The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
Chris Jackson follows a community project creating a unique picture of the impact of conflict on those living and working on Tyneside with rarely seen footage. Chris hears that Tyneside bore not just physical but deep emotional scars from World War I.
It's the eve of the Darcys' annual Lady Anne ball at their magnificent Pemberley home. Darcy and Elizabeth are relaxing with their guests after supper when the festivities are brought to an abrupt halt by an unexpected visitor and news of a murder in Pemberley Woods.
Alan Bennett's adaptation of his acclaimed, long-running play set in 1980s Yorkshire.
A class of likely lads, caught in a clash of educational styles as they prepare to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, find their loyalties as well as their intellects tested.
From the long-suffering Miss Jones in Rising Damp to headmistress Madame Maxime in Harry Potter, Tony and triple Olivier award-winning actress Frances de la Tour has a career spanning five decades. The star of stage, screen and television started out at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s and is currently thrilling audiences as the giant in Hollywood blockbuster Into the Woods. Mark Lawson talks to her about her life and career.
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.
THURSDAY 08 JANUARY 2015
THU 19:00 World News Today (b04xd2ym)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b04xkkbb)
Peter Powell presents chart hits of the week. Guests include Billy Preston & Syreeta, Kurtis Blow, Madness, the Pretenders, Dr Hook, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd and David Bowie. Also featuring a dance sequence by Legs & Co.
THU 20:00 Top of the Pops (b04w0fyz)
The Story of 1980
1980 was the year that both pop music and TOTP changed. A new generation of British pop arrived with Dexy's, Adam Ant, The Human League and OMD. The show changed as the veteran TOTP orchestra was laid off, the studio audience doubled in size, new sets were built and a range of celebrity co-hosts from Elton John to Kevin Keegan to Russ Abbott arrived.
This documentary explores these dramatic changes in Top of the Pops, British pop and British society with a cast including Adam Ant, The Human League, OMD, Kevin Rowland, Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay (who appeared with St Winifred's School Choir), Kelly Marie, Ray Dorset, Johnny Logan, The Vapors, The Piranhas and Richard Skinner.
THU 21:00 The Inca: Masters of the Clouds (b04xdpjy)
Foundations
Dr Jago Cooper reassesses the achievements of the Inca Empire. He begins in Peru, where evidence is still being uncovered that challenges preconceptions about its origins and significance. Venturing from the coast to the clouds, he reveals how the Inca transformed one of the most challenging landscapes in the world to ward off the worst effects of the climate, and created sophisticated systems of communication. He shows how one of many independent societies became a commanding empire - not through force, but by using subtle methods of persuasion.
THU 22:00 Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession (b00s2wvh)
Windows on the World
In a series about the extraordinary stories behind maps, Professor Jerry Brotton uncovers how maps aren't simply about getting from A to B, but are revealing snapshots of defining moments in history and tools of political power and persuasion.
Visiting the world's first known map, etched into the rocks of a remote alpine hillside 3,000 years ago, Brotton explores how each culture develops its own unique, often surprising way of mapping. As Henry VIII's stunning maps of the British coastline from a bird's-eye view show, they were also used to exert control over the world.
During the Enlightenment, the great French Cassini dynasty pioneered the western quest to map the world with greater scientific accuracy, leading also to the British Ordnance Survey. But these new scientific methods were challenged by cultures with alternative ways of mapping, such as in a Polynesian navigator's map which has no use for north, south and east.
As scientifically accurate map-making became a powerful tool of European expansion, the British carved the state of Iraq out of the Middle East. When the British drew up Iraq's boundaries, they had devastating consequences for the nomadic tribes of Mesopotamia.
THU 23:00 Robert Plant: By Myself (b00vy78w)
Documentary in which Robert Plant discusses his musical journey from Stourbridge, the British blues boom, superstardom with Led Zeppelin in the 70s to 2010's Band of Joy album. He also looks at his work with the Honeydrippers and North African musicians, his reunion with Jimmy Page and his pairing with Alison Krauss.
THU 00:00 Top of the Pops (b04w0fyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
THU 01:00 Top of the Pops (b04xkkbb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 01:40 Coldplay in Concert 2014 (b04w0fz3)
In December 2014, the BBC's historic Radio Theatre opened its doors to Coldplay, one of the biggest stadium rock bands in the world. The Grammy award-winning group perform a selection of classic tracks from their big-selling catalogue through to their sixth album Ghost Stories. For a band accustomed to playing to many thousands, this intimate gig in front of a few hundred is a must-see event.
THU 02:40 The Inca: Masters of the Clouds (b04xdpjy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 09 JANUARY 2015
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b04xd2ys)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Sounds of the Sixties (b0074q9l)
Original Series
The First Steps
The rock and pop series kicks off with the very birth of the decade, when pop was consigned to Crackerjack and rebellious singers still wore cardigans. But then Beatlemania came along.
Features the fabulous Freddie and the Dreamers on Blue Peter and Pinky & Perky doing the Twist.
FRI 20:00 Placido Domingo at the BBC (b04xdrr8)
A celebration of Placido Domingo, the world's most famous tenor, through four decades of performance highlights from the BBC film archives. Featuring great arias from Aida, Die Walkure, Simon Boccanegra and Pagliacci, as well as appearances on Wogan and Parkinson, including an unforgettable Moon River with Henry Mancini at the piano.
FRI 21:00 Meat Loaf: In and out of Hell (b04xdrrb)
Since the release of the Bat Out of Hell album, Meat Loaf has possessed the kind of international status that few artists obtain. His larger-than-life persona and performances are fuelled by a passion for theatre and storytelling. This candid profile reveals the man and his music through his own testimony and from the accounts of those closest to him.
Meat Loaf's life story is one of epic proportions - he survived a childhood of domestic violence only to face years of record company rejection before eventually finding global fame. Along the way he experienced bankruptcy, health scares, bust-ups and one of the greatest comebacks of all time. All this and more is explored in the film, which features behind-the-scenes footage of his Las Vegas residency, plus plans for a new album featuring songs by Jim Steinman.
The film also revisits the Dallas of Meat Loaf's early years and includes insights from his high school friends, who reveal how Meat really got his famous moniker.
After his mother died, Meat Loaf fled Texas for the bright lights of LA. He sang in itinerant rock bands, but no-one would give him a recording contract. By 1969 he was broke and disillusioned. His break would take the form of a musical. He was offered a part in Hair, having been invited to audition whilst working as a parking attendant outside the theatre. Shortly afterwards he met Jim Steinman and the road to success really began. Yet the Hair gig was the beginning of an enduring love affair with theatre that is reflected in his singing persona today.
His first album, the now legendary Bat Out of Hell, was initially rejected by scores of record companies, yet went on to spend a staggering 485 weeks in the UK charts. The whole album is a masterwork of storytelling that Meat Loaf and Steinman worked on for four years and then battled to get heard. Meat Loaf and those who worked on the album - from Todd Rundgren to Ellen Foley - reflect on the songs, and celebrate the alchemy that resulted in such a blistering back catalogue.
When Bat Out Of Hell II was finally released 15 years after the first album, it defied industry expectations, with I'd Do Anything for Love reaching number one in 28 countries. It is considered one of the greatest comebacks in music history. More albums and hits were to follow across the '90s and '00s, alongside a varied and successful acting career. Mark Kermode examines some of the roles Meat Loaf made his own, in films as diverse as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club.
Having traversed the peaks and troughs of a career spanning the best part of 50 years, this consummate performer finally reveals what spurs him on, in this, the inside story of a bat out of hell who continues to blaze a trail into the hearts and minds of millions.
FRI 22:00 Metal Britannia (b00r600m)
Nigel Planer narrates a documentary which traces the origins and development of British heavy metal from its humble beginnings in the industrialised Midlands to its proud international triumph.
In the late 60s a number of British bands were forging a new kind of sound. Known as hard rock, it was loud, tough, energetic and sometimes dark in outlook. They didn't know it, but Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and, most significantly, Black Sabbath were defining what first became heavy rock and then eventually heavy metal.
Inspired by blues rock, progressive rock, classical music and high energy American rock, they synthesised the sound that would inspire bands like Judas Priest to take metal even further during the 70s.
By the 80s its originators had fallen foul of punk rock, creative stasis or drug and alcohol abuse. But a new wave of British heavy metal was ready to take up the crusade. With the success of bands like Iron Maiden, it went global.
Contributors include Lemmy from Motorhead, Sabbath's Tony Iommi, Ian Gillan from Deep Purple, Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden and Saxon's Biff Byford.
FRI 23:30 Metal at the BBC (b00r600p)
Compilation of memorable heavy metal performances from BBC TV shows, including Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Motorhead.
FRI 00:00 Legends (b00xln7l)
Thin Lizzy: Bad Reputation
Affectionate but honest portrait of Thin Lizzy, arguably the best hard rock band to come out of Ireland.
Starting with the remix of the classic album Jailbreak by Scott Gorham and Brian Downey, the film takes us through the rollercoaster ride that is the story of Thin Lizzy. From early footage of singer Phil Lynott in Ireland in his pre-Lizzy bands the Black Eagles and Orphanage, it follows his progress as he, guitarist Eric Bell and drummer Brian Downey form the basic three-piece that was to become Thin Lizzy - a name taken from the Beano.
Using original interviews with Bell, Downey, the man who signed them and their first manager, it traces the early years leading to the recruitment of guitarists Brian 'Robbo' Robertson and Scott Gorham - the classic line-up. The film uses a number of stills, some seen on TV for the first time, archive from contemporary TV shows and a range of tracks both well known and not so famous.
There are hilarious self-deprecating anecdotes, from the stories behind the making of the Boys are Back in Town to the hiring of Midge Ure. We hear about the 'revolving door' as guitarist after guitarist was fired and hired, and the recording of Bad Reputation and Live and Dangerous - where producer Tony Visconti pulls no punches in talking about how he recorded the latter - putting the controversy to bed for the final time. Except that Downey and Robertson still disagree with him.
Finally, we hear how drugs and alcohol impacted on the band and how the music suffered, how one member later substituted golf for heroin and how addiction and the related lifestyle led to the death of Phil Lynott.
Contributors include Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, Eric Bell, Brian Robertson, Midge Ure, Bob Geldof, Tony Visconti, Joe Elliot and many others.
FRI 01:00 Meat Loaf: In and out of Hell (b04xdrrb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 02:00 Metal Britannia (b00r600m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
FRI 03:30 Metal at the BBC (b00r600p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:30 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
... Sings Musicals
19:00 SUN (b019jshd)
... Sings Musicals
01:45 SUN (b019jshd)
... Sings Musicals
00:50 WED (b019jshd)
A Royal Affair
22:00 SUN (b036ts6c)
Agnetha: ABBA and After
22:00 MON (b02x9zwc)
Agnetha: ABBA and After
02:00 MON (b02x9zwc)
Al Murray's Great British Spy Movies
23:00 TUE (b04w85jj)
An Evening with Sammy Davis Jr
23:55 SAT (b04w7wn5)
British Gardens in Time
21:00 MON (b04092n6)
British Gardens in Time
03:00 MON (b04092n6)
Coldplay in Concert 2014
01:40 THU (b04w0fz3)
Death Comes to Pemberley
20:00 WED (p01mqlhz)
Disco at the BBC
23:00 MON (b01cqt74)
Do We Really Need the Moon?
20:00 SAT (b00yb5jp)
Doris Day - Virgin Territory
23:50 WED (b0074rwd)
Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls
20:00 TUE (b01j2fcq)
Hermitage Revealed
21:00 SUN (b04xd53k)
Hermitage Revealed
02:45 SUN (b04xd53k)
Hermitage Revealed
01:50 WED (b04xd53k)
Hidden Histories: Britain's Oldest Family Businesses
20:00 MON (b03q0177)
Killing Me Softly: The Roberta Flack Story
01:00 TUE (b046psxl)
Legends
00:00 FRI (b00xln7l)
Lost Land of the Volcano
19:00 SAT (b00mq3p1)
Lost Land of the Volcano
01:55 SAT (b00mq3p1)
Lost Land of the Volcano
00:00 MON (b00mq3p1)
Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession
22:00 THU (b00s2wvh)
Mark Lawson Talks To...
20:00 SUN (b0074s9n)
Mark Lawson Talks To...
22:50 WED (b04xdjpb)
Mark Lawson Talks To...
02:50 WED (b04xdjpb)
Meat Loaf: In and out of Hell
21:00 FRI (b04xdrrb)
Meat Loaf: In and out of Hell
01:00 FRI (b04xdrrb)
Metal Britannia
22:00 FRI (b00r600m)
Metal Britannia
02:00 FRI (b00r600m)
Metal at the BBC
23:30 FRI (b00r600p)
Metal at the BBC
03:30 FRI (b00r600p)
Narnia's Lost Poet: The Secret Lives and Loves of CS Lewis
01:00 MON (b03jrw5j)
Neil Sedaka: King of Song
00:55 SAT (b03v2yxt)
Operation Mincemeat
21:00 TUE (b00wllmb)
Operation Mincemeat
03:00 TUE (b00wllmb)
Placido Domingo at the BBC
20:00 FRI (b04xdrr8)
Robert Plant: By Myself
23:00 THU (b00vy78w)
Sammy Davis Jr: The Kid in the Middle
22:55 SAT (b04w7wgr)
Sammy Davis Jr: The Kid in the Middle
02:55 SAT (b04w7wgr)
Singer-Songwriters at the BBC
00:00 TUE (b015j8g7)
Smiley's People
22:00 TUE (b0074tpb)
Sounds of the Sixties
19:30 FRI (b0074q9l)
The Carpenters at the BBC
01:10 SUN (b00cgxtq)
The History Boys
21:00 WED (b01shmjd)
The Inca: Masters of the Clouds
21:00 THU (b04xdpjy)
The Inca: Masters of the Clouds
02:40 THU (b04xdpjy)
Timeshift
02:00 TUE (p0287mq6)
Top of the Pops
00:10 SUN (b04w0fz1)
Top of the Pops
19:30 THU (b04xkkbb)
Top of the Pops
20:00 THU (b04w0fyz)
Top of the Pops
00:00 THU (b04w0fyz)
Top of the Pops
01:00 THU (b04xkkbb)
Wallander
21:00 SAT (b04xr6qs)
Wallander
21:55 SAT (b04xtqst)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b04xd2wl)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b04xd2ws)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b04xd2xf)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b04xd2ym)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b04xd2ys)
World War I at Home
19:30 MON (b04gkn55)
World War I at Home
19:30 TUE (b045ghmj)
World War I at Home
19:30 WED (b045gj40)