Add
Private Notes
Brit Award nominee and Ivor Novello-winning artist RAYE takes to the stage of this legendary London venue to perform new arrangements of songs from her Mercury Prize-nominated album My 21st Century Blues, accompanied by the Heritage Orchestra, conducted by Tom Richards, the Flames Collective choir and organist Anna Lapwood.
Highlights include Oscar Winning Tears, the searingly honest Ice Cream Man, a show-stopping version of Worth It and global smash-hit single Escapism.
The Vienna Philharmonic's annual New Year's Day concert.
A celebration of the songs of Cyndi Lauper, who took the charts by storm in 1984 with her debut international hit Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, released in the same week as Madonna’s first hit, Holiday. Cyndi surprised the critics of the day almost immediately and showed she deserved so much more than labels like ‘kooky’ and ‘quirky’, with sensitive songs like Time After Time and True Colors that still resonate as strongly today as they did back in the 1980s. This trip through the BBC’s archives follows Cyndi’s journey from the start, and captures why she became, and remains, one of the most positive female forces in modern pop music.
There's more musical time-travelling through the BBC’s archives with this trip back to 1984 which proves that, unlike Orwell’s predictions, this was a truly great year.
Wham! were offering the prospect of Freedom, Frankie were encouraging everyone to Relax, U2 filled us all with Pride, and Phil Collins was battling Against All Odds. And that was just the UK’s biggest chart stars - when it came to American acts, Stevie just called to say he loved us, Madonna was still Like a Virgin and Lionel Richie just offered a simple Hello.
All were huge hits then, and they - and many more - remain some of the best-loved and most familiar songs.
A look into the BBC’s music archives to examine the all-time classic tracks that seem to have been around forever, and get everywhere - apart from the UK Top 40.
It’s a journey that sees us heading back in time to the Summer of ‘69 with Bryan Adams and takes in Bowie’s Changes, Dolly’s 9 to 5 and Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire – just some of the most surprising favourites to feature in this selection of the biggest, most enduring tracks ever written that mysteriously failed to have an impact on the charts the first time around.
With crowd-pleasers that still get everyone on their feet and anthems everyone can sing along to, these songs are forever part of the soundtrack to people's lives but always leave them wondering 'why was this not a hit?'
It's one of the reasons the music charts have always been so compelling: the cruel reality that the exciting new act that has taken the Top 40 by storm may not in fact be the next Beatles, Beyonce or even Basement Jaxx – but could be one more case of here today, gone and forgotten tomorrow.
Or almost forgotten – because this is a look into the darkest corners of the BBC’s music archives for a reminder of songs by the likes of The Las, The Mock Turtles, Joan Jett and Kim Carnes. There are also some surprising names on the list: Don Henley, Patti Smith, Curtis Mayfield and John Denver - stars who perhaps enjoyed hit albums, or success with other groups, but when it came to singles, once was sadly enough.
More of the greatest sad songs ever, featuring classic tracks from the likes of Sade, The Righteous Brothers, Toni Braxton, Lewis Capaldi and many more stars who broke the charts whilst also breaking hearts.
This third volume of romantic hits from the BBC archives includes classic tracks from the 70s, 80s and 90s, with songs from likes of The Carpenters, The Three Degrees, Simply Red, Meatloaf and Sting, as well as some 21st-century songs to swoon to from Rihanna and Harry Styles.
Prepare for a blockbuster show of stars and performances on another trip through the BBC’s music archives, here exploring more of the greatest movie themes to ever light up the UK pop charts.
It’s a rich selection from across the decades, with Lulu’s To Sir with Love representing the 60s, Isaac Hayes and the Bee Gees showcasing the best of 70s funk and disco, and a whole host of big names taking us from the 80s to the present - with the songs including Kate Bush’s This Woman’s Work, Lisa Loeb's Stay, Bruce Springsteen's Streets of Philadelphia and a special BBC Piano Room performance of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder on the Dancefloor.
Sharleen Spiteri takes a dive into the BBC’s music archives for a look back at some of Texas’s greatest appearances on a selection of programmes and live events from across their 35-year career.
It’s a collection featuring all the band’s biggest hits, from I Don’t Want a Lover and Black Eyed Boy to Summer Son and Say What You Want, combined with Sharleen’s memories of several of her own favourite moments, including 2023’s triumphant return to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, dressing up as Elvis and a key collaboration with hip-hop icons Wu-Tang Clan.
For fans, this collection shows exactly how Texas rose to become one of Scotland’s finest groups and demonstrates how they’ve managed to stay on top for so long.
A look back through the BBC’s archives at the work of an artist with whom nothing compares – the acclaimed, unique and always controversial Sinéad O’Connor.
This collection highlights how, from the very start, Sinéad refused to be categorised in one single musical genre, and with tracks like Mandinka, Black Boys on Mopeds and Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home, she bared her soul in her songs, using them to challenge expectations of a popular artist with an international following.
This playlist also features Sinéad’s collaborations with Shane MacGowan and Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, and some iconic covers of much-loved songs, with that incredible voice tackling The Animals’ House of the Rising Sun and the song that made her a star, Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U.
Prepare for a musical chain reaction with an hour lit up by one shining moment after another in this celebration of the best BBC performances from soul legend Diana Ross.
From The Supremes to some of her most supreme solo hits, this collection from the archives underlines exactly why Ms Ross has been one of the biggest and most enduring names in music. With songs like Baby Love, I’m Still Waiting and Why Do Fools Fall in Love? from Diana’s visits to the BBC on programmes like Top of the Pops, Wogan and the National Lottery show, this is a must for all fans that promises to leave them Upside Down and enjoying a massive Love Hangover.
When Terry Hall died in December 2022, at the age of 63, we lost one of British music’s most influential, unpredictable and adored singer-songwriters of recent times.
Here, take a trip into the BBC’s archives to look back on Terry’s extraordinary, genre-hopping career - from his early, decade-defining days as front man with The Specials, to Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield and his acclaimed solo career.
Along the way, there were also multiple collaborations, ranging from Mark Ronson to Bananarama, the best of which are captured here in performances of hits including Gangsters, Thinking of You, Sense and Our Lips Are Sealed from shows like Top of the Pops, Whistle Test, Live in Session for BBC 6 Music, Glastonbury, the pioneering Oxford Road Show – and even some Cheggers Plays Pop.
What shines through in these performances is Terry’s love of all kinds of music and his desire to never stand still and always try something different.
Ella Fitzgerald was one of the best-loved, most-respected and successful stars of the 20th century – often referred to as the ‘First Lady of Song’ and noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction and improvisational abilities, she recorded more than 200 albums and over 2,000 songs.
Those unique qualities are demonstrated here in some her finest performances, captured over the years in programmes like the 1965 BBC special Ella Fitzgerald Sings, a selection of concerts recorded at Montreux, and the legendary London jazz venue Ronnie Scott’s.
Among the classic songs included in the collection are her interpretations of favourites like Day by Day, Cheek to Cheek, Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye and Too Marvellous for Words.
Her incredible voice delivered so much more than most other singers, so it feels only right to return to the BBC archives for a second collection of great songs and lung-busting performances from the girl from Tiger Bay.
This programme features Shirley’s inimitable take on a rich collection of hits - from pop favourites to film themes and songs from the shows, taken from a selection of programmes she appeared on over the years and her own hugely popular TV show that ran throughout the 1970s.
Amongst the classic tracks featured here are My Way, The Way We Were, Copacabana and even her own, unmissable version of The Beatles’ iconic Hey Jude.
Using previously unheard interviews with the band, this is the story of the Swedish super group’s 50-year relationship with the UK.
From their first visit, for the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton in April 1974, to their first ever UK concert in Birmingham in 1977, to the groundbreaking ABBA Voyage concerts in London - this documentary looks at Britain’s impact on the band and the legacy they have left on generations of fans in the UK, as well as the influence of British bands like The Beatles on ABBA.
Contributors include musicians who performed with ABBA, superfans whose lives were changed after hearing their music, the British Eurovision judge who scored them ‘nul points’ in 1974, the producers behind ABBA Voyage, and a now-famous member of the children’s choir which accompanied ABBA at their Wembley Arena concerts in 1979.
The documentary will also feature interviews with musicians who have been influenced by the band, including Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie and Blossoms
As ABBA mark 50 years since winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, it's time to take another voyage into the archives for more of the Swedish supergroup’s best BBC moments.
As well as looking back, this collection brings things right up to date, capturing the excitement and sounds of their recent, technologically pioneering stage shows. Sitting alongside the new material are plenty of classics that highlight Benny and Bjorn’s fondness for a song title that repeats itself: Ring, Ring, Honey, Honey, Money, Money, Money and I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do.
And there's also an exclusive performance of the song So Long, which had been lost from the BBC archives and was assumed to be missing forever but has been recovered and restored and is shown again here for the first time since its original transmission in 1974.
