts are meant for another animal - the Clark's nutcracker, a small bird with a colossal memory and one that will reward the tree's efforts well by carrying its seeds far and wide, and even planting them.

As autumn ends, the snow and ice return and many animals now move out from the heart of Yellowstone and away from the protection of the national park. Their fight is not only to survive the cold, but also to find what little wild space remains in the modern world. All around Yellowstone, the human world is encroaching - it is now that the true value of the 'world's first national park' becomes clearer than ever.

Mike Kasic is a local sound recordist who got many of the natural sounds for the series, but in his spare time he dons snorkel and fins and jumps into the raging waters of one of the USA's wildest rivers to explore Yellowstone from the point of view of the unique Yellowstone cut-throat trout. Whilst his exploits might seem strange to the other park users - fly fishermen and bison alike - in becoming a fish, Mike not only uncovers an enchanting hidden Yellowstone, but finds out that things are not what they used to be for the cut-throat trout.


SAT 20:00 Art of America (b017sryq)
What Lies Beneath

In the final part of his United States odyssey, Andrew Graham-Dixon feels the pulse of contemporary America. Beginning in Levittown - the first mass-produced suburb - Andrew uncovers the dark side of post-war consumerism and the role artists have played in challenging the status quo.

He visits New York's Metropolitan Museum to see the most subversive artwork of 1950s America, Jasper Johns's White Flag. Pop art defined the 1960s and Andy Warhol was its greatest artist. Andrew examines Warhol's soup can paintings, meets his former lover Billy Name and interviews one of the last great surviving pop artists, James Rosenquist.

He travels west down the open road, exploring its art, arriving in Los Angeles, an artificial dream world that has inspired the graphic style of Ed Ruscha and the city's own unique contribution to 20th century design - Googie architecture.

Back east, Andrew visits the home of one of his favourite 20th century artists, the late Philip Guston, and gets a private view of his work. He drops into the studio of Jeff Koons to learn how the enfant terrible of contemporary art continues to challenge the boundaries of American taste. Finally, he explores the impact 9/11 has had on America and how a new generation of artists, such as Matthew Day Jackson, have made sense of this tragic event.


SAT 21:00 The Killing (b017z1s5)
Series 2

Episode 5

Lund and Strange travel to Sweden to question and protect the only other surviving member of Raben's former army squad. But Raben himself is on the same mission. Having lost face with the prime minister, Buch is pressured into passing the much-negotiated anti-terrorism bill. Will he agree to the new draconian measures against his own better judgement? Top police brass and Special Branch interfere with the investigation, but Lund persists and has a breakthrough when she suddenly sees the case from a new angle.


SAT 22:00 The Killing (b017z1tc)
Series 2

Episode 6

Lund is convinced that the body of the fallen soldier, Per K Moller, is not the one in the buried coffin and orders it to be exhumed. Now the sole survivor of his former squad, Jens Peter Raben realises that the preacher lied about his acquaintance with Anne Dragsholm. Thomas Buch is still in the hot seat and tries to uncover the mysterious motivations of his predecessor, former justice minister Monberg.


SAT 23:00 The Slap (b017svd8)
Manolis

For Hector's father Manolis, a man facing his mortality, the 'Slap' illuminates the selfishness and greed of his children's generation. He is concerned by how the event has divided his family and yearns to return to a simpler life in the old country.


SAT 23:55 Top of the Pops (b017svd2)
25/11/76

Jimmy Savile introduces 1976 chart hits by the Kursaal Flyers, Billy Ocean, Cliff Richard, Elton John and Chicago. With Legs & Co performing a dance sequence.


SAT 00:25 Top of the Pops (b00zwrn5)
1964 to 1975 - Big Hits

1964 saw the birth of a very British institution. Spanning over four decades, Top of the Pops has produced many classic moments in pop culture.

Digging deep within the darkest depths of the BBC's archive, this compilation offers some memorable performances from 1964 through to 1975 from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, Status Quo, Procol Harum, Stevie Wonder, Queen and The Kinks, and opens the vintage vaults to rare performances from Stealers Wheel, Julie Driscoll, Peter Sarstedt and The Seekers.

So sit back and witness once again where music met television.


SAT 01:55 Art of America (b017sryq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 02:55 Yellowstone (b00jmqk1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



SUNDAY 04 DECEMBER 2011

SUN 19:00 Hidcote: A Garden for All Seasons (b011s3pw)
Documentary telling the story of Hidcote - the most influential English garden of the 20th century - and Lawrence Johnston, the enigmatic genius behind it. Hidcote was the first garden ever taken on by the National Trust, who spent 3.5 million pounds in a major programme of restoration. This included researching Johnston's original vision, which in turn uncovered the compelling story of how Johnston created such an iconic garden.

Until recently, little was known about the secretive and self-taught Johnston. He kept few, if any, records on Hidcote's construction, but current head gardener Glyn Jones made it a personal mission to discover as much about the man as possible to reveal how, in the early 20th century, Johnston set about creating a garden that has inspired designers all over the world.


SUN 20:00 America on a Plate: The Story of the Diner (b017ss8x)
Writer and broadcaster Stephen Smith re-envisions the story of 20th-century American culture through its most iconic institution - the diner. Whether Edward Hopper's Nighthawks or the infamous encounter between Pacino and de Niro in Heat, these gleaming, gaudy shacks are at the absolute heart of the American vision.

Stephen embarks on a girth-busting road journey that takes him to some of America's most iconic diners. He meets the film-makers and singers who have immortalised them, and looks at the role diners have played not only in America's greatest paintings and movies, but also in the fight against racial oppression and the chain restaurants' global takeover.

For Stephen, it is because the diner is the last vestige of a vital part of the American psyche - the frontier. Like the Dodge City saloon it is a place where strangers are thrown together, where normal rules are suspended and anything can happen. And it is this crackle of potentially violent and sexual energy that have drawn so many artists to the diner, and made it not a convenient setting but an engine room of 20th-century American culture.


SUN 21:00 Storyville (b017z25v)
The Interrupters - How to Stop a Riot

Documentary which tells the surprising story of three dedicated individuals who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they themselves once perpetrated. These 'interrupters' intervene in conflicts before the incidents explode into violence. Their work and their insights are closely entwined with their own personal journeys, which, as each of them points out, defy easy characterisation.

Shot over the course of a year by acclaimed filmmaker Steve James, it is a vivid portrayal of a city under siege from spiralling violence, including the brutal murder of Derrion Albert, a Chicago high-school student whose death was caught on videotape.


SUN 23:00 Diner (b0077kc6)
Acutely observed rites-of-passage movie about five young Baltimore men in 1959 for whom their the local diner is the centre of their world, a place in which to laugh, cry, reminisce about the past and make plans for the future. In this particular week, they celebrate Christmas and face up to adulthood - which means saying goodbye to love and an end to their diner days.


SUN 00:45 New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s (b017sw79)
Lionel Richie: Dancing on the Ceiling

Documentary showing how Lionel Richie achieved his dream of becoming 'as big as The Beatles' and how much of what he learnt from his years with The Commodores prepared him for that success. After 15 years of soaring success with the band, Lionel left the group to go solo in what many considered to be a risky move. His first solo album, Lionel Richie, grabbed the world's attention, whilst the follow-up, Can't Slow Down, turned him into a global superstar. But could he maintain sustained popularity without the group he'd known as brothers behind him?

Contributors include: Billboard Magazine editor Adam White, Motown songwriter and producer Gloria Jones, Kenny Rogers, video director Bob Giraldi, songwriter and producer David Foster, general manager at Motown in 1978 Keith Harris, UK soul singer Lemar and Pearly Gates of The Flirtations.


SUN 01:45 Lionel Richie at the BBC (b017sw7c)
A selection of Lionel Richie's greatest moments from the BBC archives, from his first Top of the Pops appearance with The Commodores in 1979 to highlights from his 2009 concert at the BBC's Maida Vale studios.


SUN 02:45 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.



MONDAY 05 DECEMBER 2011

MON 19:00 World News Today (b017zn43)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Jimmy and the Wild Honey Hunters (b00d298z)
Jimmy Doherty travels to Nepal to meet an ancient group of people who risk their lives to farm their local honey.

A keen beekeeper with a passion for honey, Jimmy has always been blown away by the sheer variety of flavours, appreciating a good honey like others enjoy a fine wine. So when he heard about an ancient group of people in Nepal who are willing to risk their lives to taste their local honey, he knew he wanted to share the experience.

As a 'honey hunter' Jimmy must scale a massive cliff to reach the home of more than two million bees and dangle 200 feet up to get their honey. If successful, the reward is not only to learn more about these amazing bees, but also to taste one of nature's finest bounties - beautiful wild honey.


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b017zn45)
Series 5

Analysts vs Antiquarians

In the series finale, three professional analysts square up to a trio of history buffs for the right to be named series five champions. They compete to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly random, from capsule on the London Eye to avenue in San Francisco to seat row on Lufthansa planes to floor in 1 Canada Square.


MON 21:00 Timeshift (b017zqw8)
Series 11

The Golden Age of Trams: A Streetcar Named Desire

Move along the car! Timeshift takes a nostalgic trip on the tram car and explores how it liberated overcrowded cities and launched the era of the commuter. The film maps the tram's journey from early horse-drawn carriages on rails, through steam, and to electric power.

Overhead wires hung over Britain's towns and cities for nearly 50 years from the beginning of the 20th century until they were phased out everywhere except Blackpool. Manchester, the last city to lose its trams was, however, among the first to reintroduce them as the solution to modern-day traffic problems.

The film includes a specially recorded reading by Alan Bennett of his short story Leeds Trams, and contributions from Ken Dodd and Roy Hattersley.


MON 22:00 Story of Light Entertainment (b00792f0)
All Round Entertainers

Straight from the Victorian music halls with their traditional mix of song, dance and comic skit came the tradition of the all round entertainer - an artiste who could 'do it all'. But despite this incredible mix of skills and after ruling the world of light entertainment for years, their chief mode of employment was to become hosts of variety shows, game shows, quizzes and competitions. And whilst an obvious waste of their talents, it did provide huge fame and money, as game shows quickly became the biggest hits on TV.

But the all round entertainers are the masters of reinvention - from Bruce Forsyth to Michael Barrymore and Bob Monkhouse to Cilla Black, they adapted their skills to keep their place at the top of the slippery showbiz ladder, even as reality TV took hold of the schedules and fame rather than talent became a passport to TV stardom.

But becoming a jack of all trades brings its own problems, and unappreciated talents, fragile egos and a craving for attention have forever blighted the world of the all rounder.

Stars featured include Bruce Forsyth, Jimmy Tarbuck, Cilla Black, Brian Conley, Joe Pasquale, Lionel Blair, Una Stubbs, Michael Grade and many more.


MON 23:30 Blackpool Tram (b0183l6l)
Warren Clarke narrates the story of the Blackpool tram, once the butt of local jokes, but which is being rediscovered as an efficient solution to the traffic and pollution problems of the 1990s.


MON 00:00 Only Connect (b017zn45)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 00:30 Timeshift (b017zqw8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 01:30 Jimmy and the Wild Honey Hunters (b00d298z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 02:25 Blackpool Tram (b0183l6l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:30 today]


MON 03:00 Timeshift (b017zqw8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 06 DECEMBER 2011

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b017znj5)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Time to Remember (b00tzlzz)
Stage and Screen

In the 1950s, the newsreel company Pathe mined their archive to produce a series of programmes for television called Time to Remember. Made by the producer Peter Baylis, they chronicled the political, social and cultural changes that occurred during the first half of the 20th century.

Each episode was narrated by a prominent actor such as Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave, Anthony Quayle, Edith Evans, Basil Rathbone and Joyce Grenfell, all reading scripts recalling historic, evocative or significant moments from an intriguing past.

In 2010, the material from the original Time to Remember has been collected together thematically to create a new 12-part series under the same title that offers a rewarding perspective on the events, people and innovations from history that continue to shape and influence the world around us.

Archive footage from the theatres, music halls and cinemas of the 1920s and 30s combines with characterful voiceover to give a glimpse of the entertainment industries in their early 20th century golden age. It includes footage of Charles Laughton applying his own stage make-up, chorus line auditions and rehearsals in the West End, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks visiting Europe, and Alfred Hitchcock's first talkie, 1929's Blackmail.


TUE 20:00 Around the World in 60 Minutes (b00ymjkt)
A unique journey around the weird and wonderful planet that we call home.

When Yuri Gagarin was blasted into space he became the first human to get a proper look at where we live. 'The Earth is blue,' he exclaimed, 'how amazing!'. Suddenly our perspective on the world had changed forever. We thought we were going to explore the universe, yet the most extraordinary thing we discovered was our own home planet, the Earth.

So what would you see during just one orbit of the Earth? Starting 200 miles above the planet, this film whisks you around the planet to show what changes in the time it takes to circumnavigate the Earth just once. We hear from British-born astronaut Piers Sellers on what it's like to live and work in space, and also to gaze down and see how we are altering and reshaping our world.

We marvel at the incredible forces of nature that brings hundred-mile wide storms and reshapes continents, and also discover how we humans are draining seas and building cities in the middle of the desert. We also visit the wettest place on Earth, as well as the most volcanic.

Narrated by David Morrissey, this inspirational trip around the planet will make you view our home as you've never seen it before.


TUE 21:00 After Life: The Strange Science of Decay (b012w66t)
Ever wondered what would happen in your own home if you were taken away, and everything inside was left to rot? The answer is revealed in this fascinating programme, which explores the strange and surprising science of decay.

For two months in summer 2011, a glass box containing a typical kitchen and garden was left to rot in full public view within Edinburgh Zoo. In this resulting documentary, presenter Dr George McGavin and his team use time-lapse cameras and specialist photography to capture the extraordinary way in which moulds, microbes and insects are able to break down our everyday things and allow new life to emerge from old.

Decay is something that many of us are repulsed by. But as the programme shows, it's a process that's vital in nature. And seen in close-up, it has an unexpected and sometimes mesmerising beauty.


TUE 22:30 Treasures of Heaven (b012248j)
Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the ancient Christian practice of preserving holy relics and the largely forgotten art form that went with it, the reliquary. Fragments of bone or fabric placed inside a bejewelled shrine, a sculpted golden head or even a life-sized silver hand were, and still are, objects of religious devotion believed to have the power to work miracles. Most precious of all, though, are relics of Jesus Christ, and the programme also features three reliquaries containing the holiest of all relics - those associated with the Crucifixion.

The story of relics and reliquaries is a 2,000-year history of faith, persecution and hope, reflected in some of the most beautiful and little-known works of art ever made. Featuring interviews with art historian Sister Wendy Beckett and Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum.


TUE 23:30 Dinner with Portillo (b00qbzxl)
Can Scientists Be Morally Neutral?

Over dinner, Michael Portillo and seven guests discuss whether scientists can be morally neutral in their pursuit of scientific knowledge. Should scientists take an ethical stand on how science is used? Should there be limits on what scientists are allowed to discover? What ethical dilemmas will be thrown up by the science of the future? Guests include Baroness Susan Greenfield, Mark Henderson and Bryan Appleyard.


TUE 00:00 Time to Remember (b00tzlzz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 00:30 Around the World in 60 Minutes (b00ymjkt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 01:30 Treasures of Heaven (b012248j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]


TUE 02:30 After Life: The Strange Science of Decay (b012w66t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 07 DECEMBER 2011

WED 19:00 World News Today (b017znkz)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Churches: How to Read Them (b00tr47y)
Medieval Death

The medieval church cannot be understood without recognising that death was at its heart. Richard Taylor shows how churches were designed to give medieval people a way to escape death, with their Judgement scenes, cadaver tombs and graphic depictions of the crucifixion.

He explains why scenes of suffering on the cross became so prominent and why the instruments used in the persecution of Jesus were depicted in the decoration of windows, floors and walls at such remarkable sites as Malvern Priory in Worcestershire.

Taylor explains the medieval obsession with purgatory and how this again transformed our churches with the building of elaborate chantry chapels, where Masses could be said to ease the journey of departed souls into heaven.


WED 20:00 Timeshift (b017zqw8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


WED 21:00 Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood (b01803s3)
For over 1,200 years church bells have called the faithful to worship, helping people celebrate triumph and commemorate tragedy. But the fact that they are one of the largest and loudest musical instruments in the world is often overlooked.

This is something musical innovator Charles Hazlewood wants to change - he wants to see if church bells can be used to make original music in their own right.

Choosing Cambridge for his musical experiment, Charles immerses himself in the world of bells and bell ringing. He tries his hand at ringing church bells, handbells and even a carillon - an instrument which resembles an organ made out of bells. He discovers why church bell ringing sounds the way it does and tries out some radical techniques - pushing the boundaries, he re-rigs a whole church tower so it can play a tune.

At the culmination of his investigations Charles devises and performs an extraordinary piece of music which involves three separate church towers and 30 handbell ringers gathered from across the eastern counties.


WED 22:00 Rosslyn Chapel: A Treasure in Stone (b00v3y5s)
The exquisite Rosslyn Chapel is a masterpiece in stone. It used to be one of Scotland's best-kept secrets, but it became world-famous when it was featured in Dan Brown's the Da Vinci Code.

Art historian Helen Rosslyn, whose husband's ancestor built the chapel over 550 years ago, is the guide on a journey of discovery around this perfect gem of a building. Extraordinary carvings of green men, inverted angels and mysterious masonic marks beg the questions of where these images come from and who the stonemasons that created them were. Helen's search leads her across Scotland and to Normandy in search of the creators of this medieval masterpiece.


WED 23:00 The Killing (b017z1s5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


WED 00:00 The Killing (b017z1tc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Saturday]


WED 01:00 Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood (b01803s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


WED 02:00 Churches: How to Read Them (b00tr47y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 02:30 Timeshift (b017zqw8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


WED 03:30 Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood (b01803s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 08 DECEMBER 2011

THU 19:00 World News Today (b017zqw6)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 The Sky at Night (b07wxb65)
Outer Limits

The outer limits of the solar system are a dark, cold and mysterious place, which only the Voyager spacecraft have visited. Sir Patrick Moore discusses the ice giants Uranus and Neptune, while Chris Lintott has an early Christmas treat - a lost episode of The Sky at Night from 1963 which has been returned to the BBC, in which Arthur C Clarke talks about his vision of bases on the moon and speculates when man will be on Mars.


THU 20:00 Horizon (b013pnv4)
2011-2012

Seeing Stars

Around the world, a new generation of astronomers are hunting for the most mysterious objects in the universe. Young stars, black holes, even other forms of life.

They have created a dazzling new set of supertelescopes that promise to rewrite the story of the heavens.

This film follows the men and women who are pushing the limits of science and engineering in some of the most extreme environments on earth. But most strikingly of all, no-one really knows what they will find out there.


THU 21:00 Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City (b017znj7)
Wellspring of Holiness

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world. For the Jewish faith, it is the site of the Western Wall, the last remnant of the second Jewish temple. For Christians, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the site of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Muslims, the Al-Aqsa mosque is the third holiest sanctuary of Islam.

In episode one, Simon delves into the past to explore how this unique city came into being, explaining how it became of such major importance to the three Abrahamic faiths, and how these faiths emerged from the Biblical tradition of the Israelites.

Starting with the Canaanites, Simon goes on a chronological journey to trace the rise of the city as a holy place and discusses the evidence for it becoming a Jewish city under King David. The programme explores the construction of the first temple by Solomon through to the life and death of Jesus Christ and the eventual expulsion of the Jews by the Romans, concluding in the 7th century AD, on the eve of the capture of Jerusalem by the Muslim caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab.


THU 22:00 The Slap (b017zqwd)
Aisha

Aisha and Hector go on their anniversary holiday where she meets temptation and he makes a confession.


THU 22:55 Around the World in 60 Minutes (b00ymjkt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Tuesday]


THU 23:55 The Sky at Night (b07wxb65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 00:25 Horizon (b013pnv4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 01:25 After Life: The Strange Science of Decay (b012w66t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


THU 02:55 Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City (b017znj7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 09 DECEMBER 2011

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b017zrm3)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Transatlantic Sessions (b007yyss)
Series 3

Episode 1

The best of Nashville, Ireland and Scotland come together in an exclusive Highland location and with no audience except one another to make music in what have been called 'the greatest backporch shows ever'.

Paul Brady remembers Louisiana, Karen Matheson astonishes with some Gaelic mouth music and American star Joan Osborne makes her UK television debut.


FRI 20:00 Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood (b01803s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]


FRI 21:00 New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s (b01805m3)
Public Enemy: Prophets of Rage

In the late 1980s Public Enemy were the biggest rap group on the planet. Their mission: to raise the consciousness of a generation. With a rebellious attitude to match their militant image they sold millions of records preaching pro-black politics to fans of all races, all done through a groundbreaking wall of noise that changed the sound of hip hop. White, middle Americans were outraged, but their kids loved it.

Not surprisingly, this confrontational approach attracted controversy. Critics claimed the group themselves were racist, exposing racial divides rather than promoting equality. They were banned from some TV and radio stations and when one member reportedly made anti-Semitic remarks in a newspaper interview the resulting media-storm threatened to end their career. Tensions were running high and arguments within the band ended in violence. Could they keep it together long enough to get their message across?

Includes exclusive new interviews with Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, Hank and Keith Shocklee and the S1Ws. Plus contributions from Run DMC, Method Man (Wu-Tang Clan), Anthrax's Scott Ian, Jurassic 5's Chali 2na, Bahamadia, writer and activist Kevin Powell and DJ Dave Pearce.


FRI 22:00 Hip-Hop at the BBC (b017zrm5)
Hip-hop through the decades from the BBC archives, including the Sugarhill Gang in 1979, Run DMC, LL Cool J and Eric B & Rakim in the 80s, Ice-T, Monie Love, Fugees and the Roots in the 90s and concluding with Dr Dre & Eminem, Dizzee Rascal and Jay-Z.


FRI 23:00 Blues Britannia: Can Blue Men Sing the Whites? (b00kc752)
Documentary telling the story of what happened to blues music on its journey from the southern states of America to the heart of British pop and rock culture, providing an in-depth look at what this music really meant to a generation of kids desperate for an antidote to their experiences of living in post-war suburban Britain.

Narrated by Nigel Planer and structured in three parts, the first, Born Under a Bad Sign, focuses on the arrival of American blues in Britain in the late 50s and the first performances here by such legends as Muddy Waters, Sonnie Terry and Brownie McGhee.

Part two, Sittin' on Top of the World, charts the birth of the first British blues boom in the early 60s, spearheaded by the Rolling Stones and groups such as the Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, the Animals and the Pretty Things.

The final section, Crossroads, looks at the next, more hardcore British blues boom of the mid-to-late 60s, with guitarists Eric Clapton and Peter Green and the international dominance of their respective bands, Cream and Fleetwood Mac.

Featuring archive performances and interviews with Keith Richards, Paul Jones, Chris Dreja, Bill Wyman, Phil May, John Mayall, Jack Bruce, Mick Fleetwood, Ian Anderson, Tony McPhee, Mike Vernon, Tom McGuinness, Mick Abrahams, Dick Taylor, Val Wilmer, Chris Barber, Pete Brown, Bob Brunning, Dave Kelly and Phil Ryan.


FRI 00:30 New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s (b01805m3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 01:30 Hip-Hop at the BBC (b017zrm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 02:30 Transatlantic Sessions (b007yyss)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 03:00 Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood (b01803s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]




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

After Life: The Strange Science of Decay 21:00 TUE (b012w66t)

After Life: The Strange Science of Decay 02:30 TUE (b012w66t)

After Life: The Strange Science of Decay 01:25 THU (b012w66t)

America on a Plate: The Story of the Diner 20:00 SUN (b017ss8x)

Around the World in 60 Minutes 20:00 TUE (b00ymjkt)

Around the World in 60 Minutes 00:30 TUE (b00ymjkt)

Around the World in 60 Minutes 22:55 THU (b00ymjkt)

Art of America 20:00 SAT (b017sryq)

Art of America 01:55 SAT (b017sryq)

Blackpool Tram 23:30 MON (b0183l6l)

Blackpool Tram 02:25 MON (b0183l6l)

Blues Britannia: Can Blue Men Sing the Whites? 23:00 FRI (b00kc752)

Churches: How to Read Them 19:30 WED (b00tr47y)

Churches: How to Read Them 02:00 WED (b00tr47y)

Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood 21:00 WED (b01803s3)

Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood 01:00 WED (b01803s3)

Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood 03:30 WED (b01803s3)

Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood 20:00 FRI (b01803s3)

Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood 03:00 FRI (b01803s3)

Diner 23:00 SUN (b0077kc6)

Dinner with Portillo 23:30 TUE (b00qbzxl)

Hidcote: A Garden for All Seasons 19:00 SUN (b011s3pw)

Hip-Hop at the BBC 22:00 FRI (b017zrm5)

Hip-Hop at the BBC 01:30 FRI (b017zrm5)

Horizon 20:00 THU (b013pnv4)

Horizon 00:25 THU (b013pnv4)

Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City 21:00 THU (b017znj7)

Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City 02:55 THU (b017znj7)

Jimmy and the Wild Honey Hunters 19:30 MON (b00d298z)

Jimmy and the Wild Honey Hunters 01:30 MON (b00d298z)

Lionel Richie at the BBC 01:45 SUN (b017sw7c)

Motor City's Burning: Detroit from Motown to the Stooges 02:45 SUN (b009372j)

New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s 00:45 SUN (b017sw79)

New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s 21:00 FRI (b01805m3)

New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s 00:30 FRI (b01805m3)

Only Connect 20:30 MON (b017zn45)

Only Connect 00:00 MON (b017zn45)

Rosslyn Chapel: A Treasure in Stone 22:00 WED (b00v3y5s)

Story of Light Entertainment 22:00 MON (b00792f0)

Storyville 21:00 SUN (b017z25v)

The Killing 21:00 SAT (b017z1s5)

The Killing 22:00 SAT (b017z1tc)

The Killing 23:00 WED (b017z1s5)

The Killing 00:00 WED (b017z1tc)

The Sky at Night 19:30 THU (b07wxb65)

The Sky at Night 23:55 THU (b07wxb65)

The Slap 23:00 SAT (b017svd8)

The Slap 22:00 THU (b017zqwd)

Time to Remember 19:30 TUE (b00tzlzz)

Time to Remember 00:00 TUE (b00tzlzz)

Timeshift 21:00 MON (b017zqw8)

Timeshift 00:30 MON (b017zqw8)

Timeshift 03:00 MON (b017zqw8)

Timeshift 20:00 WED (b017zqw8)

Timeshift 02:30 WED (b017zqw8)

Top of the Pops 23:55 SAT (b017svd2)

Top of the Pops 00:25 SAT (b00zwrn5)

Transatlantic Sessions 19:30 FRI (b007yyss)

Transatlantic Sessions 02:30 FRI (b007yyss)

Treasures of Heaven 22:30 TUE (b012248j)

Treasures of Heaven 01:30 TUE (b012248j)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b017zn43)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b017znj5)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b017znkz)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b017zqw6)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b017zrm3)

Yellowstone 19:00 SAT (b00jmqk1)

Yellowstone 02:55 SAT (b00jmqk1)