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 21 JUNE 2014

SAT 19:00 Swarm: Nature's Incredible Invasions (b00gq43y)
One Million Heads, One Beautiful Mind

Extraordinary photography reveals the incredible swarm intelligence that lies behind animal invasions.

Millions of free-tailed bats form a living tornado in which complex information is exchanged. Huge shape-shifting shoals of herring use swarm intelligence to detect predators. Billions of alkali flies form a rolling wave to evade the gaping mouths of gulls. Vast numbers of shore birds synchronise their migration with swarming horseshoe crabs, a feat of timing unparalleled in the animal world.

Fire ants invade and destroy computer equipment and, when their nest is flooded, create living rafts with their bodies. Inside a driver ants' nest we discover the inner workings of a brain made from thousands of individuals. One swarm is even helping to save the planet from the greenhouse effect.

Incredible images show the true complexity of the swarm and how their intelligence impacts on our world.


SAT 20:00 The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion (b00sj736)
Can We Have Unlimited Power?

Michael Mosley takes an informative and ambitious journey exploring how the evolution of scientific understanding is intimately interwoven with society's historical path.

We are the most power-hungry generation that has ever lived. This film tells the story of how that power has been harnessed - from wind, steam and from inside the atom. In the early years the drive for new sources of power was led by practical men who wanted to make money. Their inventions and ideas created fortunes and changed the course of history, but it took centuries for science to catch up, to explain what power is, rather than simply what it does. This search revealed fundamental laws of nature which apply across the universe, including the most famous equation in all of science, e=mc2.


SAT 21:00 Wallander (b03q8scq)
Series 3

The Sad Bird

A well-known restaurant owner is kidnapped at gunpoint and, as his family wait for a ransom demand, Kurt and the Ystad team attempt to untangle a web of deceit surrounding the missing man, who has long been suspected of drug dealing. Kurt is introduced to Jenny Blom, a Malmo policewoman who has been conducting her own investigation into the missing man after the death of her partner.

In Swedish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:30 Timewatch (b00dtjy4)
2008-2009

Stonehenge

An investigation into a radical theory that Stonehenge, far from being a place of burial as is commonly assumed, was in fact a place of healing - a Bronze Age Lourdes. The investigation takes in forensic testing of bones excavated over the past decades and hard-won permission for the first dig in 50 years at the Henge, watched live online by millions of viewers around the world. Does the theory of the healing stones bear up to modern-day forensic science?


SAT 23:25 Timeshift (b01p96ly)
Series 12

When Wrestling was Golden: Grapples, Grunts and Grannies

Timeshift turns back the clock to a time when villains wore silver capes, grannies swooned at the sight of bulky men in latex and the most masculine man in the country was called Shirley. In its heyday, British professional wrestling attracted huge TV audiences and made household names of generations of wrestlers from Mick McManus and Jackie 'Mr TV' Pallo to Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy. With contributions from inside the world of wrestling and surprising fans such as artist Peter Blake, this is an affectionate and lively portrait of a lost era of simpler pleasures, both in and out of the ring.


SAT 00:25 Top of the Pops (b046w5p4)
Peter Powell presents another edition of the weekly pop chart show including performances from Thom Pace, Janet Kay, Thin Lizzy, Squeeze, Tubeway Army, Quantum Jump, UK Subs, Lene Lovich and Gerry Rafferty, and a dance sequence from Legs & Co.


SAT 01:00 Country at the BBC (b08qgkzv)
Grab your partner by the hand - the BBC have raided their archive and brought to light glittering performances by country artists over the last four decades.

Star appearances include Tammy Wynette, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and, of course, Dolly Parton. All the greats have performed for the BBC at some point - on entertainment shows, in concert and at the BBC studios. Some of the rhinestones revealed are Charley Pride's Crystal Chandeliers from The Lulu Show, Emmylou Harris singing Together Again on The Old Grey Whistle Test and Glen Campbell's Rhinestone Cowboy from The Val Doonican Music Show.

We're brought up to date with modern country hits from Top of the Pops and Later...with Jools Holland.


SAT 02:00 Swarm: Nature's Incredible Invasions (b00gq43y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 03:00 The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion (b00sj736)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 22 JUNE 2014

SUN 19:00 Sounds of the Eighties (b0074shx)
Episode 1

The 80s saw many great contributions to the fields of art and culture. Not the least of these was floppy hair. Floppy hair dominates this episode of pop morsels from the BBC archive, featuring Adam and the Ants, Duran Duran, Culture Club, ABC, Wham!, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Bananarama and Kylie Minogue.


SUN 19:30 Glyndebourne: The Untold History (b047pcy9)
Documentary delving into the world of internationally-renowned opera house Glyndebourne in its 80th anniversary year. The film provides a critical and expert overview of Richard Jones's new production of Richard Strauss's much-loved comic opera, Der Rosenkavalier. It looks at the historical and musical background of the work, the composer and the context in which the opera was written, as well as reflecting on its programme history at Glyndebourne. The film also examines the relevance of presenting the work at Glyndebourne today, and what makes Glyndebourne and its heritage unique.


SUN 21:00 Storyville (b047pcyc)
The Legend of Billie Jean King - Battle of the Sexes

Storyville tells the riveting story of what happened when, in 1973, tennis star Billie Jean King agreed to face former world champion and self-proclaimed male chauvinist pig Bobby Riggs. It was a tennis match that gripped the world, a culmination of the struggle for equal rights that King and other female tennis players had been demanding for years.

Through scintillating match footage, archive and interviews with key tennis players and pundits, the film tells the interrelated stories of the birth of women's professional tennis and the growth of the women's liberation movement from the 60s. The forcefully contrasting characters of the focused King and buffoonish Riggs make for a highly entertaining watch and climactic ending.

A defining moment in the history of tennis and society at large.


SUN 22:20 Venus and Serena (b036bldx)
Sisters Venus and Serena Williams are two of the most successful tennis players of all time. They've provoked strong reactions - from awe and admiration to suspicion and resentment. They've been winning championships for over a decade, pushing the limits of longevity in such a demanding sport. How long can they last? Following their extraordinary story - from young black girls from the ghetto training with their father to international stardom - this film features unprecedented access into their lives during the most intimidating year of their careers. Over the course of 2011, Venus grappled with an energy-sapping autoimmune disease while Serena battled back from a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. Now, as they prepare for this year's Wimbledon, this is a unique insight into two sisters who do not let their adversities hold them back, drawing their strength from each other.


SUN 23:20 Billy Joel: The Bridge to Russia (b043njlg)
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Billy Joel was building a catalogue of timeless songs while enjoying a string of consecutive hit albums and singles. Though selling out concerts around the world, Billy and his music were, like much of western pop culture and rock 'n' roll itself, unheard behind the Iron Curtain, except for black market bootlegs and faint shortwave radio.

By the late 80s, the Cold War between the USSR and the West had begun to thaw in the light of Russian head-of-state Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of Glasnost and Perestroika, designed to bring openness and transparency to the Soviet Union while promoting political reform and cross-cultural exchanges. When the Kremlin invited Billy Joel to perform in the Soviet Union, he jumped at the chance to realise a long-time dream of performing for the Russian people. As America's pop rock musical ambassador, Billy Joel brought the Soviets their first fully-staged high-energy rock show. The tour began with a small acoustic concert in Tbilisi, followed by three electrifying stadium shows in Moscow and three shows in Leningrad.

Joel's historic visit to Russia became a worldwide news event, with journalists and writers covering the tour, its progress and the effect Billy, his band and his family were having on the Russian people. The entire tour was professionally filmed and the concerts were simulcast on radio worldwide. During their stay, Billy and his family, along with musicians, staff, and a huge press entourage spent their days interacting with the Russian people, forging true bonds of friendship wherever they went. The tour has been seen as a major cultural turning point in the course of US and Soviet relations.

Seen and heard now, more than 25 years later, Joel's Russian concert tour performances stand out among the most electrifying and moving of his career and this film bears witness to the timeless revolutionary power of rock 'n' roll.


SUN 00:35 Billy Joel Live in Leningrad (b043njlj)
In August 1987, Billy Joel took his worldwide Bridge tour on an unprecedented leg through the Soviet Union, the first fully-staged rock concert to visit the country. This programme features highlights from his concert at the Lenin Sports and Concert Complex in Leningrad (now St Petersburg). Songs include: Angry Young Man, Goodnight Saigon, An Innocent Man, The Longest Time, A Matter of Trust, Only the Good Die Young, It's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me, Uptown Girl and Back in the USSR.


SUN 01:55 Storyville (b047pcyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


SUN 03:10 Sounds of the Eighties (b0074shx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



MONDAY 23 JUNE 2014

MON 19:00 World News Today (b047lj7v)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00y47ts)
Series 2

Sandwich to Folkestone

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain, as his journey goes through Kent, from London Bridge around the scenic south coast to Hastings.

Michael explores a secret port that ran the first train ferries to France carrying vital supplies during World War I, visits Walmer Castle, the home of the Duke of Wellington, and discovers how the Victorians initiated the building of the Channel Tunnel.


MON 20:00 Jigs and Wigs: The Extreme World of Irish Dancing (b03z242l)
Series 1

Episode 3

Ronan Morgan, ex-Lord of the Dance member and Irish dance teacher, lends his expertise to a new Irish dance school in Taiwan. Taking Irish dance to the extreme, the Taiwanese parents are pushier than the norm.


MON 20:30 Only Connect (b047pdzc)
Series 9

Welsh Learners v Relatives

A trio of Welsh learners take on a family team in the first of 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: Jason, my dame, Brian Whittle and Cinderella.


MON 21:00 Len Goodman's Dancing Feet: The British Ballroom Story (b01pjqpm)
Len Goodman, the head judge of Strictly Come Dancing, takes to the dance floor to discover the golden age of ballroom and recalls the time when Britain went ballroom barmy.

In the early 20th century millions enjoyed dancing. Graceful movement was everything as we grappled with the waltz, the tango and each other. Len also reveals a surprising world of scandal and outrage - a time when ballroom was considered radical and trendy. What was it about ballroom that people enjoyed so much and why did we eventually turn our backs on what Len considers the greatest dance form of all?

Len visits Blackpool, the spiritual home of ballroom, and demonstrates some popular steps with professional dancer Erin Boag. He discovers how the smart set danced the night away at the Cafe de Paris and returns to a favourite dance hall from his youth, the Rivoli in south London.

Len talks to dancers, singers and musicians who remember the golden age and discovers the people who introduced 'rules' to ballroom - the dance leaders and teachers who were concerned that ballroom was out of control and needed new regulations to govern steps, movement and music.


MON 22:00 Majesty and Mortar: Britain's Great Palaces (b046w5c1)
Towards an Architecture of Majesty

Royal palaces are the most magnificent buildings in our history. Often built to extraordinary levels of luxury and excess, they express the personalities of our kings and queens since 1066.

From the Tower of London to Hampton Court Palace, Dan Cruickshank reveals an extraordinary story of buildings, often fortified, that cemented the monarch's claim to the throne. Palaces reveal our monarchs like no other buildings - their taste for luxury, their fear of the mob, even their relationship with God. Palaces have been caught up in some of the most dramatic events in history - some survive in all their magnificence like Hampton Court while others have vanished from the surface of the earth as completely as if they'd never existed.


MON 23:00 A History of Art in Three Colours (b01lcz2s)
Blue

Dr James Fox explores how, in the hands of artists, the colours gold, blue and white have stirred emotions, changed behaviour and even altered the course of history.

When, in the Middle Ages, the precious blue stone lapis lazuli arrived in Europe from the east, blue became the most exotic and mysterious of colours. And it was artists who used it to offer us tantalising glimpses of other worlds beyond our own.


MON 00:00 The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion (b00sj736)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


MON 01:00 Only Connect (b047pdzc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 01:30 Jigs and Wigs: The Extreme World of Irish Dancing (b03z242l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


MON 02:00 Majesty and Mortar: Britain's Great Palaces (b046w5c1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


MON 03:00 Len Goodman's Dancing Feet: The British Ballroom Story (b01pjqpm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 24 JUNE 2014

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b047lj80)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00y47wd)
Series 2

Hythe to Hastings

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains, as his journey goes through Kent, from London Bridge around the scenic south coast to Hastings.

Michael discovers a hardy breed of sheep on the atmospheric Romney Marsh, explores Kent's sparkling wine industry and finds out why the Victorians went mad for ferns in Hastings.


TUE 20:00 Rise of the Continents (p019bctl)
Africa

Geologist Prof Iain Stewart shows how the continent of Africa was formed from the wreckage of a long lost supercontinent.


TUE 21:00 Voyager: To the Final Frontier (b01nj48v)
This is the story of the most extraordinary journey in human exploration, the Voyager space mission. In 1977 two unmanned spacecraft were launched by NASA, heading for distant worlds. It would be the first time any man-made object would ever visit the farthest planets of the solar system - Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. On the way the Voyagers would be bombarded by space dust, fried by radiation and discover many of the remarkable wonders of the solar system.

Now, at the end of 2012, 35 years and 11 billion miles later, they are leaving the area of the sun's influence. As they journey out into the galaxy beyond they carry a message from Earth, a golden record bolted to the side of each craft describing our civilisation in case of discovery by another. This is the definitive account of the most intrepid explorers in Earth's history.


TUE 22:00 Amber (b03skn68)
Ben

The disappearance of 14-year-old Amber Bailey sets off a two-year search during which her family will go through unimaginable pressures. As the days, months and years progress the mystery deepens, and strange and terrifying clues come to light, raising yet even more questions. The world becomes gripped by the mystery of the missing teen. What happened to Amber?

Ben takes the search for his daughter to the grimy world of internet pornography, and he finds some astonishing things.


TUE 22:50 Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures (b03z05zz)
The Mammal Hothouse

Professor Richard Fortey investigates the remains of an ancient volcanic lake in Germany where stunningly well-preserved fossils of early mammals, giant insects and even perhaps our oldest known ancestor have been found.

Among the amazing finds are bats as advanced and sophisticated as anything living today, more than 50 million years later, dog-sized 'dawn' horses, the ancestor of the modern horse, and giant ants as large as hummingbirds.


TUE 23:50 A History of Britain by Simon Schama (b0074ky2)
Series 1

Conquest

In nine short hours, William the Conqueror triumphed at the Battle of Hastings - and England was changed forever. Simon Schama recounts the saga of blood, betrayal and ambition that led up to this pivotal battle and describes the profound consequences that followed.


TUE 00:50 Rise of the Continents (p019bctl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 01:50 Voyager: To the Final Frontier (b01nj48v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


TUE 02:50 Amber (b03skn68)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 25 JUNE 2014

WED 19:00 World News Today (b047lj85)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00yd1bv)
Series 2

Ayr to Paisley

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains, as he journeys up the west coast of Scotland from Ayr to Skye.

Michael visits the hometown of Robbie Burns and finds out how to make haggis, discovers how the railways transformed the game of golf in Prestwick, and uncovers the story of the great Victorian tartan hoax in Paisley.


WED 20:00 She-Wolves: England's Early Queens (b01dc66v)
Isabella and Margaret

In the medieval and Tudor world there was no question in people's minds about the order of God's creation - men ruled and women didn't. A king was a warrior who literally fought to win power then battled to keep it. Yet despite everything that stood in their way, a handful of extraordinary women did attempt to rule medieval and Tudor England. In this series, historian Dr Helen Castor explores seven queens who challenged male power, the fierce reactions they provoked and whether the term 'she wolves' was deserved.

In 1308 a 12-year-old girl, Isabella of France, became queen of England when she married the English king. A century later another young French girl, Margaret of Anjou, followed in her footsteps. Both these women were thrust into a violent and dysfunctional England and both felt driven to take control of the kingdom themselves. Isabella would be accused of murder and Margaret of destructive ambition - it was Margaret who Shakespeare named the She Wolf. But as Helen reveals, their self-assertion that would have seemed natural in a man was deemed unnatural, even monstrous in a woman.


WED 21:00 Majesty and Mortar: Britain's Great Palaces (b047pdzg)
Inventing a National Style

Dan Cruickshank charts the arrival of a new style of palace that borrowed from ancient Rome and beyond, as the kings and queens of Britain demanded that architecture proclaim their right to rule, and even their divinity. From London's Banqueting House to the birth of Buckingham Palace via Kensington, Kew and a new wing at Hampton Court, the palace became like a bejewelled casket to house the monarch. But disaster was around the corner and Britain learned that a palace could transform into a prison overnight.


WED 22:00 Caravans: A British Love Affair (b00hw3s0)
Documentary about the love affair between the British and their caravans, which saw the country establish the world's largest caravan manufacturer and transformed the holiday habits of generations of families.

In telling the intriguing story of caravanning in Britain from the 1950s through to the present day, the film reveals how caravans were once the plaything of a privileged minority, but after World War II became a firm favourite with almost a quarter of British holidaymakers.

It explores how changes in caravanning across the years reflect wider changes in British society, in particular the increased availability of cars during the 1950s and 60s, but also the improved roads network and changing attitudes towards holidaymaking and leisure time.

Enthusiasts and contributors include Dorrie van Lachterop from the West Midlands and Christine Fagg from Hertfordshire, remarkable and adventurous women who started touring alone in their caravans during the 1950s.


WED 23:00 Swarm: Nature's Incredible Invasions (b00gq43y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


WED 00:00 Storyville (b047pcyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]


WED 01:20 Parks and Recreation (b01sg9sk)
Series 2

Leslie's House

Comedy series set in an Indiana town. After an amazing date with Justin in Indianapolis, Leslie tries to impress him further with a dinner party at her house.


WED 01:40 Parks and Recreation (b01sg9sm)
Series 2

Galentine's Day

Comedy series set in the parks department of a fictional Indiana town. Leslie and Justin reunite her mom with an old flame on Valentine's Day.


WED 02:00 She-Wolves: England's Early Queens (b01dc66v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


WED 03:00 Majesty and Mortar: Britain's Great Palaces (b047pdzg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 26 JUNE 2014

THU 19:00 World News Today (b047lj8b)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b047pf91)
Mike Read presents another edition of the weekly pop chart show including performances from Siouxsie and the Banshees, Thom Pace, the Police, Rickie Lee Jones, Chantal Curtis, Public Image Ltd, Supertramp, Judie Tzuke and Tubeway Army, and a dance sequence from Legs & Co.


THU 20:00 Precision: The Measure of All Things (b02xbj6m)
Time and Distance

Professor Marcus du Sautoy tells the story of the metre and the second - how an astonishing journey across revolutionary France gave birth to the metre, and how scientists today are continuing to redefine the measurement of time and length, with extraordinary results.


THU 21:00 A History of Britain by Simon Schama (b0074kyy)
Series 1

Dynasty

Henry II built one of the greatest empires the medieval world had seen - only to see his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his scheming sons tear it all to pieces. He also created the jury system and the first legal statute books, but is best remembered as the man who ordered the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, his best friend turned bitterest enemy.


THU 22:00 Doris Day - Virgin Territory (b0074rwd)
Doris Day has often been dismissed as an actress and overlooked as a singer, despite career highs such as Calamity Jane and Pillow Talk. Covering her early years as a band singer, and her troubled private life, this documentary re-evaluates one of the screen's most enduring legends.


THU 23:00 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.


THU 00:30 Rise of the Continents (p019bctl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Tuesday]


THU 01:30 Top of the Pops (b047pf91)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 02:10 Amber (b03skn68)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Tuesday]


THU 03:00 A History of Britain by Simon Schama (b0074kyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 27 JUNE 2014

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b047lj8h)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Sounds of the Eighties (b0074sjk)
Episode 2

Serious and sincere they may have been, never cracking a smile where a tortured, artistic look would do, but this tranche of 80s pop stars know how to make that look work - Eurythmics, Spandau Ballet, Phil Collins, Fine Young Cannibals, Tears for Fears, Suzanne Vega and Simply Red.


FRI 20:00 Glastonbury (b047zjqt)
Lorde

Blondie

A look back at the 2014 Friday lunchtime set at the festival by legendary New York group Blondie. Led by Debbie Harry, the band celebrate their official 40th anniversary this year and at Worthy Farm, in between the rain showers, work through a set that includes some of their many classic hits plus a track or two from their most recent album.


FRI 21:00 Glastonbury (b0482rq4)
Lorde

Elbow

Introduced by Mark Radcliffe, Glastonbury veterans Elbow take to the stage as the penultimate act on the Pyramid Stage. This Bury five-piece are no strangers to the festival and this prestigious spot marks Elbow's fourth appearance. Expect a set full of classic Elbow numbers from their enviable back catalogue, plus new hits from their most recent release The Take Off and Landing of Everything.


FRI 22:00 Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10 (b01nwfxs)
Documentary chronicling our ever-changing love affair with the British singles chart on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary. From the first NME chart in 1952, via Pick and Top of the Pops to home-taping the Radio One chart show and beyond, we have measured out our lives to a wonderful churn of pop driven, unbeknownst to us, by a clandestine world of music biz hustle. Featuring contributions by 60 years of BBC chart custodians from David Jacobs to Reggie Yates, chart fans Grace Dent and Pete Paphides and music biz veterans Jon Webster and Rob Dickins.


FRI 23:30 When Albums Ruled the World (b01qhn70)
Between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s, the long-playing record and the albums that graced its grooves changed popular music for ever. For the first time, musicians could escape the confines of the three-minute pop single and express themselves as never before across the expanded artistic canvas of the album. The LP allowed popular music become an art form - from the glorious artwork adorning gatefold sleeves, to the ideas and concepts that bound the songs together, to the unforgettable music itself.

Built on stratospheric sales of albums, these were the years when the music industry exploded to become bigger than Hollywood. From pop to rock, from country to soul, from jazz to punk, all of music embraced what 'the album' could offer. But with the collapse of vinyl sales at the end of the 70s and the arrival of new technologies and formats, the golden era of the album couldn't last forever.

With contributions from Roger Taylor, Ray Manzarek, Noel Gallagher, Guy Garvey, Nile Rodgers, Grace Slick, Mike Oldfield, Slash and a host of others, this is the story of When Albums Ruled the World.


FRI 01:00 Sound It Out (b01nwfxx)
Over the last five years an independent record shop has closed in the UK every three days. This film is documentary portrait of one of the very last still trading - a vinyl record shop in Teesside, a cultural haven in one of the most deprived areas in the UK. Filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, who grew up three miles from the shop, follows daily life in a place that is thriving against the odds, ensured of survival by the local community that keeps it alive. A distinctive, funny and intimate film about men, the North and the irreplaceable role music plays in our lives.


FRI 02:00 Sounds of the Eighties (b0074sjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 02:30 Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10 (b01nwfxs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]




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

A History of Art in Three Colours 23:00 MON (b01lcz2s)

A History of Britain by Simon Schama 23:50 TUE (b0074ky2)

A History of Britain by Simon Schama 21:00 THU (b0074kyy)

A History of Britain by Simon Schama 03:00 THU (b0074kyy)

Amber 22:00 TUE (b03skn68)

Amber 02:50 TUE (b03skn68)

Amber 02:10 THU (b03skn68)

Billy Joel Live in Leningrad 00:35 SUN (b043njlj)

Billy Joel: The Bridge to Russia 23:20 SUN (b043njlg)

Caravans: A British Love Affair 22:00 WED (b00hw3s0)

Country at the BBC 01:00 SAT (b08qgkzv)

Doris Day - Virgin Territory 22:00 THU (b0074rwd)

Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures 22:50 TUE (b03z05zz)

Glastonbury 20:00 FRI (b047zjqt)

Glastonbury 21:00 FRI (b0482rq4)

Glyndebourne: The Untold History 19:30 SUN (b047pcy9)

Great British Railway Journeys 19:30 MON (b00y47ts)

Great British Railway Journeys 19:30 TUE (b00y47wd)

Great British Railway Journeys 19:30 WED (b00yd1bv)

Holy Flying Circus 23:00 THU (b0162zbx)

Jigs and Wigs: The Extreme World of Irish Dancing 20:00 MON (b03z242l)

Jigs and Wigs: The Extreme World of Irish Dancing 01:30 MON (b03z242l)

Len Goodman's Dancing Feet: The British Ballroom Story 21:00 MON (b01pjqpm)

Len Goodman's Dancing Feet: The British Ballroom Story 03:00 MON (b01pjqpm)

Majesty and Mortar: Britain's Great Palaces 22:00 MON (b046w5c1)

Majesty and Mortar: Britain's Great Palaces 02:00 MON (b046w5c1)

Majesty and Mortar: Britain's Great Palaces 21:00 WED (b047pdzg)

Majesty and Mortar: Britain's Great Palaces 03:00 WED (b047pdzg)

Only Connect 20:30 MON (b047pdzc)

Only Connect 01:00 MON (b047pdzc)

Parks and Recreation 01:20 WED (b01sg9sk)

Parks and Recreation 01:40 WED (b01sg9sm)

Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10 22:00 FRI (b01nwfxs)

Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10 02:30 FRI (b01nwfxs)

Precision: The Measure of All Things 20:00 THU (b02xbj6m)

Rise of the Continents 20:00 TUE (p019bctl)

Rise of the Continents 00:50 TUE (p019bctl)

Rise of the Continents 00:30 THU (p019bctl)

She-Wolves: England's Early Queens 20:00 WED (b01dc66v)

She-Wolves: England's Early Queens 02:00 WED (b01dc66v)

Sound It Out 01:00 FRI (b01nwfxx)

Sounds of the Eighties 19:00 SUN (b0074shx)

Sounds of the Eighties 03:10 SUN (b0074shx)

Sounds of the Eighties 19:30 FRI (b0074sjk)

Sounds of the Eighties 02:00 FRI (b0074sjk)

Storyville 21:00 SUN (b047pcyc)

Storyville 01:55 SUN (b047pcyc)

Storyville 00:00 WED (b047pcyc)

Swarm: Nature's Incredible Invasions 19:00 SAT (b00gq43y)

Swarm: Nature's Incredible Invasions 02:00 SAT (b00gq43y)

Swarm: Nature's Incredible Invasions 23:00 WED (b00gq43y)

The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion 20:00 SAT (b00sj736)

The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion 03:00 SAT (b00sj736)

The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion 00:00 MON (b00sj736)

Timeshift 23:25 SAT (b01p96ly)

Timewatch 22:30 SAT (b00dtjy4)

Top of the Pops 00:25 SAT (b046w5p4)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b047pf91)

Top of the Pops 01:30 THU (b047pf91)

Venus and Serena 22:20 SUN (b036bldx)

Voyager: To the Final Frontier 21:00 TUE (b01nj48v)

Voyager: To the Final Frontier 01:50 TUE (b01nj48v)

Wallander 21:00 SAT (b03q8scq)

When Albums Ruled the World 23:30 FRI (b01qhn70)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b047lj7v)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b047lj80)

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