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 JUNE 2013

SAT 19:00 Britain on Film (b021270b)
Series 2

Times of Change

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

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


SAT 19:30 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (b03345c8)
Concerts

The Song Prize Final

Petroc Trelawny presents the first of BBC Cardiff Singer's two finals, the Song Prize, a demanding discipline where singers perform art song and lieder accompanied only by the piano. Joining Petroc is the acclaimed young opera singer Danielle de Niese, while on hand to analyse the performances are two experts at the genre - leading Irish soprano Ailish Tynan, who won the title in 2003, and internationally-renowned mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink.


SAT 21:00 Wallander (b01ln99p)
Sidetracked

Part 2

A Kurt Wallander mystery told from the perspectives of police and criminal. As the confusing murders continue, it seems Wallander's daughter could be in danger.

In Swedish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:15 Kings of Rock and Roll (b007c95q)
A journey back to the 1950s for a look at the wildest pop music of all time in a film that tells the stories of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, giants from an era when pop music really was mad, bad and dangerous to know.

The programme features the artists themselves, alongside people like Bill Haley's original Comets, The Crickets, Buddy Holly's widow Maria Elena, Jerry Lee Lewis's former wife Myra Gail and his sister, Chuck Berry's son and many more, including June Juanico, Elvis's first serious girlfriend.

Other contributors include Tom Jones, Jamie Callum, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard, Joe Brown, Marty Wilde, Green Day, Minnie Driver, Jack White of The White Stripes, The Mavericks, Jools Holland, Hank Marvin, Fontella Bass, John Waters and more.

Elvis's pelvis was just the start. Who had to change the lyrics to their biggest hit because the originals were too obscene? Who married their 13-year-old cousin? Who used lard to get their hair just right? And what happened on the day the music died?


SAT 23:15 Classic Albums (b01rlwpd)
Elvis Presley: Elvis Presley

A look at the creation of Elvis Presley's eponymous debut album, which brought about his meteoric rise to superstardom in 1956. The film is filled with performances from 1955 and 56, interviews with Elvis and rare home movie footage of him at play and work, offering fresh insights into his life and his recordings. Featured songs include Blue Suede Shoes, Shake Rattle and Roll, Tutti Frutti and Elvis's first million-seller, Heartbreak Hotel.


SAT 00:05 Later... with Jools Holland (b00dwfyy)
Guitar Heroes

Guitar heroes from as far away as Mexico and as close to home as Chiswick have all come to rock the Later studio since 1995. This collection of performances brings together the best of them, from the legendary Buddy Guy to the homegrown guitar superstars he inspired, such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Pete Townshend. Joining them on the bill are Santana, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The White Stripes, Radiohead and more.


SAT 01:05 Kings of Rock and Roll (b007c95q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:15 today]


SAT 02:10 Classic Albums (b01rlwpd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:15 today]


SAT 03:00 Later... with Jools Holland (b00dwfyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:05 today]



SUNDAY 23 JUNE 2013

SUN 19:00 Sacred Music: The Story of Allegri's Miserere (b00g81g7)
Simon Russell Beale tells the story behind Allegri's Miserere, one of the most popular pieces of sacred music ever written. The programme features a full performance of the piece by the award-winning choir the Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers.


SUN 19:30 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (b0335dyj)
Concerts

The Final

Petroc Trelawny and Danielle de Niese present the final of what is widely regarded as the world's greatest singing competition. From twenty young hopefuls, five have made it through to the final and for the winner a career of operatic stardom awaits. The formidable judging panel, including Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, will announce the overall winner and the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize. Guiding us through the proceedings are Petroc's special guests - soprano Karita Mattila, winner of the first ever contest in 1983, and celebrated tenor Joseph Calleja. Josie D'Arby and Mary King take us behind the scenes to look at the pressures these young singers are going through.


SUN 22:00 Angelic Voices: The Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral (b01f6tb8)
Child choristers have been singing at Salisbury for 900 years. This film - an observational portrait, history and musical immersion in one of Britain's most distinctive and beloved cultural traditions - follows Salisbury Cathedral's choristers over Easter and through the summer term of 2011.

Salisbury Cathedral's separate boy and girl choirs each contain 16 of the most musically gifted eight- to 13-year-olds in the country. Their role, now as always, is to sing some of the most sublime music ever written in one of Britain's most beautiful buildings. Indeed there are many who believe the chorister's pure, clear, treble voice is the finest instrument in all music.

The film spends four months with the choristers as they go about their day-to-day lives, discovering their own history and singing some of the most loved music from a sacred canon spanning six centuries from medieval plainsong to the present day. Under the direction of indefatigable choir master David Halls, they rehearse and perform works by Sheppard, Byrd, Purcell, Handel, Mozart, Stanford, Parry, Alcock and Rutter.

Lining up in his black cloak, ten-year-old Alex says he feels like Harry Potter while Freddie, 12, admits, 'Other children think we are weird and actually we are not.' Yet few children perhaps have the poise or conviction of Susanna, 10, who explains, 'Singing for choristers is part of them. If you said to me "You're not allowed to sing anymore", it would be just like me telling you that you can't see your child anymore.' It is doubtful that Salisbury's early choristers, often so hungry they were forced to beg for bread, thought so fondly of their work. But when plainsong turned to polyphony the choristers' plight was transformed - with the top cathedrals in the late middle ages known to pay Premiership-style transfer fees for the most musically gifted boys, some of whom were even kidnapped by rival cathedrals.

Today's top trebles at Salisbury are seen competing for one of the most famed solos in a chorister's repertoire. Will Finnbar, Freddie or Noah be picked for Stanford's Mag in G?


SUN 23:30 Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop (b00nq7q9)
Fleetwood Mac are one of the biggest-selling bands of all time and still on the road. Their story, told in their own words, is an epic tale of love and confrontation, of success and loss.

Few bands have undergone such radical musical and personal change. The band evolved from the 60s British blues boom to perfect a US West Coast sound that saw them sell 40 million copies of the album Rumours.

However, behind-the-scenes relationships were turbulent. The band went through multiple line-ups with six different lead guitarists. While working on Rumours, the two couples at the heart of the band separated, yet this heartache inspired the perfect pop record.


SUN 00:30 The Ballad of Mott the Hoople (b01r3pmc)
Documentary telling the bruised and battered, but triumphant, tale of one of the UK's most cherished rock 'n' roll bands, Mott the Hoople.

Originating from Herefordshire, the band were thrown together in 1969 and signed to Island Records by the increasingly erratic manager/producer Guy Stevens, in a bid to find a band that would combine The Rolling Stones rhythmic power with the melody and lyricism of 'Blonde on Blonde' era Bob Dylan.

The documentary charts their journey from cult struggling touring band to their successful transformation into 'glam rock players' thanks to the intervention of David Bowie who gave them their biggest hit, 'All The Young Dudes', and their subsequent collapse after the addition of Mick Ronson to their line-up.

Mott the Hoople's story is brought to life through a combination of rare and unseen archive footage, their magnificent music and the testimony of band members Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Dale Griffin, Luther Grosvenor aka Ariel Bender and various other associates and witnesses, including boyhood fan Mick Jones of The Clash and Queen's Roger Taylor.


SUN 01:30 Totally British: 70s Rock 'n' Roll (b01r3pm9)
1970-1974

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

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

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

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


SUN 02:30 Storyville (b02x9z7g)
Silence in the House of God: Mea Maxima Culpa

Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney exposes abuse of power in the Catholic Church and a cover-up that winds its way from Wisconsin, through Ireland's churches, all the way to the highest office of the Vatican. The film investigates the secret crimes of a charismatic priest who abused over 200 deaf children in a school under his control and documents the first known public protest against clerical sex abuse in the US - a struggle of more than three decades by four deaf young men who set out to expose the priest who had abused them. Their efforts ultimately led to a lawsuit against the former pope, Benedict XVI himself.



MONDAY 24 JUNE 2013

MON 19:00 World News Today (b0314njs)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Wainwright Walks (b0079y0d)
Series 1

Haystacks

Julia Bradbury is in the Western Lakes to walk to the summit of Wainwright's favourite fell, Haystacks. With a little help and advice from local broadcaster and friend of Wainwright's, Eric Robson, Bradbury sets out to discover what makes this fell so special and why Wainwright chose it as his final resting place.


MON 20:00 Britain on Film (b033664h)
Series 2

Road, Rail and Runways

Throughout the 1960s, the Rank Organisation produced hundreds of short colour films on almost every aspect of British life. In a series reworking the best of this material to offer fascinating and often surprising insights into a transformative period of recent British history, this episode concentrates on the unprecedented upheavals in Britain's transport systems during a period when the popularity of air travel soared, rail networks were comprehensively dismantled and towns and cities were being reshaped to accommodate the unstoppable rise of the motor car.


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b033664k)
Series 7

Celts v Cat Lovers

The Celts and the Cat Lovers, both first-round winners, return in the hopes of securing a place in the semi-finals, competing to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly random. So join Victoria Coren Mitchell if you want to know what connects Felicity, California with the Forbidden City, Jerusalem on the Mappa Mundi and Mecca.


MON 21:00 Precision: The Measure of All Things (b033664m)
Heat, Light and Electricity

From lightning bolts and watt engines to electromagnetic waves and single electrons, Professor Marcus du Sautoy continues his journey into the world of measurement as he reveals how we came to measure and harness the power of heat, light and electricity. It's a journey that has involved the greatest minds in science and, today, is getting down to the very building blocks of atoms.


MON 22:00 Storyville (b033v5xz)
Power, Money, Greed & Oil

An epic venture into capitalism at the beginning of the 21st century. Made over five years, this documentary is a comprehensive insider account of a modern-day gold rush as Dallas-based Kosmos Energy race ahead to develop the first commercial oil field in Ghana's history, in the deep waters of the Gulf of Guinea.

Director Rachel Boynton follows the larger-than-life cast as Kosmos, the Ghanaian government and numerous other stakeholders jostle to realise their huge ambitions. While in Ghana she makes side trips to nearby Nigeria, whose own oil reserves have been responsible for a vicious cycle of exploitation with little appreciable benefit to the country itself.

The film poses vital questions about what fundamentally motivates mankind - is unchecked greed an intrinsic part of the human character? Can what unites us ever be greater than what divides us?


MON 23:30 Can Eating Insects Save the World? (p01599yk)
How would you feel about eating deep fried locusts, ant egg salad or barbequed tarantulas? This documentary sees presenter and food writer Stefan Gates immerse himself in the extraordinary world of hardcore insect-eating in a bid to conquer his lingering revulsion of bugs and discover if they really could save the planet.

With 40 tonnes of insects to every human, perhaps insects could offer a real solution to the global food crisis - where billions go hungry every day whilst the meat consumption of the rich draws vast amounts of grain out of the global food chain.

Stefan's on a mission to meet the people in Thailand and Cambodia that hunt, eat and sell edible insects for a living. But nothing quite prepares him for bug farming on this terrifying scale, from stalking grasshoppers at night to catching fiercely biting ants. And it's not just insects on the menu. Stefan also goes hunting for the hairiest, scariest spider on the planet - the tarantula. Stefan asks if the solution is for everyone - the British included - to start eating insects too.


MON 00:30 Britain by Bike (b00t4lqf)
North Devon

Clare Balding sets out on a two-wheel odyssey to re-discover Britain from the saddle of a touring cycle.

In a six-part series, Clare follows the wheeltracks of compulsive cyclist and author Harold Briercliffe whose evocative guide books of the late 1940s lovingly describe by-passed Britain - a world of unspoiled villages, cycle touring clubs and sunny B roads.

Carrying a set of Harold's Cycling Touring Guides for company and riding his very own bicycle, Clare embarks on six iconic cycle rides to try and find the world he described - if it is still there.

Her first journey takes Clare to the rugged and beautiful Atlantic coast of north Devon - from Lynmouth, scene of Britain's worst flood disaster in the early 1950s, to Ilfracombe via Little Switzerland, and a hidden silver mine whose riches probably helped England win the Battle of Agincourt.


MON 01:00 Only Connect (b033664k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 01:30 Wainwright Walks (b0079y0d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 02:00 Britain on Film (b033664h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


MON 02:30 Precision: The Measure of All Things (b033664m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 25 JUNE 2013

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b0314nlz)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Wainwright Walks (b0079y0f)
Series 1

Blencathra

Julia Bradbury sets off to climb her first mountain, Blencathra. Her route to the summit sees her tackle Sharp Edge, the Lake District's most technical and vertigo-inducing ridge climb. In the process, she discovers why the obsessive Wainwright chose to cover this fell in more detail than any other.


TUE 20:00 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.


TUE 21:00 The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge (b0336tf3)
Stephen Smith explores the extraordinary life and work of the virtuoso jeweller Carl Faberge. He talks to HRH Prince Michael of Kent about Faberge items in the Royal Collection and to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who spent $100 million acquiring nine exquisite Faberge eggs. The bejewelled trinkets Faberge made for the last tsars of Russia in the twilight of their rule have become some of the most sought-after treasures in the world, sometimes worth millions.

Smith follows in Faberge's footsteps, from the legendary Green Vaults in Dresden to the palaces of the tsars and the corridors of the Kremlin museum, as he discovers how this fin-de-siecle genius transformed his father's modest business into the world's most famous supplier of luxury items.


TUE 22:00 Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails (b00drtpj)
Ian Hislop brings his customary humour, analysis and wit to the notorious Beeching Report of 1963, which led to the closure of a third of the nation's railway lines and stations and forced tens of thousands of people into the car and onto the road.

Was author Dr Richard Beeching little more than Genghis Khan with a slide rule, ruthlessly hacking away at Britain's rail network in a misguided quest for profitability, or was he the fall guy for short-sighted government policies that favoured the car over the train?

Ian also investigates the fallout of Beeching's plan, discovering what was lost to the British landscape, communities and ways of life when the railway map shrank, and recalls the halcyon days of train travel, celebrated by John Betjeman.

Ian travels from Cornwall to the Scottish borders, meeting those responsible and those affected and questioning whether such brutal measures could be justified. Knowing what we know now, with trains far more energy efficient and environmentally sound than cars, perhaps Beeching's plan was the biggest folly of the 1960s?


TUE 23:00 Metroland (b00cyyqw)
An exploration of the English rural idyll with John Betjeman's 1973 meditation on the residential suburbs which grew up alongside the Metropolitan Line, the first steam underground in the world.


TUE 23:50 Precision: The Measure of All Things (b033664m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


TUE 00:50 Quick Cuts (b02ykt2s)
Episode 1

Sue chucks Trevor out, Marianne is choosing boobs, Gavin is sick on a pigeon, Becky is stalking her lover and Annie has a blind date with someone with an unusual problem. Trying to juggle all these problems and a shop full of customers is not easy for Sue, especially when a giant chipmunk wearing a fez and holding an axe shows up.


TUE 01:20 Wainwright Walks (b0079y0f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 01:50 Hidcote: A Garden for All Seasons (b011s3pw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 02:50 The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge (b0336tf3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 26 JUNE 2013

WED 19:00 World News Today (b0314np6)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Wainwright Walks (b0074tjb)
Series 1

Castle Crag

Julia Bradbury is in Britain's wettest vale, the Borrowdale Valley, to climb to the summit of Castle Crag. Of all 214 fells in Wainwright's pictorial guides, Castle Crag is the only one under 1,000ft to be included. Bradbury's goal is to determine what makes it worthy of such an honour.


WED 20:00 Natural World (b00tj7j4)
2010-2011

The Himalayas

Documentary looking at the wildlife of the most stunning mountain range in the world, home to snow leopards, Himalayan wolves and Tibetan bears.

Snow leopards stalk their prey among the highest peaks. Concealed by snowfall, the chase is watched by golden eagles circling above. On the harsh plains of the Tibetan plateau live extraordinary bears and square-faced foxes hunting small rodents to survive. In the alpine forests, dancing pheasants have even influenced rival border guards in their ritualistic displays. Valleys carved by glacial waters lead to hillsides covered by paddy fields containing the lifeline to the east, rice. In this world of extremes, the Himalayas reveal not only snow-capped mountains and fascinating animals but also a vital lifeline for humanity.


WED 21:00 Rome: A History of the Eternal City (b01p65l8)
City of the Sacred

Simon Sebag Montefiore looks at how every event in ancient Rome revolved around religion. From the foundation myth through to the deification of emperors, nothing could happen without calling upon the pantheon of Roman gods. Simon investigates how the Romans worshipped and sacrificed to the gods. He discovers that sacredness defined what was Roman and it was the responsibility of every Roman to play their part in the cult. Even the ancient Roman sewer was holy ground!


WED 22:00 Quick Cuts (b0337bh4)
Episode 2

Trevor fakes his own death, Gav sends filthy texts to the wrong person, Annie has a romantic encounter with Kevan but only because he was 'being polite', and Becky kicks Marianne where it hurts. Sue turns down a proposal of marriage and has to deal with an irate Peruvian pipe band.


WED 22:30 The Art of Tommy Cooper (b007hzl2)
Tommy Cooper was a national comedy institution whose catchphrases still remain in the language today. This bumbling giant with outsized feet and hands, whose mere entrance on stage had audiences erupting with uncontrollable laughter, was born in Caerphilly in 1921, where a statue is now erected in his honour - unveiled by Sir Anthony Hopkins.

This programme looks at the life and art of the man in the fez, whose clumsy, fumbling stage magic tricks hid a real talent as a magician. His private life was complicated and often difficult, but as far as his audiences were concerned, he was first and foremost a clown whose confusion with the mechanisms of everyday life made for hilarious viewing.


WED 23:00 Glastonbury (b01jv7f4)
2020

Glastonbury After Hours

In this personal film, Julien Temple, who directed the definitive documentary history of the Glastonbury Festival, explores the alternative side of the festival away from the spotlight of the main stages with their global pop superstars.

In fields known as Shangri La, Arcadia, the Unfair Ground, Strummerville, Block 9 and the Common, every year an unlikely attempt at utopia takes shape. Here, the festival reconnects with its radical, countercultural origins combining underground music, performance art and some of the funniest and most provocative sights of the festival with a dark, urgent 21st century spontaneity.

Filmed at the 2011 festival, this 75 minute documentary features Michael Eavis, the creators of, and visitors to the true heart of the Glastonbury, and, fuelled by the music of tomorrow, explores the hopes, dreams and personal utopias of those who, for one weekend in June, come together as the tribes of 21st Century Albion.


WED 00:15 Britain Goes Camping (b00t5hcl)
Featuring the evocative memories and unseen archive of generations of enthusiasts, a documentary which tells the intriguing story of how sleeping under canvas evolved from a leisure activity for a handful of adventurous Edwardian gents to the quintessentially British family pastime that it is today.


WED 01:15 Quick Cuts (b0337bh4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


WED 01:45 Natural World (b00tj7j4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


WED 02:45 Rome: A History of the Eternal City (b01p65l8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 27 JUNE 2013

THU 19:00 World News Today (b0314nrf)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b0337wc3)
Peter Powell introduces the weekly pop charts featuring performances from the Buzzcocks, Marshall Hain, ELO, Clout, Steel Pulse, City Boy, Justin Hayward and a dance routine by Legs & Co.


THU 20:00 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b0077k5h)
Series 1

The Old Magic

Terry is disappointed that Bob has asked someone else to be his best man at the wedding, but eventually agrees to go out for a meal with his friend before he gets hitched. After a few drinks at the restaurant, they start to chat up a couple of pretty girls who are also eating there.


THU 20:30 London on Film (b01jzq75)
The West End

From bright lights, showbusiness and shops to riots, sleaze and traffic jams, film-makers have long been drawn to London's West End. Using a rich mix of archive material, this film paints a colourful and surprising portrait of the city's beating heart.


THU 21:00 Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story (p00xzvlw)
Told with the help of some of his most famous comic characters including Cupid Stunt and Quentin Pose, the story of pioneering radio DJ and television star Kenny Everett's against-the-odds struggle to achieve both personal and professional fulfilment, as seen through the decade-and-a-half prism of his marriage to Lee Middleton.


THU 22:30 The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge (b0336tf3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


THU 23:30 Glastonbury (b00sv3t0)
2010

Glastonbury at 40: From Avalon to Jay-Z

2010 marked the 40th anniversary of the world's most famous music and performing arts festival. Mark Radcliffe narrates this archive-led look back at many of the iconic things and performances connected to the 28 festivals there have been at Worthy Farm, from Avalon to Common People to Hippies to Joe Strummer to Pyramid Stage to Radiohead to The Tor to Jay-Z.


THU 01:30 Top of the Pops (b0337wc3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 02:05 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b0077k5h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 02:35 Timeshift (b01rjr2y)
Series 12

How To Be A Lady: An Elegant History

Journalist Rachel Johnson goes in search of what seems an almost vanished social type - the lady. With a handful of vintage etiquette books to guide her and a generous helping of film archive, she wants to find out how the idea of the lady changed over time - and what it might mean to be one now. Along the way she tries out etiquette classes and side-saddle lessons, as well as discovering that debutante balls have been revived for export.



FRIDAY 28 JUNE 2013

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b0314nsz)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Written on Skin from the ROH (b033cf7v)
Film of the highly-acclaimed opera by two of Britiain's greatest living artists, composer George Benjamin and playwright Martin Crimp, performed at the Royal Opera House. Directed by the award-winning Katie Mitchell, it received a standing ovation when it premiered in France in 2012 and its UK debut at the the ROH, where it was co-commissioned, has been eagerly anticipated.

Written on Skin draws on a 12th-century Occitan legend about the troubadour Guillaume de Cabestanh. The story's enduring themes of love, passion and violence are given a very contemporary twist, as mysterious 21st-century angels watch over the enfolding drama.


FRI 21:05 Glastonbury (b03695jm)
2013

Seasick Steve

Mark Radcliffe introduces a performance from the West Holts Stage by US bluesman Steven Gene Wold aka Seasick Steve with his unique take on blues, mostly involving his own customised guitars.


FRI 22:05 Disco at the BBC (b01cqt74)
A foot-stomping return to the BBC vaults of Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle Test and Later with Jools as the programme spins itself to a time when disco ruled the floor, the airwaves and our minds. The visual floorfillers include classics from luminaries such as Chic, Labelle and Rose Royce to glitter ball surprises by The Village People.


FRI 23:05 Glastonbury (b03695jp)
2013

Chic featuring Nile Rodgers

Craig Charles introduces a performance on the West Holts Stage by Chic, led by original member and guitarist Nile Rodgers.


FRI 00:20 The Joy of Disco (b01cqt72)
Documentary about how a much-derided music actually changed the world. Between 1969 and 1979 disco soundtracked gay liberation, foregrounded female desire in the age of feminism and led to the birth of modern club culture as we know it today, before taking the world by storm. With contributions from Nile Rodgers, Robin Gibb, Kathy Sledge and Ian Schrager.


FRI 01:20 Festivals Britannia (b00wmdqs)
Continuing the critically acclaimed Britannia music series for BBC Four, this documentary tells the story of the emergence and evolution of the British music festival through the mavericks, dreamers and dropouts who have produced, enjoyed and sometimes fought for them over the last 50 years.

The film traces the ebb and flow of British festival culture from jazz beginnings at Beaulieu in the late 50s through to the Isle of Wight festivals at the end of the 60s, early Glastonbury and one-off commercial festivals like 1972's Bickershaw, the free festivals of the 70s and 80s and on through the extended rave at Castlemorton in 1992 to the contemporary resurgence in festivals like Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and Reading in the last decade.

Sam Bridger's film explores the central tension between the people's desire to come together, dance to the music and build temporary communities and the desire of the state, the councils and the locals to police these often unruly gatherings.

At the heart of the documentary is an ongoing argument about British freedom and shifts in the political, musical and cultural landscape set to a wonderful soundtrack of 50 years of great popular music which takes in trad jazz, Traffic, Roy Harper, the Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, Orbital and much more.

Featuring rare archive and interviews with Michael Eavis, Richard Thompson, Acker Bilk, Terry Reid, the Levellers, Billy Bragg, John Giddings, Melvin Benn, Roy Harper, Nik Turner, Peter Jenner, Orbital, amongst others.


FRI 02:50 Disco at the BBC (b01cqt74)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:05 today]




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

Angelic Voices: The Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral 22:00 SUN (b01f6tb8)

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 19:30 SAT (b03345c8)

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 19:30 SUN (b0335dyj)

Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story 21:00 THU (p00xzvlw)

Britain Goes Camping 00:15 WED (b00t5hcl)

Britain by Bike 00:30 MON (b00t4lqf)

Britain on Film 19:00 SAT (b021270b)

Britain on Film 20:00 MON (b033664h)

Britain on Film 02:00 MON (b033664h)

Can Eating Insects Save the World? 23:30 MON (p01599yk)

Classic Albums 23:15 SAT (b01rlwpd)

Classic Albums 02:10 SAT (b01rlwpd)

Disco at the BBC 22:05 FRI (b01cqt74)

Disco at the BBC 02:50 FRI (b01cqt74)

Festivals Britannia 01:20 FRI (b00wmdqs)

Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop 23:30 SUN (b00nq7q9)

Glastonbury 23:00 WED (b01jv7f4)

Glastonbury 23:30 THU (b00sv3t0)

Glastonbury 21:05 FRI (b03695jm)

Glastonbury 23:05 FRI (b03695jp)

Hidcote: A Garden for All Seasons 20:00 TUE (b011s3pw)

Hidcote: A Garden for All Seasons 01:50 TUE (b011s3pw)

Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails 22:00 TUE (b00drtpj)

Kings of Rock and Roll 22:15 SAT (b007c95q)

Kings of Rock and Roll 01:05 SAT (b007c95q)

Later... with Jools Holland 00:05 SAT (b00dwfyy)

Later... with Jools Holland 03:00 SAT (b00dwfyy)

London on Film 20:30 THU (b01jzq75)

Metroland 23:00 TUE (b00cyyqw)

Natural World 20:00 WED (b00tj7j4)

Natural World 01:45 WED (b00tj7j4)

Only Connect 20:30 MON (b033664k)

Only Connect 01:00 MON (b033664k)

Precision: The Measure of All Things 21:00 MON (b033664m)

Precision: The Measure of All Things 02:30 MON (b033664m)

Precision: The Measure of All Things 23:50 TUE (b033664m)

Quick Cuts 00:50 TUE (b02ykt2s)

Quick Cuts 22:00 WED (b0337bh4)

Quick Cuts 01:15 WED (b0337bh4)

Rome: A History of the Eternal City 21:00 WED (b01p65l8)

Rome: A History of the Eternal City 02:45 WED (b01p65l8)

Sacred Music: The Story of Allegri's Miserere 19:00 SUN (b00g81g7)

Storyville 02:30 SUN (b02x9z7g)

Storyville 22:00 MON (b033v5xz)

The Art of Tommy Cooper 22:30 WED (b007hzl2)

The Ballad of Mott the Hoople 00:30 SUN (b01r3pmc)

The Joy of Disco 00:20 FRI (b01cqt72)

The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge 21:00 TUE (b0336tf3)

The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge 02:50 TUE (b0336tf3)

The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge 22:30 THU (b0336tf3)

Timeshift 02:35 THU (b01rjr2y)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b0337wc3)

Top of the Pops 01:30 THU (b0337wc3)

Totally British: 70s Rock 'n' Roll 01:30 SUN (b01r3pm9)

Wainwright Walks 19:30 MON (b0079y0d)

Wainwright Walks 01:30 MON (b0079y0d)

Wainwright Walks 19:30 TUE (b0079y0f)

Wainwright Walks 01:20 TUE (b0079y0f)

Wainwright Walks 19:30 WED (b0074tjb)

Wallander 21:00 SAT (b01ln99p)

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? 20:00 THU (b0077k5h)

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? 02:05 THU (b0077k5h)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b0314njs)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b0314nlz)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b0314np6)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b0314nrf)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b0314nsz)

Written on Skin from the ROH 19:30 FRI (b033cf7v)