Four-part series in which British art historian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford explores the pre-colonial history of some of Africa's most important kingdoms.
The African continent is home to nearly a billion people. It has an incredible diversity of communities and cultures, yet we know less of its history than almost anywhere else on earth.
But that is beginning to change. In the last few decades, researchers and archaeologists have begun to uncover a range of histories as impressive and extraordinary as anywhere else in the world.
The series reveals that Africa's stories are preserved for us in its treasures, statues and ancient buildings - in the culture, art and legends of the people.
In 1871, European explorers stumbled across an astonishing ruined city deep in the African interior. Great Zimbabwe has been a source of fascination and controversy ever since, a symbol of African genius and a fascinating insight into the empires which once dominated southern Africa.
Casely-Hayford goes in search of the roots of this immense kingdom. He traces the trade in gold and precious goods that sustained it and uncovers the kingdoms that grew up around it.
Dan Cruickshank visits the Dogon people and sees some masks and wall paintings.
Over the centuries people have been drawn to the sea for different reasons - for pleasure, for fishing and for trade. The unpredictable power of the sea has a nasty habit of catching them out, necessitating the resources of the rescue services and lifeboat volunteers.
Occasionally, home movie makers managed to capture some of the exploits of these rescue services. Their recollections tell the story of how they used increasingly elaborate technology and risked their lives to save the lives of others, and why, in spite of all this, the sea continued to claim so many lives.
Lighthouses were there at the beginning, but automation saw the end of the people who kept them going. One keeper who filmed them before they disappeared at the end of the 20th century was Peter Halil. Peter realised that no one was recording the passing of a way of life, so set about doing it himself. He enlisted the help of fellow keeper Gerry Douglas Sherwood and the programme features the eloquent video he shot, together with recollections of both of them.
Peter's films captured the end of a way of life, while others filmed the inherent dangers to life itself. Amazing film of the work of the volunteer coastguard in St Ives and the crisis to the naval minesweeper HMS Wave in 1951, the RNLI lifeboat in Dover coping with the Texaco Caribbean disaster in 1971, and the work of the combined rescue services called out in August 1979 to the aid of yachts in trouble in the Fastnet race shape the tone of the programme. Maritime historian Richard Woodman provides a historical and technological context for the eyewitnesses and home movie enthusiasts who tell the stories behind the images in each of these rescues.
Perhaps the most compelling is that of Eric Smith, an RAF winchman. Dramatic home movie images filmed from the Cornish coast reveal the daring and ultimately successful operation to rescue two men trapped in a ship sinking off Land's End. The drama and tension are portrayed, as is the skill and bravery of Eric Smith, qualities that brought him the George Medal.
Poet Roger McGough narrates the extraordinary story of how a simple invention - the shipping container - changed the world forever and forced Britain into the modern era of globalisation.
With a blend of archive and modern-day filming, the incredible impact of the box is told through the eyes of dockers, seafarers, ship spotters, factory workers and logisticians. From quayside in huge container ports to onboard ships the size of four football pitches, the documentary explains how the shipping container has transformed our communities, economy and coastline.
Documentary looking at the history of Liverpool, the former gateway to the British Empire whose character was built on the dockside by seafarers and immigrants who came from around the world seeking a new beginning.
It examines how the city's maritime history and mixture of people has made its citizens uncertain of their English identity.
It’s now 40 years since the end of the Cod Wars between Britain and Iceland. During the 1950s and 60s, Britain consumed 430,000 tons of cod each year, but as the stocks started to diminish the livelihoods of fishing communities in both countries were at stake. Iceland took steps to protect their fishing industry - the mainstay of their economy - resulting in the three so-called Cod Wars. This was a David and Goliath struggle, where the small fleet of Icelandic gunboats were pitted against the British trawlers and the Royal Navy in the North Atlantic.
This Icelandic film, made in 2001, tells the story from both sides and reflects on the impact of the Cod Wars in Grimsby and Hull.
Undersea suspense drama following the power struggle between a commander and his executive officer on board a nuclear submarine which endangers the lives of the entire world.
When they are put on alert after a volatile Russian nationalist seizes control of a nuclear missile base and the US stands at the brink of war, the by-the-book captain finds himself at odds with his second-in-command as the potentially catastrophic battle divides the crew.
To the sound of pinging sonar, Robert Llewellyn ups periscope to discover why submarine movies have gripped us for over a century. He travels along the River Medway to find a beached Cold War Russian nuclear sub and then on to the abandoned WWII German U-boat pens on the French coast, recalling many of the real events that inspired these films.
From 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Das Boot and The Hunt for Red October, Llewellyn discovers that fear - and its antithesis, bravery - is the key, and he also reveals the unique role that Walt Disney played in promoting atomic submarines. Interviewees include director John McTiernan (The Hunt For Red October), Sir Christopher Frayling and screenwriter Michael Schiffer (Crimson Tide).
MONDAY 10 MAY 2010
MON 19:00 World News Today (b00scq2r)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
MON 19:30 Francesco's Venice (b0078sny)
Beauty
Documentary series telling the story of the birth of Venice, one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world, presented by Francesco da Mosto. The golden age of art and architecture arrived and it was the moment the Venice we know today emerged - when wooden houses transformed into stone and marble palaces covered in gold and jewel-encrusted palaces lined the Grand Canal.
The fishermen of early Venice were changing, turning into princely merchants who traded throughout the east and west to become some of the richest patrons of art. Fine paintings and sculpture came to adorn every home as Venetians vied to impress.
This was the age of Venice producing the world's most famous artists and most heroic buildings as Titian and Palladio transformed the look and reputation of the city.
Meanwhile, a calamity hovered over the city, threatening to engulf it and ultimately take Venice to the very brink of disaster - the plague. No one, rich or poor would escape and the city would be left in ruins.
MON 20:30 Timothy Spall: Somewhere at Sea (b00s96y1)
The Call of the Sea
Three-part documentary series featuring one of Britain's best loved actors, Timothy Spall, as he and his wife sail from to Cornwall to south Wales in a Dutch barge.
The first programme sees Timothy and Shane set off in the Princess Matilda from Fowey in Cornwall, heading towards Land's End.
By his own admission, Timothy is an unqualified and slightly nervous mariner, but Shane has every confidence in his sea-faring abilities. The intrepid crew encounter a battleship on what could be a firing range, before getting holed up in the Helford river due to bad weather, which gives them an excuse to meet the locals and witness a lively festival.
But all the time Timothy is fretting over the next leg of his journey, which sees the Princess Matilda circumnavigate the infamous Lizard Point, known as the graveyard of ships with its dangerous rocks stretching four miles out to sea.
MON 21:00 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00sf2gc)
Timothy Spall
Mark Lawson talks to the award-winning actor Timothy Spall about his life and career. Spall reflects on his working-class roots and the joys and anxieties of being a 'professional depicter', as well as his personal fight with leukaemia.
He rose to prominence in classic stage and television drama, but it was his work with director Mike Leigh that established him as one of the country's best-loved character actors in films such as Life is Sweet and Secrets and Lies. His sensitive and humane performances as Britain's last hangman Albert Pierrepoint and Dickens's Fagin speak of his fascination with the human condition and his desire to play all sorts of funny looking people.
MON 22:00 Timeshift (b0074njx)
Series 1
The Sailing Sixties
In the mid 1960s Britain went boating mad. This documentary tells the story of how an extraordinary maritime revolution that was kick-started by waterproof glues developed for bomber aircraft led to a whole generation of DIY dinghy builders, and ended in tragedy with the suicide of amateur yachtsman Donald Crowhurst.
In the 60s, plywood and plastic transformed the economics of getting on the water - and staying there. The waterproof glues that were developed for the plywood Mosquito bomber led to cheap affordable sailing boats. DIY supremo Barry Bucknell and boat designer Jack Holt produced the most famous dinghy - eleven feet of plywood and glue that could be built at home. It was called the Mirror Dinghy and was sponsored by the Daily Mirror for its readers. Even the sails were red.
The new weekend sailors in their small dinghies might look as if they were messing about in boats but they were also dreaming of ocean-going adventures - emulating the new heroes that the decade produced. Men like lone yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester. In 1967 Sir Francis, aged sixty five, sailed into the record books and the nation's affection by circling the globe in Gypsy Moth IV, stopping only once, in Sydney.
As Fleet Street raised the sailing stakes, the Sunday Times offered a prize, the Golden Globe, to the first person to circumnavigate non-stop alone. Nine men entered the most dramatic race in sailing history and only one, the almost unknown merchant seaman Robin Knox-Johnston, came back to claim the prize.
The film ends with the story of this race - with the triumph of Knox-Johnston and the tragedy of Donald Crowhurst, the lone sailor who faked his round-the-world voyage and paid for it with his life.
MON 22:50 Shanties and Sea Songs with Gareth Malone (b00s97c0)
The story of Britain's maritime past has a hidden history of shanties and sea songs, and choirmaster Gareth Malone has been travelling Britain's coast to explore this unique heritage. From dedicated traditionalists to groundbreaking recording artists, Gareth meets a variety of sea-singers from across the country.
His journey begins in Portsmouth where he meets a devoted shanty singer, before continuing on to Tyneside and the Yorkshire coast, where the Filey Fisherman's Choir, with an average age of 70, are determined to keep the tradition alive.
Gareth gets a fascinating insight into the songs of the Herring Girls when he visits Gardenstown in Scotland. In Whitby, he meets Kimber's Men, a local group who have dedicated themselves to writing and singing songs celebrating heroes of the sea, such as a rescue of 1881 when the sea was so rough the people of Whitby had to carry their 2-tonne lifeboat some six miles overland on a wooden trailer and in heavy snow to the bay where a ship had hit the rocks. Despite the exhaustion, they still managed to rescue the shipwrecked crew and passengers.
Gareth's journey ends in Port Isaac in Cornwall, where a group of local fishermen sing shanties and sea songs alongside their day job. Calling themselves the Fishermen's Friends, they have been so successful that they have landed a lucrative record deal.
MON 23:50 The Cult of... (b0091tc4)
Sunday Night
Howard's Way
Series which unearths the history and anecdotes behind cult British Sunday night drama series looks at Howards' Way.
It was nearly called The Boatbuilders, which didn't really communicate creator Gerard Glaister's desire for a British serial drama with all the glamour of the American soaps of the day. But borrowing from Dallas and Dynasty proved to be inspired and the re-named Howard's Way became a Sunday night must-see for millions, as well as giving Marti Webb an appearance on Top of the Pops.
Unashamedly aspirational and said to capture the ethos of the eighties, it outlasted Margaret Thatcher's term as prime minister by a mere three days. So how does it look from a 21st century vantage point? And could it possibly be true that many of us aspired to dress like Ken Masters and Jan Howard?
MON 00:20 Wine (b00hq2vg)
The Firm
Documentary series about the wine industry, taking a look behind the scenes at Berry Brothers and Rudd, widely considered to be the oldest and poshest wine merchant in the world.
After 310 years of business, there is still a Mr Berry at the helm as bombs, wars, kings and queens have come and gone, but this charmed existence may be under threat as the credit crunch bites deep. The film unwittingly becomes a chronicle of the changing world order, where the super-rich look alarmingly as though they are about to turn into the ancient regime.
Quaint anachronism it might seem from the outside, but this is the firm that turned fine wine into the sine qua non of the super-rich. Everyone here - from Berry's larger-than-life Bordeaux and Burgundy buyers to the eccentric and ambitious chateau owners and producers they do business with - services what seemed to be the ever-increasing demand for the finest wines available to humanity, until the rot creeps in and threatens three centuries of history.
MON 01:20 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00sf2gc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
MON 02:20 Timeshift (b0074njx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
MON 03:10 Shanties and Sea Songs with Gareth Malone (b00s97c0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:50 today]
TUESDAY 11 MAY 2010
TUE 19:00 World News Today (b00scqb1)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
TUE 19:30 Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World (b00qfylw)
Series 1
High Tide
In the third programme in this epic four-part series on how the Navy has shaped modern Britain, Dan Snow sheds light on the evolution of Nelson's navy in the late 18th century. It was the most powerful maritime fighting force in the world, with highly trained crews and ambitious officers. He explores the national enterprise which supported it, and explains how the empire it helped create put Britain on the path to war with France.
Through the stories of naval heroes like Captain Cook, naval administrators like Charles Middleton and of course Admiral Nelson, Snow explores the elite training, the growing naval meritocracy and the years of tough experience which created a ruthless and professional 'band of brothers'. He looks at the impact of innovations such as the copper bottoming of the navy's ships and the introduction of a new tax - income tax - to pay for the fleet.
Pushing back the boundaries of the known world, the Navy's highly trained crews and ambitious officers laid claim to a burgeoning empire, but at a huge price. By 1800, Britain had been dragged into the greatest sequence of wars the nation had ever seen.
TUE 20:30 The Boats That Built Britain (b00scqb3)
The Phoenix
The square rigger is arguably the most important vehicle in history. In the 19th century these boats transported finished goods and raw materials all over the world, transforming Britain from a second-rate European power into the richest and most powerful nation on earth.
Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe sets out on the Phoenix, a plank-perfect square rigger, to discover just how these incredible boats changed Britain and the world forever.
TUE 21:00 Sea Fever (b00scqb5)
The Joy of the Sea
Series which focuses on Britain's maritime history, culture, economics and science continues with a look at the different ways people have enjoyed the sea in the 20th century. For some, the 'Joy of the Sea' is about being on it in a boat or dinghy, for others it is crashing through the waves on a surfboard, and for millions it is about just wanting to be close to it.
To enjoy the sea in the early years of the 20th century, you had be either living close to it or rich enough to get to it - sailing especially was the preserve of the rich. But as the century unfolded that changed and a revolution took place that saw more and more people being able to get to the sea and enjoy it in all sorts of ways. Many of them filmed their experiences and the programme uses their unique and unseen films, and their recollections, to tell the story of that revolution.
The film archives of three sailors stretching from the 1930s to the 1980s reveal the way technology and economics transformed and democratised the delights of sailing in the century. Malcolm McKeag, Chief Sailing Officer of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, helps explain the forces at work.
The 1930s home movies of Gerald Potter bring to life the world of the upper middle class Cowes sailor. He had the wealth to commission and film the building of his very own boat.
Post-war sailing amongst the Cowes elite, and ocean racing in particular, was captured in the movies of Max Aitken, heir to the Beaverbrook newspaper empire.
The first post-war stirrings of what was to become a cult in Cornwall were filmed by Gynnedd Haslock's father, who filmed his young daughter surfing the Cornish waves in the late 1950s.
By the 1970s, technology was revolutionising surfing and John Adams, a surfing dance hall owner from Penzance, captured the pastime as it grew into a global pursuit.
The movies of Don Sykes, a Southport amateur filmmaker, capture the joy of the sea and how it was experienced by millions of holiday makers. Don has film of Southport in the 1920s and his films show just how popular places like this were right up to the 1970s.
TUE 22:00 Flight of the Conchords (b00kps9v)
Series 2
Murray Takes It to the Next Level
When Murray decides to move Bret and Jemaine up from the level of 'colleagues' to 'friends', they meet Murray's best friend Jim and accidentally insult him.
TUE 22:25 The Box That Changed Britain (b00scpzn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Sunday]
TUE 23:25 Passport to Liverpool (b00d2zdk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Sunday]
TUE 00:15 Wine (b00hvwrj)
The Faith
Documentary series about the wine industry charts the creation of the 2008 vintage at Margaux, one of the world's greatest wine estates.
Corinne Mentzelopoulos, daughter of a Greek supermarket tycoon, introduces us to the chateau her family has owned for the past 30 years, as everyone from vineyard worker to chief winemaker looks anxiously at a sky which appears hellbent on making the year a wretched one. One bottle of this cult wine can cost up to 1,000 pounds if the vintage is good, but the quality of the vintage is always in the lap of the weather gods.
Blessed by sunshine and a soaring economy in previous years, Margaux has turned itself into the world's luxury wine. From the inside, we track the meticulous cultivation of a top-notch brand, with Margaux's urbane director Paul Pontallier playing the role of chief evangelist as we follow him all the way to China where he is almost mobbed by devotees of Margaux.
TUE 01:15 Sea Fever (b00scqb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUE 02:15 The Boats That Built Britain (b00scqb3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
TUE 02:45 The Box That Changed Britain (b00scpzn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Sunday]
TUE 03:45 Sea Fever (b00scqb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 12 MAY 2010
WED 19:00 World News Today (b00scqsg)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
WED 19:30 Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World (b00qlmcq)
Series 1
Sea Change
In the last of this four-part series, historian Dan Snow explores the ups and downs of a climactic century in naval and British history.
Rapacious and ruthless, the 19th-century Navy used 'gunboat diplomacy' to push British interests further afield than ever before. It was control of the sea rather than her land empire that was the key to Britain's growing wealth.
Technological advances saw Britain and France engage in an arms race over battleships. While Britain's navy appeared to be winning, the meritocracy fostered in Nelson's time was slowly being eroded by an entrenched hierarchy which smothered any spark of initiative among its sailors.
When Germany emerged as a new threat, modernising admiral Jackie Fisher was called to reform the Navy. Fisher believed in peace through deterrence and had plans for a huge new battleship - the Dreadnought.
When war finally came, the British and German fleets clashed off Jutland in 1916. But the outcome was not the knock-out blow the British public wanted. Britain emerged from World War I victorious but broke, and no longer able to maintain by far the world's largest fleet. In time, other nations eclipsed her. It was the end of centuries of naval supremacy.
WED 20:30 The Boats That Built Britain (b00scqsj)
The Reaper
The Reaper is the biggest sailing lugger ever to fish the seas. Seventy feet long and capable of pulling in ten tonnes of herring in a single haul, the Reaper was an awesome beast that fed Britain at a time when she needed it most.
Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe sails her for himself and finds out just how this giant of the seas came about.
WED 21:00 Art of the Sea (b00s96xz)
In Words
Novelist Joseph Conrad described the sea as another planet. Majestic, dramatic and sometimes terrifying, the sea has held a real fascination for British writers. From Shakespeare to Coleridge, Robert Louis Stevenson to Patrick O'Brian, it has inspired some of our most gifted authors.
Poet and novelist Owen Sheers sets off to discover whether there is anything that unites the great British sea stories. In the company of both seafarers and sea writers, he explores the transformative effect that the sea has had on the human mind.
WED 22:00 Timothy Spall: Somewhere at Sea (b00scqsn)
The Bogey Man
Three-part documentary series featuring one of Britain's best loved actors, Timothy Spall, as he and his wife sail from to Cornwall to south Wales in a Dutch barge.
The voyage continues with Timothy and Shane having to cope with the highly dangerous waters around Lizard Point if he is to complete the journey by winter. Although in a state of some anxiety, Timothy manoeuvres the Princess Matilda around the infamous Lizard before mooring in Newlyn, a focus of the Cornish fishing industry. But tying up for the night is never straightforward.
The Spalls get advice from the eighteen-strong crew of the Penlee Lifeboat on how to tackle Land's End, another tough test lying in wait, and Timothy marvels at their seafaring skills and bravery in tackling the elements in order to save lives at sea.
His own voyage attracts plenty of interest. 'They all think we're mad, but they're not stopping us!' laughs Tim at one point.
WED 22:30 Outnumbered (b00sbq7m)
Series 3
Episode 4
Dad struggles against a rising tide of superstition, astrology and conspiracy theories that seem to be taking over the family, while Ben takes time off from re-enacting the crusades to show a couple of prospective buyers around the house.
WED 23:00 Flight of the Conchords (b00l22n4)
Series 2
Unnatural Love
When Bret and Jemaine go out nightclubbing with Dave, Jemaine accidentally goes home with an Australian girl. At first plagued by shame and self-doubt, he comes to care about her, much to Bret and Murray's annoyance. Can their love cross the racial divide?
WED 23:25 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00sf2gc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
WED 00:25 Wine (b00j0g7v)
The Future
Documentary series about wine looks at the importance of the industry to South Africa's future and why, despite a history that stretches back to the 17th century, it still hasn't decided what its identity should be.
Oupa Rangaka and Mark Solms are two unlikely wine producers. Six years ago, Oupa, a retired philosophy professor, didn't even drink wine, let alone make it. Today he and his family, including three-year-old grandson Kwena, are the only black people to own a vineyard in South Africa. Its survival depends on their ongoing relationship with Marks and Spencer and convincing the judges at London's International Wine Challenge that their pinotage passes muster.
Mark is a world-renowned neuroscientist who inherited the family business, and is struggling to reconcile his idealistic plans for the farm with the practical realities of post-apartheid South Africa.
Via the struggles of these two remarkable men, wine becomes a prism through which to view the current state of the Rainbow Nation.
WED 01:25 Art of the Sea (b00s96xz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WED 02:25 The Boats That Built Britain (b00scqsj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
WED 02:55 Timothy Spall: Somewhere at Sea (b00scqsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
WED 03:25 Flight of the Conchords (b00l22n4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 today]
WED 03:55 Art of the Sea (b00s96xz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 13 MAY 2010
THU 19:00 World News Today (b00scr06)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 South Africa Walks (b00s8fxz)
The Drakensberg
Having tackled treks across the UK, Julia Bradbury embarks on a grand adventure in South Africa, setting out on four different walks that explore its claim to be 'a world in one country'.
Julia is a regular visitor to the Rainbow Nation, but this is her chance to go far beyond the normal tourist destinations to a series of increasingly remote locations. However, these are walks that any reasonably adventurous walker could embark on and they offer a fresh and personal perspective on a friendly and fascinating country that is often misunderstood.
Julia moves to the interior for her second walk and the grandest mountain range in southern Africa, the Drakensberg. The 3,000m Cathedral Peak is the ambition for Julia and her Zulu guide Zee. As she quickly discovers, even the fittest and most experienced walkers need luck on their side when it comes to the dramatic weather of these mountains. With Zulus, Brits and Boers to provide the history, this is an outing filled with drama and fascination, set against a backdrop sometimes described as the most beautiful on Earth.
THU 20:00 Sacred Music (b00rjsc4)
Series 2
Faure and Poulenc
Simon Russell Beale travels through the urban and rural landscapes of France to explore the story behind Faure's Requiem, one of the best-loved pieces of sacred music ever written.
With Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, he goes on to discover how this work laid the foundations for a distinctively French style, a tradition continued by the compelling music of the outrageously fashionable Francis Poulenc, working in the heart of jazz-age Paris.
THU 21:00 Behind the Scenes at the Museum (b00scr08)
Commercial Vehicle Museum
Series in which acclaimed filmmaker Richard Macer visits three different museums struggling to connect with a modern audience.
At the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Lancashire, a mutiny is brewing over the appointment of a new leader. The museum is the last link to Leyland Trucks, one of the nation's great manufacturing giants, but just as Leyland fell victim to industrial action in the 70s and 80s now history is in danger of repeating itself at the Commercial Vehicle Museum too.
The first thing new leader Stephen Bullock wants to do is bring back the Leyland festival. For many years this was the town's way of celebrating its industrial might with a procession of lorries and buses, but after the factory closed the carnival was cancelled.
However, not everyone approves of these new changes at the museum. Some of the many longstanding volunteers are vehicle enthusiasts who think the museum should stay just the way it is. But will it survive if it doesn't change?
Macer spent six months filming amidst the gleaming lorries and double decker buses and observed as a bitter row erupted between the new leader and the head of the volunteers.
THU 22:00 Wallander (b00scpsw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Saturday]
THU 23:30 Stevie Wonder: Live at Last (b00ljy1w)
Recorded during a two-night residency at the O2 Arena in London, Live at Last represents a rare occasion to experience all the funky energy of a Stevie Wonder concert. A pioneer in modern R&B, the American pianist, songwriter and tremendous performer comes back in top form after having spent ten years away from the spotlight.
An electrifying journey into Wonder's long and successful career, Live at Last includes all his classic hits such as My Cherie Amour, Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours, Superstition, Higher Ground, Living for the City, You are the Sunshine of My Life, I Wish and Isn't She Lovely, performed with his daughter Aisha Morris. All in all an unforgettable spectacle.
THU 00:25 BBC Four Sessions (b00fd1q1)
Randy Newman
The great American master of irony, singer-songwriter Randy Newman graces the stage at LSO St Luke's in London for an intimate concert. Balancing songs of scathing wit with affecting romantic ballads, he is joined by the strings of the BBC Concert Orchestra under the baton of Robert Ziegler.
There is a selection from his critically-acclaimed album Harps and Angels, including the critique of the Bush administration A Few Words in Defence of Our Country, and Newman also cherrypicks songs such as Short People, I Think It's Going to Rain Today, Political Science and Marie from his impressive back catalogue.
THU 01:25 Behind the Scenes at the Museum (b00scr08)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THU 02:25 Sacred Music (b00rjsc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
THU 03:25 South Africa Walks (b00s8fxz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 03:55 Behind the Scenes at the Museum (b00scr08)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 14 MAY 2010
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00scr6n)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 BBC Young Musician (b00scr6q)
2010
Percussion
Clemency Burton-Hill introduces BBC Young Musician 2010. Over 300 of the UK's best young musicians entered this year's competition and just 25 were chosen to go through to the five category finals - brass, keyboard, strings, woodwind and percussion.
Five young percussionists from Northampton, Cambridge, Manchester, Leicestershire and Hong Kong compete for the title of category winner and the one remaining place in the competition semi-final. Expect tension, drama and some exceptional performances of music by Zappa, Corea and Zivcovic.
FRI 21:00 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream (b00scr6s)
Peter Bogdanovich's epic portrait of one of America's great heartland rock 'n' roll bands.
Hailing from Gainesville, Florida, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got together in the mid-70s, moved to California and released their self-titled debut album in 1976. The album was a hit in the UK where its concise, rock 'n' roll traditionalism sat well with the emerging punk and new wave scenes.
The film uses extensive interviews with the band and friends like Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and Rick Rubin to chart their stubborn, independent-minded and often highly-successful journey towards the present day - breaking up occasionally, stopping off with the Travelling Wilburys, various Petty solo outings and periods backing the likes of Dylan, but fundamentally sticking together as one of America's greatest live and recording rock 'n' roll bands.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released Mojo, their first album together in eight years, in June 2010.
FRI 01:00 Stevie Wonder: Live at Last (b00ljy1w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:55 BBC Four Sessions (b00fd1q1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
00:25 on Thursday]
FRI 02:55 BBC Young Musician (b00scr6q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]