BBC Radio 2 - The People's Songs

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Part 1: We'll Meet Again - Britain in World War II

Beginning an epic new series charting the history of modern Britain in 50 records, Stuart Maconie considers The Force's Sweetheart, Vera Lynn, and her own musical part in the fight against fascism. We hear from those who lived through WW2 - both those serving in the Armed Forces and those on the Home Front - and discover the significance of music during the war years and how it kept the force's spirits up whilst comforting those waiting anxiously at home. Some families were further strained and stretched because not only were the men fighting overseas, but the children had been evacuated to the safer confines of the countryside. And yet in London and industrial towns like Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, life went on defiantly despite the attentions of the Luftwaffe.

And whilst the Nazis over-ran Europe and crept ever closer to the UK, the Americans entered the fight against fascism. Not only did the Americans bring their sheer weight of numbers and their superior weaponry, they also brought with them their music and a colourful, glamorous presence. Some resented them, but many were enthralled; particularly children, who were more than happy to receive some of the abundant sweets the Yanks seem to carry with them everywhere.

Throughout the hardship, the poverty, the rationing, the nights in air-shelters, the loss of home and lives, music kept the British people going.

What are your memories of Britain in this remarkable era? What role did music have to play for you and your family at the time? The People's Songs wants to hear from you...

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Music Played:

Vera Lynn - White Cliffs of Dover

Vera Lynn - There’ll Always Be An England

Flanagan and Allen - Run Rabbit Run

Joe Loss - Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition

Vera Lynn - When The Lights Go On Again

The American Band of the AEF, conducted by Major Glenn Miller - Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar

The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

Vera Lynn - We’ll Meet Again

Vera Lynn - Goodnight Children Everywhere

Elsie Carlisle - Please Leave My Butter Alone

Margaret Whiting - All Through The Day

The Military Wives Choir - Wherever You Are

PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder

Vera Lynn - It’s A Lovely Day Tomorrow

Vera Lynn - We’ll Meet Again

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Part 2: Two Tribes - The Threat of Nuclear War

Following the end of WW2 there came a longer and a colder kind of war. The two global superpowers had gone from allies to sworn enemies, each armed to the teeth with weapons that could destroy the world many times over.

Although the two nations had already come close to war over the botched invasion at the Bay Of Pigs in 1961, it was during the 1980s that the Cold War reached its chilly apex. Under the respective reigns of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, nuclear paranoia was omnipresent.

Capturing the mood of the times, films like Mad Max, Threads and The Day After all portrayed the threat of global apocalypse with varying degrees of horror. And musically, acts as diverse as from Kate Bush, Sting, Iron Maiden, Prince and Ultravox all recorded anti-nuclear tracks. Almost literally, the threat of nuclear war was in the air.

This mood of rampant paranoia was even apparent in this episode's epic dancefloor filler, a colossal number one single about global destruction and political insanity. And like the nuclear threat itself, Frankie Goes To Hollywood seemed to be everywhere one looked in 1984. Their music, their controversial videos and their "Frankie Say" t-shirts were ubiquitous.

We want to hear from people who served in the nuclear-armed forces and those who protested against their weaponry. We'd also like to hear from those people who remember receiving the terrifying Protect & Survive leaflet through their letterbox or who sat nervously before Threads or The Day After.

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Music Played

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Two Tribes (Annihilation Mix)

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax

Simon & Garfunkel - The Sun Is Burning

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Wooden Ships

The Byrds - I Come And Stand At Every Door

Bob Dylan - Masters Of War

Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction

Nena - 99 Red Balloons

Ultravox - Dancing With Tears In My Eyes

Thomas Dolby - One Of Our Submarines

Elton John - Funeral For A Friend

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Two Tribes

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Ferry Cross The Mersey

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Part 3: She Loves You - 'You never had it so good'

1963 was a monumental year in Britain. The Profumo Affair was uncovered. The Great Train Robbery took place. The Dartford Tunnel and the National Theatre opened. And a manufactured Northern pop band started doing rather well.

A new economic and social optimism coincided with the birth of Beatlemania in a country that had, according to Prime Minister Harold MacMillan, "never had it so good". However, it was an optimism that had been almost two decades in the making, following the horror of WW2, then the lean years of rationing, poverty and re-building. The Beatles' humour, drive and infectious music chimed perfectly with the country's new-found confidence.

We want to hear your memories of the post-austerity mood and the burgeoning sense of optimism in a time of plentiful employment and shiny new appliances for the home. We'd also love to talk to those who saw the Beatles in the early days at The Cavern and were swept up in this wave of homegrown excitement; and of course, those who were utterly befuddled by the Fab Four's appeal.

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Music Played

The Beatles - Please Please Me

Barrett Strong - Money (That's What I Want)

The Beatles - A Taste Of Honey

Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas - Humdinger

Chuck Berry - Sweet Little Sixteen

The Isley Brothers - Twist And Shout

The Beatles - Twist And Shout

The Beatles - A Hard Day’s Night

Gerry & The Pacemakers - How Do You Do It?

The Beatles - Love Me Do

The Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There

The Beatles - She Loves You

The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows

The Beatles - I’ve Just Seen A Face

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Part 4: Rock Island Line - Britain's first DIY pop music

Born of austerity and a love of American folk, skiffle was basic, direct and thrillingly raw. A kind of "make do and mend" pop. But then this was a make do and mend time. Post-war Britain was a drab, bankrupt and almost broken country. Cities were still littered with bomb sites and rationing was still in place until 1954. But teenagers were discovering new music in the nation's coffee houses via the wondrous technology of jukeboxes and freshly imported records. And one record in particular resonated with the UK's youth: Leadbelly's Rock Island Line. Not everyone was so impressed though. Trad jazz was also enjoying a boom, and that scene's movers sneered at this rough 'n ready music. This was somewhat ironic given that Lonnie Donegan had first found fame in Chris Barber's jazz band. And Chris Barber himself would also be a pivotal figure in the British blues boom, bringing people like Big Bill Broonzy and Muddy Waters to tour the UK. The musicians who emerged from the skiffle scene read like a virtual who's who of British pop music: Cliff Richard, Martin Carthy, Mark Knopfler, Mickie Most, Jimmy Page and Lennon and McCartney all found inspiration and nominal success in this new scene. We want to hear from skiffle fans, regular visitors to venues such as The 2i's Coffee Bar and those with memories of the highs and lows of life in the post-war decade.

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Music Played

The City Ramblers Skiffle Group - Mama Don’t Allow

Humphrey Lyttelton - Bad Penny Blues

Benny Goodman - And The Angels Sing

Lead Belly - Rock Island Line

Lonnie Donegan & His Skiffle Group - Rock Island Line

John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom

The Vipers Skiffle Group - Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O

Chas McDevitt & Nancy Whiskey - Freight Train

Lonnie Donegan - Puttin’ On The Style

Joe Brown - That’s What Love Will Do

Lonnie Donegan - My Old Man’s A Dustman

Lonnie Donegan - Cumberland Gap

The Clash - White Riot

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Part 5: God Save the Queen - When Punk Rocked Jubilee Britain

The high-water mark of punk was at the height of a summer of royal love. One million people, bedecked with Union Jacks, lined London's streets to watch the Royal Family's procession. Many millions more attended street parties to celebrate the Queen's 25th anniversary on the throne. Meanwhile, a more irreverent (but subsequently more infamous) party had been planned. A boat laden with The Sex Pistols, their Svengali manager Malcolm McLaren, journalists and various friends and hangers-on sailed by The Houses Of Parliament while The Pistols blasted out Anarchy In The UK. Shortly thereafter, the boat was boarded by police and "persuaded" to return to shore. Tensions ran high, people were arrested. Some were beaten by police. And it wasn't just the establishment that was offended. Lydon was later stabbed by an irate Londoner. TVs were kicked in by fuming fathers. Tabloids raged and protests were staged. Punk rocked Britain and exposed the fissures and divisions in late 70s Britain. Despite the celebration of our monarchy, the country was on an economic downturn. Jobs were hard to come by, particularly for young people. Life was hard and dull. It could be argued that punk simply held up a mirror to an ugly society. It certainly allied itself with the outsiders and disenfranchised youth of all kinds. But many of those who were galvanized by punk went onto great things: Adam Ant, Siouxsie Sioux, Morrissey, Billy Idol, Vivienne Westwood and Tony Parsons among many others. Even the hippie Richard Branson (the third person to sign the Pistols) went on to launch a corporate empire that now has fingers in everything including the burgeoning space travel tourism. We want to hear from those of you who embraced punk and those who were threatened by it. Was your life affirmed and forever changed by punk... or did you detest it?

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Music Played

Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen

The Stranglers - Peaches

Ramones - Judy Is a Punk

Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK

Brotherhood of Man - Save Your Kisses For Me

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Fanfare For The Common Man

New York Dolls - Trash

Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant

The Adverts - One Chord Wonders

The Damned - New Rose

The Clash - London Calling

The Damned - Smash It Up

Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Spellbound

Culture - Two Sevens Clash

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Part 6: My Boy Lollipop - The Caribbean Comes to Britain

On June 22nd 1948, an ex-Troop ship called The Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury carrying nearly 500 passengers who had left behind their home in the West Indies for a new life in Britain. For them it must have been a massive culture shock. It must also have been something of a shock to the people of the UK. With the new immigrants came their slang, their customs, their food and fashion. But it was probably the music that had the first impact.

Afro-Caribbean calypsos had taken root in the folk scene of the early Sixties, but for many Britons their first experience of this new music came courtesy of an effervescent, feisty young woman from the Jamaican slums called Millie. My Boy Lollipop was recorded in Forest Hill, London, and became the first hit single for Island records. Millie even appeared on a Beatles TV special in 1964. This was the start of a cross cultural pollination.

Were you part of the first wave of immigrants? What do you recall of your first experience of Britain? And for those Britons who witnessed this arrival of a new culture, what influence did it have on you?

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Music Played

Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop

John Holt - Winter World Of Love

Lord Kitchener - London Is The Place For Me

Chubby Checker - Let’s Twist Again

Desmond Dekker & The Aces - The Israelites

Harry J. All Stars - Liquidator

Harry Belafonte - Island In The Sun

Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop

Bob & Marcia - Young, Gifted And Black

Bob Marley & The Wailers - No Woman No Cry (Live)

Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking

The Supremes - Nathan Jones

Amy Winehouse - Our Day Will Come

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Part 7: Rehab - The Price of Modern Fame

Amy Winehouse is a tragic and extreme example of the price of fame in the UK in the Noughties. She was someone who'd been pursuing fame since childhood. Pre-teen she'd attended theatre schools, learned guitar, appeared on the Fast Show in her early teens and sang with the National Jazz Youth Orchestra. She seemed hungry for fame.

Amy's father Mitch had sung Sinatra songs to the very young Amy, and she later took much or her style from the 60s girl groups (the beehive) and from Ronnie Spector (the Cleopatra eye-liner). Throwing all of her musical and visual influences into the melting pot, Amy hit upon a style that was somehow already familiar but very fresh to a young audience.

From an early stage in Amy's career, she quickly became a tabloid favourite. To start with, she looked great, sang great and had plenty of attitude. She also took to the rock 'n roll lifestyle like a duck to water. With frightening regularity she was on the tabloid's front-pages; Amy with a new tattoo... Amy stumbling from a club... Amy with cuts and bruises... Amy hanging out with Pete Doherty... Amy looking skeletal. The end, sadly, looked inevitable. And so it proved to be, splashed across the front pages of the nation's tabloids, akin to a slow-motion car crash.

But Amy Winehouse broke the mold and changed the face (literally) of British pop, and ushered in a generation of new female stars. Duffy, Adele, Florence and The Machine, and even Lady Gaga have all cited Amy's influence and thanked her for blazing a trail.

But her demise was a kind of modern parable on the perils of fame, narcotics and a national obsession with celebrity that seemed to come to the fore in the 'Noughties'. Stuart himself compares and contrasts his two, very different, meetings with Amy.

As we look over the growth of celeb and tabloid culture in the past decade, we want to hear from those troubled by the current 'cult of celebrity' and those still willing to make a Faustian pact for fame. What does 'celebrity' mean to you?

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Music Played

Amy Winehouse - Rehab

Amy Winehouse - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

Amy Winehouse - You Know I’m No Good

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

Amy Winehouse - Take The Box

Amy Winehouse - Rehab

Carpenters - Rainy Days and Mondays

Billie Holiday - Am I Blue

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Quincy Jones & Amy Winehouse - It’s My Party

Any Winehouse & Tony Bennet - Body And Soul

Amy Winehouse - Love Is A Losing Game

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Part 8: Whiter Shade of Pale - Britain Skips the Light Fandango

This was Britain's first gentle whiff of drug culture in pop music. Those heady sights, smells and sounds of what later became known as the Summer Of Love, were first and best encapsulated on this side of the Atlantic by Procol Harum's hit. It would prove to be a summer which burned long and bright and which heralded a significant change in the look, sound and mood of pop culture.

The Summer Of Love had its roots in the American Beat Culture of the 1950s and in writers like Allen Ginsburg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. The concepts of free love, liberal politics, casual drug use, communal living and opposition to the Vietnam War were at its core.

Slowly the culture had infiltrated first the West Coast music scene and then more popular culture. Ironically, by the time the hippie ideals had crossed the Atlantic, much of America was burning; race riots and heavy handed police reaction to marches and demonstrations had scarred many cities. But in London, everything was just groovy. Hair was worn a little longer, beads were sported and flowers waved about. Legend has it The Beatles were introduced to marijuana by Bob Dylan in 1964. There was even whispered talk of "revolution".

A Whiter Shade Of Pale was the debut single from Procol Harum, which went to number one in the UK, number five in the USA, is one of 30 singles that has sold more than 10 million copies, and which has been covered more than 1000 times. Not bad for a new band. It's widely thought that the song is about a drunken sexual seduction, so whilst it's not overtly about altered states, its sense of intoxication and trippiness captured the mood of the era.

In this episode, Stuart examines the realities of 'Summer of Love' and what this infamous period really meant for most Britons. We want to talk to those who remember it well...and those who don't!

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Music Played

Procol Harum - White Shade Of Pale

Pink Floyd - See Emily Play

The Beatles - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

The Move - Wave The Flag And Stop That Train

Hector Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique (II) Un Bal

The Rolling Stones - 2000 Light Years From Home

Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man

The Bonzo Dog Band - Canyons Of Your Mind

Procol Harum - Whiter Shade Of Pale

Roger Miller - England Swings

The Who - I’m Free (live)

Jimi Hendrix - Long Hot Summer Night

Beautiful People - Rilly Groovy (S1000 Mix)

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Part 9: Ebeneezer Goode - The Second Summer of Love

The moral panic over ecstasy, club culture and dance music in the early 90s came to a head with this rave anthem, a track which despite being banned by the BBC went to number one. And whilst the tabloids were frothing at the mouth with outrage regarding the dangers of Ecstasy, football and gang violence actually decreased significantly. A generation of people were more in the mood to hug and dance than to drink and fight.

And as always happens with new music and new fashion, within no time at all the underground culture had been co-opted into the mainstream as rave anthem compilations started to fly off the shelves and chain stores sold all sorts of tat sporting the ubiquitous smiley-face. And the soon-to-be Super Clubs like Ministry Of Sound and Cream took dance culture out of the underground and made it the weekend destination of choice for the average guy or girl about town.

As for The Shamen, the Scottish group had actually started as a more traditional psychedelic rock band heavily inspired by Love and Syd Barrett and who'd received airplay from John Peel. But galvanized by the burgeoning rave culture, the band moved into a more electronic/dance vein and fully embraced aspects of the lifestyle. The thinly-veiled lyrics to Ebeenezer Goode were less a zealous, wide-eyed proselytising but seemed a more cynical attempt to create an uproar... which they did in no uncertain terms.

The BBC banned the song, and the resulting hullabaloo propelled the song to number one. However the band were so hounded by tabloid press they finally withdrew the single. But by then it was too late, and that particular genie was out of the bottle.

In this episode, Stuart will assess the origins and impact of 90s rave and club culture. Radio 2 wants to hear from clubbers (past and present!), along with club owners and those who were outraged by the whole thing. What does club culture mean to you?

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Music Played

The Shamen - Ebeneezer Goode (Beat Edit)

LFO - L.F.O.

Spandau Ballet - True

The Source & Candi Staton - You Got The Love

Joey Beltram - Energy Flash

Liquid - Sweet Harmony

Inner City - Big Fun

N-Joi - Anthem

The Prodigy - Charly (Alley Cat Mix)

Orbital - Chime

The KLF - Last Train To Trancentral

A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray

The Shamen - Ebeneezer Goode (Beat Edit)

The Shamen - Ebeneezer Goode (MBM Instrumental)

Baby D - Let Me Be Your Fantasy

808 State - Pacific 202

The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl

Pulp - Sorted For E’s And Wizz

Lil' Louis - French Kiss

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Part 10: Je T'Aime - Sex Please, We're British

We've always had an uneasy relationship with our European cousins and their continental mores and morals, especially when they come over here and rub our face in it. Here was a bug-eyed Frenchman performing a racy duet with his young lover. And she was blatantly mimicking sexual pleasure. And what was worse was she was British! The cheek of it!

It was the Sixties and sex seemed to be everywhere in the arts. Lady Chatterley's Lover had been banned for thirty years and triumphed in an obscenity trial that same decade. The musical Hair was delayed from opening in London because of censorship. The Rolling Stones' "Redlands" court-case, ostensibly about possession of drugs, had been further mired in suggestive sexual misbehavior. And a little later the counter-culture magazine Oz went through the longest obscenity trial in the UK.

But in the case of Je T'Aime, despite it being foreign, and despite it seeming to be quite rude, we loved it. And unlike many other countries, the UK didn't ban the track. In fact we bought it by the truck-load; it flew into the number one slot.

But perhaps in hindsight this shouldn't have been so surprising. The music hall had been founded on innuendo. George Formby had become a massive star, singing songs that were pretty much predicated on a single innuendo. So we willingly absorbed Je T'aime into our 'nudge-nudge, wink-wink' Benny Hill, Carry On pop culture.

In this episode Stuart will attempt to trace the evolution of British attitudes to sex, scandal and pop music. Do you recall the release of Je T'aime? Were you offended... or aroused? The People's Songs wants to hear from you...

Please login or register to see this link.

Music Played

Chakachas - Jungle Fever

Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je T’Aime

The Rolling Stones - Let’s Spend The Night Together

Traffic - Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush

France Gall - Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son

Serge Gainsbourg & Bridget Bardot - Je T’Aime

Ohio Express - Yummy Yummy Yummy

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je T’Aime

Max Romeo - Wet Dream

George Formby - With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock

Serge Gainsbourg - Les Amours Perdues

The Original London Cast Of Hair - Aquarius

David Bowie - Let’s Spend The Night Together

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Part 10: Je T'Aime - Sex Please, We're British

We've always had an uneasy relationship with our European cousins and their continental mores and morals, especially when they come over here and rub our face in it. Here was a bug-eyed Frenchman performing a racy duet with his young lover. And she was blatantly mimicking sexual pleasure. And what was worse was she was British! The cheek of it!

It was the Sixties and sex seemed to be everywhere in the arts. Lady Chatterley's Lover had been banned for thirty years and triumphed in an obscenity trial that same decade. The musical Hair was delayed from opening in London because of censorship. The Rolling Stones' "Redlands" court-case, ostensibly about possession of drugs, had been further mired in suggestive sexual misbehavior. And a little later the counter-culture magazine Oz went through the longest obscenity trial in the UK.

But in the case of Je T'Aime, despite it being foreign, and despite it seeming to be quite rude, we loved it. And unlike many other countries, the UK didn't ban the track. In fact we bought it by the truck-load; it flew into the number one slot.

But perhaps in hindsight this shouldn't have been so surprising. The music hall had been founded on innuendo. George Formby had become a massive star, singing songs that were pretty much predicated on a single innuendo. So we willingly absorbed Je T'aime into our 'nudge-nudge, wink-wink' Benny Hill, Carry On pop culture.

In this episode Stuart will attempt to trace the evolution of British attitudes to sex, scandal and pop music. Do you recall the release of Je T'aime? Were you offended... or aroused? The People's Songs wants to hear from you...

Please login or register to see this link.

Music Played

Chakachas - Jungle Fever

Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je T’Aime

The Rolling Stones - Let’s Spend The Night Together

Traffic - Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush

France Gall - Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son

Serge Gainsbourg & Bridget Bardot - Je T’Aime

Ohio Express - Yummy Yummy Yummy

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je T’Aime

Max Romeo - Wet Dream

George Formby - With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock

Serge Gainsbourg - Les Amours Perdues

The Original London Cast Of Hair - Aquarius

David Bowie - Let’s Spend The Night Together

[Vincent]

Part 10: Je T'Aime - Sex Please, We're British

We've always had an uneasy relationship with our European cousins and their continental mores and morals, especially when they come over here and rub our face in it. Here was a bug-eyed Frenchman performing a racy duet with his young lover. And she was blatantly mimicking sexual pleasure. And what was worse was she was British! The cheek of it!

It was the Sixties and sex seemed to be everywhere in the arts. Lady Chatterley's Lover had been banned for thirty years and triumphed in an obscenity trial that same decade. The musical Hair was delayed from opening in London because of censorship. The Rolling Stones' "Redlands" court-case, ostensibly about possession of drugs, had been further mired in suggestive sexual misbehavior. And a little later the counter-culture magazine Oz went through the longest obscenity trial in the UK.

But in the case of Je T'Aime, despite it being foreign, and despite it seeming to be quite rude, we loved it. And unlike many other countries, the UK didn't ban the track. In fact we bought it by the truck-load; it flew into the number one slot.

But perhaps in hindsight this shouldn't have been so surprising. The music hall had been founded on innuendo. George Formby had become a massive star, singing songs that were pretty much predicated on a single innuendo. So we willingly absorbed Je T'aime into our 'nudge-nudge, wink-wink' Benny Hill, Carry On pop culture.

In this episode Stuart will attempt to trace the evolution of British attitudes to sex, scandal and pop music. Do you recall the release of Je T'aime? Were you offended... or aroused? The People's Songs wants to hear from you...

Please login or register to see this link.

Music Played

Chakachas - Jungle Fever

Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je T’Aime

The Rolling Stones - Let’s Spend The Night Together

Traffic - Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush

France Gall - Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son

Serge Gainsbourg & Bridget Bardot - Je T’Aime

Ohio Express - Yummy Yummy Yummy

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je T’Aime

Max Romeo - Wet Dream

George Formby - With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock

Serge Gainsbourg - Les Amours Perdues

The Original London Cast Of Hair - Aquarius

David Bowie - Let’s Spend The Night Together

[Vincent]

Part 11: Starman - Androgyny Arrives in the Living Room

In this episode we look at the repercussions from a singular moment on a Thursday evening in 1972 when dads were horrified and kids astonished. During David Bowie's performance of his new single Starman on Top of The Pops, an outrageously dressed Bowie cuddled and caressed guitarist Mick Ronson. 15 million viewers were utterly shocked. It was a watershed moment in pop, marking the beginning of an era of British glamour and androgyny.

Whilst Bowie's song Starman wasn't that revolutionary or even original (Bowie later admitted he took a lot of inspiration from that old chestnut Somewhere Over The Rainbow) it was one of the first moments when sexual ambiguity made an explicit appearance in the defiantly heterosexual world of UK pop. To some degree this was something new, but it did have a discernible lineage. Britain has a long history of transgender role-playing; in Shakespeare's time, male actors would perform as women, and there was the small matter of our tradition of pantomime dames. And it's long been a staple of British comedy from Hinge and Brackett to Dick Emery and The Pythons and onto David Walliams and Matt Lucas.

But Bowie's alter ego Ziggy Stardust was much more radical and fascinating. For excited, enthralled teenagers, it wasn't just that it was hard to tell if this was a man or a woman, but they couldn't even be sure if it was human. This smiling, benevolent, alluring and mysterious stranger (or alien?) changed the way Britain dressed and what we listened to. It was the start of the process of moving the monochrome Britain of Coronation Street, muddy football pitches, bovver boots, woodchip and drab certainties into a kaleidoscopic world of possibilities

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Music Played

David Bowie - Space Oddity

Gilbert O'Sullivan - Ooh-Wakka-Doo-Wakka-Day

David Bowie - Starman

David Bowie - Changes

David Bowie - Five Years

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust

Elton John - Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting

Sweet - Ballroom Blitz

David Bowie - Starman

David Bowie - Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

David Bowie with Pet Shop Boys - Hallo Spaceboy (Extended Mix)

[Vincent]

Part 11: Starman - Androgyny Arrives in the Living Room

In this episode we look at the repercussions from a singular moment on a Thursday evening in 1972 when dads were horrified and kids astonished. During David Bowie's performance of his new single Starman on Top of The Pops, an outrageously dressed Bowie cuddled and caressed guitarist Mick Ronson. 15 million viewers were utterly shocked. It was a watershed moment in pop, marking the beginning of an era of British glamour and androgyny.

Whilst Bowie's song Starman wasn't that revolutionary or even original (Bowie later admitted he took a lot of inspiration from that old chestnut Somewhere Over The Rainbow) it was one of the first moments when sexual ambiguity made an explicit appearance in the defiantly heterosexual world of UK pop. To some degree this was something new, but it did have a discernible lineage. Britain has a long history of transgender role-playing; in Shakespeare's time, male actors would perform as women, and there was the small matter of our tradition of pantomime dames. And it's long been a staple of British comedy from Hinge and Brackett to Dick Emery and The Pythons and onto David Walliams and Matt Lucas.

But Bowie's alter ego Ziggy Stardust was much more radical and fascinating. For excited, enthralled teenagers, it wasn't just that it was hard to tell if this was a man or a woman, but they couldn't even be sure if it was human. This smiling, benevolent, alluring and mysterious stranger (or alien?) changed the way Britain dressed and what we listened to. It was the start of the process of moving the monochrome Britain of Coronation Street, muddy football pitches, bovver boots, woodchip and drab certainties into a kaleidoscopic world of possibilities

Please login or register to see this link.

Music Played

David Bowie - Space Oddity

Gilbert O'Sullivan - Ooh-Wakka-Doo-Wakka-Day

David Bowie - Starman

David Bowie - Changes

David Bowie - Five Years

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust

Elton John - Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting

Sweet - Ballroom Blitz

David Bowie - Starman

David Bowie - Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

David Bowie with Pet Shop Boys - Hallo Spaceboy (Extended Mix)

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Part 11: Starman - Androgyny Arrives in the Living Room

In this episode we look at the repercussions from a singular moment on a Thursday evening in 1972 when dads were horrified and kids astonished. During David Bowie's performance of his new single Starman on Top of The Pops, an outrageously dressed Bowie cuddled and caressed guitarist Mick Ronson. 15 million viewers were utterly shocked. It was a watershed moment in pop, marking the beginning of an era of British glamour and androgyny.

Whilst Bowie's song Starman wasn't that revolutionary or even original (Bowie later admitted he took a lot of inspiration from that old chestnut Somewhere Over The Rainbow) it was one of the first moments when sexual ambiguity made an explicit appearance in the defiantly heterosexual world of UK pop. To some degree this was something new, but it did have a discernible lineage. Britain has a long history of transgender role-playing; in Shakespeare's time, male actors would perform as women, and there was the small matter of our tradition of pantomime dames. And it's long been a staple of British comedy from Hinge and Brackett to Dick Emery and The Pythons and onto David Walliams and Matt Lucas.

But Bowie's alter ego Ziggy Stardust was much more radical and fascinating. For excited, enthralled teenagers, it wasn't just that it was hard to tell if this was a man or a woman, but they couldn't even be sure if it was human. This smiling, benevolent, alluring and mysterious stranger (or alien?) changed the way Britain dressed and what we listened to. It was the start of the process of moving the monochrome Britain of Coronation Street, muddy football pitches, bovver boots, woodchip and drab certainties into a kaleidoscopic world of possibilities

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Music Played

David Bowie - Space Oddity

Gilbert O'Sullivan - Ooh-Wakka-Doo-Wakka-Day

David Bowie - Starman

David Bowie - Changes

David Bowie - Five Years

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust

Elton John - Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting

Sweet - Ballroom Blitz

David Bowie - Starman

David Bowie - Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

David Bowie with Pet Shop Boys - Hallo Spaceboy (Extended Mix)

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Thank You very much to give me the opportunity to hear this series, otherwise unavailable to me.

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Thank You very much to give me the opportunity to hear this series, otherwise unavailable to me.

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Part 12: Smalltown Boy

Whilst British pop has had a long and colourful history of powerful and visionary movers and shakers who just happened to be gay, for a long time it was a story that was kept under wraps. Partly because it would have been distasteful to a huge chunk of the mainstream record buying public, but mostly because it was also illegal until 1967. But consider these gay trailblazers: Brian Epstein and Simon Napier Bell were incredibly successful managers, the former with, of course, The Beatles, the latter with Marc Bolan and later Wham. Joe Meek was a maverick music-making trail-blazer and Kenny Everett the most influential DJ of his era.

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Music Played

Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy

The Kinks - David Watts

Dusty Springfield - You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me

The Tornados - Do You Come Here Often?

Sylvester - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

Donna Summer - I Feel Love

Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy

Bronski Beat - Why?

Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me

The Communards - Don’t Leave Me This Way

Queen - I Want To Break Free

Blur - Girls And Boys

Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Asian Dub Foundation - New Way, New Life

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Part 13: Brimful of Asha - The British-Asian Experience in Pop

Until the mid-eighties, the Asian influence on pop music appeared to be almost non-existent. If it did exist, it was tucked away in a cultural cul-de-sac. Of course, there was Cliff Richard (who was Indian-born), and the somewhat embarrassing stereotypes of Loren and Sellers' Goodness Gracious Me. Ravi Shankar enjoyed a moment in the spotlight on the back of The Beatles's dabbling with sitars and spirituality, but there was very little else of note. And whilst our national dish became the Tikka Massala (itself an Anglo-Indian hybrid) and was present in most British homes on a weekly basis, Asian pop was pretty much absent.

In the late eighties/early nineties Bhangra (essentially a mix of Punjabi folk music and western pop) received some attention as part of the general rise in interest in World Music, something that the WOMAD festival had arguably kick-started. But a more strident sound was emerging from the Midlands, and from Wolverhampton in particular. Early on in their career, Cornershop were pictured in the NME burning a photo of Morrissey who was then being vilified by the music press for alleged racism. And in much the same way that the comedy troupe Goodness Gracious Me had reclaimed their name from a negative racial stereotype, so too had Cornershop.

And whilst the earlier Cornershop material was particularly polemical and strong on social commentary, the song Cornershop became most famous for was a heartfelt tribute to Asha Bhosle, a female singer who'd sung thousands of songs for Indian films. The song also name-checks Marc Bolan and Trojan records, which further underlined the cross-cultural pollination that makes-up modern British culture. Also indicative of the nature of modern pop is the fact that the song only became a hit after it got the magic treatment from a superstar DJ. The first time around the single had peaked at number 60, but after Fatboy Slim re-mixed the track it shot to number one and repeated the trick world-wide. This tribute to a mostly unknown Indian singer appealed to a universal audience.

The 'Asian underground' reached a commercial and critical peak in 1999 when renowned tabla player Talvin Singh would win the Mercury Music Prize for his album OK. Later acts like MIA, Asian Dub Foundation and Black Star Liner combined rock, dance and Asian music with strong politics to storm the world's charts and stages.

So Wolverhampton's Cornershop embodied a non-metropolitan, Midlands, post-industrial perspective, one that was seen starkly in the next episode, Ghost Town.

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Music Played

Ravi Shankar - Bangla Dhun

The Beatles - Norwegian Wood

The Beatles - The Inner Light

Monsoon - Ever So Lonely

Tigerstyle - Bol! Bol! Bol!

Talvin Singh - Ok

Cornershop - Norwegian Wood

Cornershop - Brimful Of Asha

Cornershop - Brimful Of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)

Jay Sean - Down

Transglobal Underground - Emotional YoYo

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Part 14: Ghost Town - Post-Industrial Decline

Ghost Town was certainly one of the strangest and bleakest number one singles ever. And yet its success was no doubt due to the fact that it chimed perfectly with the times: providing a perfect soundtrack to the riots of 1981 and to Britain's general urban decay. In fact, Jerry Dammers' song seemed almost to be reportage; Dammers himself said he wanted to convey the sense of impending doom that was felt nation-wide. Rock writer Jo Ann Greene said of Ghost Town that the lyrics "only brush on the causes for this apocalyptic vision - the closed down clubs, the numerous fights on the dance floor, the spiralling unemployment, the anger building to explosive levels. But so embedded were these in the British psyche, that Dammers needed only a minimum of words to paint his picture."

Although the single was released on the ground-breaking 2-Tone label, the idealism of racial unity and equality the label (and indeed the band) embodied seemed to be purely a pipe-dream at that point in time. That utopian ideal didn't seem to be widely prevalent in the UK in the early '80s, particularly in places like Brixton, Toxteth or Bristol. The nation did feel doomed. Unemployment was rife. Britain burned and riots were happening all across the country. But the people of Coventry (the Specials' home town) were less than impressed that their home was the inspiration for this huge, but bleak, hit single.

The Specials released probably the strangest, most haunting evocation of a very particular time in British history. Were you one of the millions of unemployed at that time? Did you feel that Coventry had been misrepresented? The People's Songs wants to hear from you.

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Music Played

The Specials - Ghost Town

The Specials - Too Much Too Young

The Specials - Gangsters

The Beat - Tears Of A Clown

The Specials - Stereotype

UB40 - One In Ten

The Specials - Rat Race

The Specials - Ghost Town

The Selecter - Murder

The Prodigy - Ghost Town

Billy Bragg - It Says Here

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Part 15: Part of the Union - We All Stand Together

Whilst The Specials Ghost Town can rightly be considered to be an angry or despairing snap-shot of the state of Britain, The Strawbs instead chose to poke fun at some of those in positions of power. Here was a jaunty take on the political conflict, a wry and humorous anthem for the strike-bound 70s.

Although the lyrics could be read as satirical of the trade union movement, the band has frequently stated that that's not the case at all. In fact the song was picked up by the trade unions and became something of an unofficial anthem for them.

In the early Seventies the British economy was suffering heavily from high rates of inflation and to curb this, the government capped pay-rises. At this time, the unions in Britain were at their most powerful and militant. Ambulance drivers, grave-diggers, civil servants and rail workers all went on strike. The National Union Of Mineworkers chose to work to rule, which created a shortage of coal and this coupled with the oil crisis meant the price of coal soared, leading to the notorious Three Day Week; so called because the commercial use of electricity was limited to just three consecutive days. On top of this, VAT came into being. The IRA was detonating bombs in London and Manchester. These were hard, turbulent times and the British people were keen for something to distract them. So while bands like The Strawbs chose to comment on the times, others we more than happy to be pure, unadulterated entertainment. It's probably no coincidence that glam rock exploded at this time. The razzle 'n dazzle, glitter and glam was the perfect anti-dote to Britain's misery. And it's little wonder that Slade's wistful, nostalgic Merry Christmas Everybody was such a huge hit come the end of 1973.

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Music Played

Strawbs - Part Of The Union

Bernard Cribbins - The Hole In The Ground

The Kinks - Shangri-La

Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman

Pete Seeger - Union Maid

Sweet - Blockbuster

Queen - Keep Yourself Alive

Slade - When The Lights Are Out

Strawbs - Part Of The Union

Alan Price - Jarrow Song

The Flying Pickets - Only You

T. Rex - Children of The Revolution

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Part 16: Things Can Only Get Better - Cool Britannia

Much like Brimful Of Asha, Things Can Only Get Better was a minor hit (in 1994) before it was remixed and began its climb up the charts and finally to the number one spot where it sat for four weeks. But that wasn't the end of the song's story. In 1997 The Labour Party looking for a song to sum up their campaign decided to adopt it for the upcoming election scrap. Labour won the election and the single hit the top twenty once more.

Labour had been in of opposition for 18 years and Neil Kinnock had twice snatched defeat from the jaws of victory (firstly with a stumble on the beach in Brighton and then with a hubristic appearance at Sheffield Arena). It was time for a change of leader, followed by a re-branding. It was now New Labour helmed by Team Blair. This re-branding was an almost instant success as New Labour not only won, but did so by a landslide. The Tory party, tired and mired in sleaze, slunk off to lick its wounds. This seemed to be the beginning of a new dawn and a time for celebration; not only did Britain seem to be on the verge of possibly being 'Great' again, but it also became a hip 'n' happening place to live. It was Cool Britannia.

There was a vibrant mood to the economy, the culture and the arts were thriving and it seemed like the UK was at the centre of the universe. This, we were told, was a revolution, albeit a polite and spin-doctored one.

And pop was along for the ride. Noel Gallagher was the highest profile rock star to be photographed attending a media party at Number 10 Downing Street and many of his peers were also on board and on-message. But the trouble with being 'cool' is that it doesn't last long. The veneer quickly faded as - to paraphrase one of Noel's heroes, Pete Townsend - it became apparent that the new boss was the same as the old boss. With Blair becoming increasingly chummy with George W Bush, and a war with Iraq looking more and more inevitable, a nation vehemently protested against New Labour. The British Stop the War Coalition held a protest in London, which it claimed was the largest political demonstration in the city's history with around a million people protesting against the government's increasingly unpopular policies. The saviour of the nation had quickly become its bogeyman.

But for a brief moment, when New Labour came to power, it felt like a national rebirth What do you remember about 'Cool Britannia'? Were you swept up by the optimism of the era? The People's Songs wants to hear from you.

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Music Played

D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better

The Rolling Stones - (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive

Pulp - Common People

D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better

D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better (12” Instrumental)

The Boo Radleys - Wake Up Boo!

Cast - Fine Time

The Bonzo Dog Band - Cool Britannia

Supergrass - Alright

Ocean Colour Scene - The Riverboat Song

Paul Weller - The Changingman

Oasis - Roll With It

Blur - Country House

The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony

Paul Anka - Wonderwall

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Part 17: Coronation Rag - God Save the Queen

Following the death of King George VI, on the 6th February 1952, it was over a year before his daughter Elizabeth was finally crowned Queen of United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan, as well as taking on the role of Head of the Commonwealth. On June 2nd, 1953, the world's eyes were on London as the ceremony was beamed around the globe by a new medium, television. At home an estimated three million people lined the streets of London to celebrate the new monarch, whilst eight thousand guests would witness the ceremony in Westminster Abbey.

59 years later, one million people would turn up in a rain soaked London to witness the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Whether this tapering off in interest reflects the mood of the nation, or merely the impact of horrible weather it's impossible to tell. And of course, in 1953, television wasn't as ubiquitous as it is now - no doubt millions more had tuned in to watch the Jubilee proceedings on TV, or on the internet rather than in the flesh on London's rain-soaked streets. And yet many believe that it was the Queen's Coronation in the early Fifties which had ushered in the Television Age here in Britain. TV sets went through a huge surge in sales prior to the Coronation and it's thought that 20 million people watched the BBC's coverage, with many people crowding into neighbour's front rooms to share this national experience courtesy of this new and wondrous technology.

We now live in a very different Britain, perhaps a much more divided nation.In 1953, a unified Britain had just emerged from a harrowing war. Rationing was still in place. Churchill was still Prime Minister. And like the newly born technology of television, Britain seemed to be in stark black and white.

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Music Played

Winifred Atwell - Coronation Rag

Billy Cotton - In A Golden Coach (There’s A Heart Of Gold)

Dickie Valentine -In A Golden Coach (There’s A Heart Of Gold)

Al Martino - Here In My Heart

Vera Lynn - The Windsor Waltz

The Chordettes - Lollipop

The Goggle Box Band - Bill And Ben

Sir William Walton - Crown Imperial

Edmundo Ros - The Queen of Tonga

Winifred Atwell - Black And White Rag

Winifred Atwell - Coronation Rag

Cy Laurie - King Of The Zulus

Tommy Steele - Butterfingers

Dizzee Rascal - Respect Me (Instrumental)

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Part 18: Bonkers - The Sound of 21st Century Britain

Dizzee Rascal is one of the sounds and personalities of 21st century Britain. Bonkers was his second number one single, his third top ten single and eleventh top forty hit. Not bad for a lad who'd been kicked out of a number of schools for disruptive behaviour. In his fifth school he was kicked out of all his lessons bar music where a sympathetic teacher recognised a raw talent and encouraged Dizzee to try and utilise his gifts and a computer to make music. By the time he was 16, Dizzee had recorded his first single, and there was no stopping him. He was to enjoy that slew of hit singles, awards (including a Mercury award in 2003), tabloid headlines and collaborations with acts as diverse as The Arctic Monkeys, Basement Jaxx, Florence And The Machine and DJ Armand Van Helden.

And just as this son of African immigrants (a mix of Ghanaian and Nigerian) internalised and assimilated the many sounds of modern Britain, his own music and lyrics are very much a product of his environment and its mix of cultures. It's an eclectic and hyperactive sound; a mash-up of phone ring-tones, video game sound effects, heavy metal guitars and hip hop beats, all smothered with a layer of paranoia and urban grime. Dizzie's work reflects the diverse state of our pop nation and the healthy mix and match, cut and paste, anything goes cultural stew we live in.

And without probably even realising it, Dizzee Rascal's futuristic, kitchen-sink style pop productions follow in the foot-steps of another British maverick, Joe Meek, whose Telstar we'll look at next week.

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Music Played

Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers

Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U

The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper’s Delight

50 Cent - I Get Money

Roni Size & Reprazent - Share The Fall (Full Vocal Mix)

So Solid Crew - 21 Seconds

Dizzee Rascal - Fix Up, Look Sharp

M.I.A. - Galang

Wiley - Wot Do U Call It?

Wiley - Wot Do U Call It? (Igloo Instrumental)

Dizzee Rascal - Sirens

Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers

Plan B - Ill Manors

Plan B - Ill Manors (Instrumental)

Professor Green - Jungle

Plan B - Lost My Way (Instrumental)

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Part 19: Telstar - The Sound of the Future

Like its subject matter, the Telstar satellites, Joe Meek's track was pioneering and otherworldly. We now take global communication and entertainment for granted, but in the early 1960s it was cutting-edge of technology. The Telstars were a series of satellites launched to provide telecommunications and faxes as well as live and recorded television feeds. The first was tiny, measuring under three feet in width and powered by a tiny 14 watts of power. Telstar 18 was launched as recently as 2004, and, given that its life expectancy was 13 years, must still be circling the globe. It was, as Harold Wilson put it, part of the "white heat of the technological revolution". And famously another Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, declared on Desert Island Discs that it was her favourite pop song.

Like the satellite, Joe Meek was at the cutting edge of technology though, admittedly, in a much more DIY fashion. Meek liked to spin a yarn that he'd beamed his recording up to the orbiting satellite and then recorded the returning signal for the spacey sound effects at the beginning of the track. But another ( more likely) story has it that he simply utilised a reversed tape recording of a toilet being flushed. Whatever the truth, it sounds suitably spectral and spooky.

As a child, Joe Meek had commandeered his father's shed to tinker with all sorts of electrical gizmos. He then spent his national service in the RAF as a radar technician, further fuelling his childhood obsession with electronics. Prior to making Telstar, Meek had melded his twin obsessions - electronics and the space race - to create his "Outer Space Music Fantasy" concept album, I Hear A New World with a band called Rod Freeman & the Blue Men. Sadly, and ignominiously, the album was shelved - unknown and unloved for years - until pop music had caught up with Meek and listeners were ready to hear his curious, challenging music. He was a pioneering producer whose homemade records stood toe-to-toe with those produced in the laboratory-like studios of Decca or EMI. Meek pioneered techniques that were frowned on or even ridiculed by the 'experts', but to him (and legions of pop fans) it sounded great.

It's believed that at least 5 million copies of Telstar were sold, and the track was the first British single to go to number one in the USA. But there wasn't to be a happy ending to this story. Meek didn't get much chance to bask in the glory of all this trailblazing success; he was sued by a French composer, Jean Ledrut, for plagiarism. The court case blocked Meek's royalties and the case was finally settled in his favour... but three weeks after Meek had committed suicide in 1967.

Joe Meek's pop music brought romance and heart to the '60s space race. Did you buy Telstar when it was released in 1962? Did the Space Race fire your imagination? The People's Songs wants to hear from you.

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Music Played

The Tornados - Telstar

Don Spencer - Fireball

The BBC Radiophonic Workshop - Dr Who (Original Theme)

Orbital - Doctor?

Rod Freeman And The Blue Men - Orbit Around The Moon

Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys - Teddy Boy Calypso (Bring Back The Old Cat-O-Nine)

Humphrey Lyttelton - Bad Penny Blues

Rod Freeman & The Blue Men - Magnetic Field

John Leyton - Johnny Remember Me

The Tornados - Telstar

The Honeycombs - Have I The Right

Kraftwerk - Spacelab

Gary Numan - Engineers