主播大秀

We are pleased to announce the release of a brand new feature on our website. It's called the Music Showcase and it brings together all of the 主播大秀's music clips from across Radio and TV and you can find it here: www.bbc.co.uk/music/showcase

It's very much a 'version one' website and there are going to be many enhancements in the coming months which are going to make it much better in terms of performance speed, favouriting functions, social/share and music recommendations. If you want the lowdown on the web sites' evolution and history along with the tech spec and key functions then check out the post from our Product Manager here.

I'm going to talk about the editorial premise behind Music Showcase and the content in it as well as give you some detail on the work-flow inside the 主播大秀 that brings a website (or 'product' if you're from the ) like this to life.

For a long time the 主播大秀's content has not been fully optimized - at least from a music perspective. iPlayer and our radio network sites do a good job of serving up all the 主播大秀's programmes on plate but for music radio and TV that model has always presented some limitations. Often broadcasts will contain live music performances - concerts, festival sets, sessions, recitals, DJ mixes and so on alongside interviews, documentaries and other artist related speech items. Until now these elements have remained 'locked' inside full programmes and only those with a black-belt in web surfing manage to find the things they are interested in or discover new and exciting artists and performers from all over the world.

The reason these great features have been hidden from view all this time is that the 主播大秀 has not had the systems and software to allow those digital producers working in music related TV and radio areas to lift and separate those pieces of audio and video out of the whole programmes and on to the web as media items in their own right... until now. iBroadcast is our software system that gives those producers of content the power to 'segment' programmes into artist or genre specific clips so that they can have a life of their own on the web.

iBroadcast is a bit like our own internal version of You Tube. Producers edit their clips, upload them in to the software, give them appropriate titles and descriptions, tag them with genres and identifiers. What are they? If you want to get into the detail then you can have a look at the Music Beta site FAQs or have look at the . Suffice to say Musicbrainz is a metadata standard that spans the whole web and it allows us to tag our broadcast content with artist names in a very robust way.

Content producers are free to segment what ever they like from programmes as long as it isn't single commercial tracks. That we can't do for rights reasons and neither should we. There are plenty of services out there doing that very well indeed. Like I said before, the Music Showcase, and the team that run it, is interested in live music, DJ mixes, interviews and so on... all that great stuff the 主播大秀 makes that no other single service in the world has the remit to.

The great thing about the Showcase is that is gathers together all of this content - whatever the licensing window - and allows you to browse it in one cohesive space. You can search by genre, artist, time (Just Added, Last Chance and so on) or, and this is the most important part, by Collection.

Collections are containers for clips that are built around a theme and curated by knowledgeable 主播大秀 talent and by staff who share the same passion. Collections are the first step in a much bigger plan, one that hopes to make more use of the broadcasters and DJs the 主播大秀 employs. At the moment 主播大秀 Radio in particular plays a huge role in music 'taste making' in the UK. Whilst the web is often perceived as all powerful in the music space, our research has shown that hearing a song on the radio is still the biggest source of new music discovery and recommendation in the UK. In short, our credentials as 'taste maker' in the broadcast space are massive. On 主播大秀 digital platforms they are nowhere to be seen.

This, along with our content not being fully optimized for the web, is the other problem we are trying to solve with the Music Showcase product; how do we start to transfer the taste maker reputation we have in the broadcast arena in to the digital space?

Collections of content curated by passionate musical minds is the first step on this journey. The Showcase opens with collections from Jools Holland selecting the best of the available Later clips (look out for Kings of Leon and Arcade Fire), Radio 1's Huw Stephens picking his favourite acts from the 主播大秀 Introducing festivals stages in 2010. 6 Music's Gideon Coe has pulled out some classic interview moments from our library including Lady Gaga, Marvin Gaye, Dolly Parton and R.E.M and finally Radio 3's Suzy Klein has curated her favourite clips from this years' Proms season along side pieces from the station's New Generation Artists strand such as Benjamin Grosvenor and ATOS Trio. We are also looking forward to round ups from our colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the coming weeks.

The staff who have been working on the Showcase this year are also curating Collections. They are being labelled as Music Editors. Look out for a bespoke 主播大秀 Sessions collection featuring Kylie Minogue live on Radio 2, Take That in Radio 1's Live Lounge and some highlights from the 6 Music Live strand.

As digital producers across the 主播大秀 start to segment more and more of the output so the number of Collections will grow and you'll see a faster rate of change on the Showcase landing page. Also, the number of curators will start to expand too as the clips library starts to grow. What we have released this week is a first for the Audio & Music division of the 主播大秀 and is going to take a little time for it to gain traction.

It is also worth pointing out that due to the bugs in our fledgling technology you are going to see some non-music content appearing in the Showcase. This is also outlined in the FAQs section. It's a metadata inheritance issue. This means clips are inheriting the classifications of the programmes from which they originate whether producers de-tag them or not. We're working on it.

If you've taken the time to read this far, thanks! I'd be very interested to hear your feedback both on the website itself, the content you see and hear in it as well as your suggestions for improvements and new features that would make your tasks easier. I hope you enjoy the Showcase and that you discover something new that you love.

Andy Puleston is Interactive Editor, Music - 主播大秀 Audio & Music Interactive

Hello again,听
More music television treats, including a second week of Tony Palmer documentaries as his Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs on Gorecki follows Leonard Cohen film Bird On A Wire.

Those looking forward to Sunday night's celebration of the film Cabaret with Alan Cumming should also check out Joel Grey's guest post on this blog last Friday.

Enjoy;

Thursday 25 November - 主播大秀 Four
2200 - 2255: The Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs - Gorecki
A timely showing of the landmark and multi-award winning film by celebrating the Polish composer Gorecki, who died recently. Palmer's film 'The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' with soprano听Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta conducted by , captured imaginations with its overwhelming power and harrowingly simple lyrics.
/programmes/b00wnmhd

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Friday 26 November - 主播大秀 Four
1930 - 2030: Opera Italia - part II
The second episode focuses on Verdi, whose operas are central to Pappano's conducting repertoire and the backbone of the international opera scene. It shows how Verdi's music was influenced by composers such as Bellini and particularly Donizetti, whose gothic masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor is explored with the help of soprano Diana Damrau.
/programmes/b00sm18t

2030 - 2100: The Highland Sessions
Six-part series celebrating the historical and contemporary links between Scottish and Irish Gaelic song by bringing together top exponents of both traditions to sing and play together with no audience except themselves, using a house band of their peers. This edition features Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Seosaimhin ni Beagley, Eamonn O'Donnachadh, Niall Vallely, Capercaillie's Karen Matheson and Donnie Murdo MacLeod.
/programmes/b0074rvr

== ELEKTRA RECORDS NIGHT ==
2100 - 2150: The Man Who Recorded America - Jac Holzman's Elektra Records
In the 1960s, a small indie label would conquer American music. With artists like The Doors, Love, Tim Buckley, The Incredible String Band and The Stooges, was consistently on the cutting edge, having built its name initially with folk revival artists like Judy Collins and Tom Paxton, signed out of Greenwich Village. Elektra was run by suave visionary and this is his story. Featuring contributions from Jackson Browne, Iggy Pop, Judy Collins and choice 主播大秀 archive.
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2150 - 2220: In Person Tonight - Judy Collins
1966 concert by American folk singer Judy Collins, featuring Turn Turn Turn, Hey Nelly Nelly and My Rambling Boy.
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2220 - 2325: Folk America - Blowin In The Wind
Three-part documentary series on American folk music, tracing its history from the recording boom of the 1920s to the folk revival of the 1960s. In the 1960s a new generation, spearheaded by Joan Baez听and Bob Dylan, took folk to the top of the charts and made it the voice of youthful protest. Whilst the northern folk revivalists helped bring civil rights to the south, the brought the old music of the south to the college kids in the north. However, when Dylan turned up at Newport in 1965 with an electric guitar things would never be the same again.
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2325 - 2405: The Doors - No One Here Gets Out Alive
Documentary profile of singer Jim Morrison, who with his band the Doors made a great impression on the rock music scene of the late 1960s. With comments from other members of the group and footage of film and TV appearances.
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2405 - 2505: Motor City's Burnin' - Detroit From Motown to the Stooges
Documentary looking at how Detroit became home to a musical revolution that captured the sound of a nation in upheaval. In the early 60s, transcended Detroit's inner city to take black music to a white audience, whilst in the late 60s suburban kids like the MC5 and the Stooges descended into the black inner city to create revolutionary rock expressing the rage of young white America.
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2505 - 2535: In Person Tonight - Tom Paxton
Concert from 1966 by the American folk singer Tom Paxton, featuring Last Thing on My Mind, I Believe, I Do and Detroit Auto Safety Massacre Blues.
/programmes/b00w8s1t

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Sunday 28 November - 主播大秀 Four
2100 - 2200: The Real Cabaret
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Sunday 2300
Actor pays tribute to the magic of the original film version of Cabaret and explores the fascinating and often shocking reality of the people and stories that inspired it.
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Tuesday 30 November - 主播大秀 Four
1930 - 2000: Jazz 625
introduces the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet in a restored and re-edited 1964 programme, featuring Paul Desmond on saxophone, Gene Wright on bass, Joe Morello on drums and听Brubeck on piano. Songs include Take 5, the first jazz record to sell over one million copies.
/programmes/b00jh665

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Next week; Dave Brubeck and Quincy Jones,听
Take care of yourselves
Rory

John Kander and Fred Ebb have been more than collaborators, more than friends. They are family. I knew them both individually before they began their now legendary partnership. I first met Fred (known to all his friends as Freddie) early in both of our careers when I was doing nightclubs and he was writing nightclub material. I first met John when he was a rehearsal pianist during the original with Ethel Merman. Later, he was the accompanist for my audition for 鈥� a role I didn鈥檛 get. I remained good friends with each of them, and was thrilled when they eventually teamed up and began writing together. It was a partnership that would end up putting my career in high gear.

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I spent the summer of 1965 performing in Mardi Gras with Louis Armstrong at the . The show was about a pirate ship, and it featured swimming and boats. It was awful. Really awful. We performed every single night for 8 weeks without a day off. Each day we鈥檇 get on a bus at the NYC bus terminal at 4:00 p.m., head to Jones Beach, and return to New York at 3:00 a.m. I never saw my wife or children, and I found the entire experience so dispiriting that I was ready to give it all up. I鈥檝e always referred to that time as 鈥淭he Summer of My Discontent.鈥� When this summer finally came to an end, I decided to quit the business once and for all. I was done! The day after I made my decision, I got a phone call from my friend . I got to know Hal and his, at the time, girlfriend (soon to be his wife) Judy years earlier through a mutual friend in LA. He was calling to offer me what turned out to be the role of a lifetime: the Emcee in . This was the first time I had ever gotten a part without having to audition. It was also the first time I was given the chance to originate a role on Broadway. Up until this point, my Broadway experience was limited to replacement parts. I had replaced in , in , Anthony Newley (again) in , and Tommy Steele in . Finally I was getting a chance to create my own character. How could I refuse? So, just like that, I was back in show business.

Later that week, John and Freddie played the score for me and I thought to myself, 鈥淭hese are genius musical numbers.鈥� I couldn鈥檛 wait to find the character and make it live.

There was a controversy surrounding one of my favorite numbers in the show: 鈥淚f You Could See Her.鈥� The final lyric of the song is 鈥溾�� But if you could see her through my eyes, she wouldn鈥檛 look Jewish at all.鈥� Many audience members perceived this as anti-Semitism (of course, the opposite was true: it was written as a statement about anti-Semitism). Hal was so hounded by the furor that he decided to change the lyric to 鈥溾�ut if you could see her through my eyes, she isn鈥檛 a meeskite at all.鈥� Being the sort of trouble maker I am, I would slip in the original lyric from time to time. Later, when we were making the , I fought hard to get this line back in the movie and now it鈥檚 forever captured on celluloid.

Through the experience of performing Cabaret, my relationships with John Kander and Fred Ebb deepened profoundly. When you have the opportunity to interpret such powerful material by other artists, a very unique kind of bond forms. Liza Minnelli鈥檚 legendary, longtime relationship with Freddie is a prime example of this special bond. She has always referred to him as her mentor 鈥� he was a major guiding force in her career.

I went to see when it first opened (with Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera, and Jerry Orbach) and thought the material was fantastic. The part of Amos was played by a very tall (and wonderful) actor by the name of Barney Martin. He played the role as it was written: a dumb mechanic. When they were about to revive the show in 1996 at Encores!, they called me to do it. I said, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 play that role! I鈥檓 5鈥�5鈥� 鈥� and I鈥檓 not that dumb.鈥� I collaborated with and , who were directing, to find another point of view for the character: that Amos loved Roxy so much that he would let her do anything. Long story short, I had the honor of performing in another Kander and Ebb masterpiece on Broadway in which I got to sing another fantastic number: 鈥淢r. Cellophane鈥� (鈥淢ister cellophane / Should have been my name / Mister cellophane / 'cause you can look right through me / Walk right by me / And never know I'm there!鈥�)

Clearly my career (and therefore my life) has been incredibly influenced by these two remarkable artists. Working with them has been pure joy. Knowing them, even more so. I was thrilled to have been able to participate in 主播大秀 Radio 2鈥檚 鈥淔riday Night Is Music Night鈥� tribute to them and to have had the chance to, once again, perform their magical music in London.

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Academy and Tony Award winning star of Cabaret听Joel Grey appears on Friday Night Is Music Night's Tribute to听John Kander & Fred Ebb at 8pm, this Friday, 19 November on Radio 2.

Hello,
How great was the Chess Records documentary last week? Etta James has definitely earned a few extra plays in this writer's house off the back of it. It's always great to get another chance to watch Blues Britannia too, I think I've seen that programme about six times now.

This week we have a triple bill of Brian Eno, Leonard Cohen and Robert Plant听sized highlights.
Enjoy;

Friday 19 November - 主播大秀 Two
2405 - 2505: Later鈥� with Jools Holland
Repeated: 主播大秀 Two - Saturday 2320
Joining Jools in the studio for the tenth and final live show of this series is the legendary Robert Plant, who performs tracks from his recent Band Of Joy album. Arcade Fire are also in the studio with a couple of tunes from their chart-topping The Suburbs set. Soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples showcases tracks from her Jeff Tweedy-produced album You Are Not Alone. From Nashville Tennessee and making their TV debut are Mona, who describe their high-octane rock and roll as the sound of chainsaws dancing, and Adele will be making a welcome return to the studio to preview a track from her second album due in early 2011.
/programmes/b00w5sq7

听

Friday 19 November - 主播大秀 Four
1930 - 2030: Opera Italia
Three-part series tracing the history of Italian opera presented by , world-renowned conductor and music director at the , Covent Garden. The series features sumptuous music, stunning Italian locations and some of the biggest names in opera as contributors.
/programmes/b00sjdmp

2030 - 2100: The Highland Sessions
Six-part series celebrating the historical and contemporary links between Scottish and Irish Gaelic song by bringing together top exponents of both traditions to sing and play with no audience except themselves, using a house band of their peers. Australian-born Donegal resident Steve Cooney is music director and the first programme sets the talents of Mary Black, Karan Casey and Afro-Celt Sound System's Iarla O'Lionaird in a uniquely Scottish context.
/programmes/b0074rv6

2100 - 2245: Bird on a Wire
film, thought lost for almost 40 years, about Leonard Cohen's 1972 European tour, has now been pieced together from almost 3,000 fragments and restored to its former glory. A unique record of a major poet and singer/songwriter at the height of his powers.
/programmes/b00w009s

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2245 - 2345: Leonard Cohen - Songs From The Road
A selection of live performances from Leonard Cohen's triumphant 2008-2009 world tour, featuring classic songs like Bird on the Wire, Famous Blue Raincoat and Hallelujah performed by Leonard and his impeccable musicians and singers before transfixed audiences in a variety of venues across the world.
/programmes/b00vdgmf

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听

2345 - 2445: Brian Eno - Hits, Classics and Tracks
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Sunday 2545
The music Brian Eno has been involved in making ranges from the experimental to the massively popular. Paul Morley talks about some of Eno's hit tracks, including Heroes, Once in a Lifetime, With or Without You and Viva La Vida.
/programmes/b00q9xqm

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Next week; night and another chance to see the excellent Detroit documentary.
Take care of yourselves
Rory

Act: Magnetic Man
Album: Magnetic Man
Recommended by: Zane Lowe, Nick Grimshaw, MistaJam, Annie Mac

Take three acclaimed dubstep producers. Stick 'em together, and leave to brew for several years. The end product: Magnetic Man. Featuring Artwork, Benga and Skream, the dance collective has probably been the most talked-about breakthrough British act of 2010. Their eponymous debut charted at five in October, and its two preceding singles - I Need Air and Perfect Stranger - were both hits on the singles chart. The album features vocal contributions from Katy B, John Legend, Ms Dynamite and more, but it was down to the core trio to answer our Album Reviews Q&A.

Your name, and details of this album, got out there a long a long time ago. But just how recently was the whole record finished?
Benga: The end of March, or the start of April.
Artwork: The difficulty has been keeping it under wraps. Usually, with this sort of music, you give it to your mates. That's what we've all done in the past. You want people to hear it - but with this, we couldn't give it to anyone at all. We couldn't risk the album leaking. So we've had several close friends asking us when they could hear it - up to a week before its release.
B: We're all used to giving our tunes out straight away.
Skream: If you do a tune on Monday, you want it played in the clubs by the weekend. I'd normally play it myself.

With dance music not necessarily regarded as much of an album genre - there are big hits in the clubs, and the charts, but rarely big albums - how pleased are you that this record has been so well received by different critical camps?
S: I think a lot of people are starting to realise that there's so much good music in dance circles now, especially in the UK. This is the best place in the world for dance music right now, and I'm talking about dance music with real crossover potential.
B: Also, the production levels are really high, so you can ensure the consistency across a full album.

On the production side, has the increased availability and affordability of technology necessary to produce this music - the software to string the pieces together - had an effect on the quality of what's coming out?
B: Yeah.
A: It's really encouraging to see what's going on.
S: Most people I know are still working out of their bedrooms. Alright, so they're not really bedrooms anymore - but they're working from what are essentially home studios. I'm still working in what was my old bedroom, at my mum's - but it's not a bedroom anymore. It has been consumed by all sorts of gear... and burger boxes.
B: Can you say that we want a (Chain of Chicken Restaurants - have a guess) Gold Card in this interview? We've got to get that in there.

Do you see Magnetic Man as a long-term collaboration?
A: Well, we've all known each other for about ten years.
B: Our music and our friendship goes back that long.
S: Everything's sort of rolled into one.
A: It goes back to the Big Apple Records shop in Croydon... Actually, before that. These two used to come into the shop as teenagers; then they started making their own music. Pretty soon they were doing really good stuff, so we started the label just so we could sell their records in the shop. It went from there, really. Because of the name of the label, lawyers for The Beatles' own Apple sent us a letter saying we couldn't be called Apple Records anymore. That was the original name of the label - albeit with a banana on the logo. But because of that, we changed the name to Big Apple Records.

No bad feelings towards Sir Paul, then?
S: I have no bad feelings towards him at all. He's a legend. I'd love to get him on a record. Make sure that gets in there!

As for a second Magnetic Man album?
A: We'll just have to see how we feel, once this one has done what it can.

You three, what with such high-profile live shows, have been very forward in putting a face - or three faces - to this music. That seems fairly unusual when so many producers are keener to stick to the shadows.
A: Initially we wanted to hide behind the Magnetic Man name, so we could make music without people knowing who was involved, to see if they liked it regardless. That is what it was meant to be.
B: We weren't hiding because we thought our music was going to be rubbish!
A: But things went pretty well, so here we are.

And the vocalists on the tracks, are they as much of a part of Magnetic Man as you three? As in, is the name one for the entire collective?
A: I think so, yes. John Legend comes to stay with us - he stays at my house when he's over - and he's become a really good friend of ours. So he might come out and play live with us. He doesn't like too many late nights, though, which might be a problem.

As for the album, just how important was the sequencing? As, again, this is an area few mainstream dance albums seem focused on - they can be front-loaded with the hits, and the filler is just that.
A: That was very important, actually.
S: I think the final order is what took the most time of any part of making this record. For me, it is the most important thing. You make an album to be listened to as an album, you know? It's meant to be heard in a very specific order.
A: We had millions of tracks, and to cut them down to what's on the album was hard. But to then get those final tracks in the right order took ages. We all made different versions, and it took a while before we all agreed.

The first and last tracks sound as if they were always going to be in those positions.
A: Yeah I think they were in stone. But we have had to move tracks slightly for the vinyl release. But there's a different relationship that people have with vinyl anyway, as you have to physically pick it up and turn the record over. So we moved a track for the quality of the treble. We weren't too happy initially, but when I played the album on vinyl it's good, as there's a natural pause where you have to turn the record. It's a little break, and it works fine.

You must be prepared for people to pick and choose, and download, a handful of tracks though, rather than buy the whole thing?
S: That's just the way things are now.
B: I guess people don't play vinyl much anymore, not even in clubs. So it's not like we're expecting DJs to get this on vinyl.
S: I stopped DJing with vinyl last year, after a tour in America where we were the only ones playing from vinyl. Every club we got to, they'd have to wire up the decks when we got in. When the crowds are getting bigger and bigger, you can't risk turning up to a venue where they don't have turntables - and the records can jump all over the place. I've really been forced into this position. You want a show to go as well as possible, so it's sensible to just play CDs now.

Back to vocalists, were there any you didn't get to work with this time, who you'd like to collaborate with in the future? Paul McCartney aside, obviously...
A: It's hard, as there's three of us so we don't have a 'dream' vocalist.
S: We did all the music first...
A: And then you look for the vocalist. When you see a list of who you can get, some just jump out.
S: And until you hear the track, you never know.
A: You can get a track back and it's nothing like what you expected. It's not that the vocal is bad, or that it doesn't suit in some way; but it's not the right way.
S: If it didn't fit the record, it didn't go on.

To reach the upper end of the charts with your singles, how much of a surprise has that been?
A: It's been a big surprise. But we take things little steps at a time, and back when we could never have predicted that we'd put a record out that's going to sell what this one will. I mean, it wasn't long ago that we'd all be really happy with a thousand sales, tops.
S: It's a good thing that this music has grown to be accepted across the board, rather to a specific crowd.
B: I think radio has a lot to do with that - Radio 1 has been very supportive of domestic music in general. They're taking steps to support better music.
S: Look at the charts, and there's loads of UK acts in there.
B: But the album...
A: It could have gone nowhere!
B: I would have been disappointed if the album hadn't gone top 10. Because this album's been 10 years in the making, it's taken that long for this project to reach this point. Who else has done that in the music industry, at the moment?
A: Hopefully we've made something that isn't necessarily representative of what's going on in dance, or in the underground, right now - it's more universal than that. I hope we've made an album that people can like, play to death and then come back a year later and still enjoy. Granted, we can't please everybody - but you've got to do what you feel is right.

And, finally, what are your favourite albums of 2010?
S: I really like the Plan B album. The xx was last year, wasn't it?
B: I can't think what's come out this year...
S: The Tinie Tempah album is actually pretty good.
B: I didn't like it.
S: Aeroplane's album is good.
A: I like the Skream album, myself. It's very good.
S: I was hoping someone would say that.
A: Honestly, it really is very good. It's the best album that I've bought this year. Genuinely, I thought it was amazing.

Read the 主播大秀 review of Magnetic Man

Read previous Album Reviews Q&A features (Including Foals, Sleigh Bells, Big Boi, Manic Street Preachers)

Hello,听
Another great week of Music television behind us, with fantastic documentaries about Solomon Burke and John Dankworth and one of the best episodes of Later this series. Stand out performances from Midlake, Jessie J and Tinie Tempah makes this Friday's hour long show a must watch.

This week's highlights include Neil Diamond at the Electric Proms, a celebration of Chess Records and Radio 1's inaugural Teen Awards. Enjoy;

听

Friday 12 November - 主播大秀 Two
2350 - 2450: Later... with Jools Holland
Bryan Ferry joins Jools in the studio for the ninth live show of this series. After a summer of touring with Roxy Music, he will be performing tracks from Olympia, his brand new solo album. Midlake, who first came to attention with their acclaimed The Trials of Van Occupanther album in 2006, make their UK TV debut with songs from 2010's The Courage of Others set. Jools is also joined by MOBO award winner Tinie Tempah, Northern Ireland's Two Door Cinema Club and London newcomer and potential 2011 popstar Jessie J. making her TV debut.
/programmes/b00w0g3t

Watch Midlake perform a web exclusive version of Head 主播大秀 on the Later... website

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Friday 12 November - 主播大秀 Four
1930 - 2100: Elgar - The Music Maker
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Monday 2330
The composer of is often regarded as the quintessential English gentleman, but Edward Elgar's image of hearty nobility was deliberately contrived. In reality, he was the son of a shopkeeper, who was awkward, nervous, self-pitying and often rude, while his marriage to his devoted wife Alice was complicated by romantic entanglements which fired his creative energy. In this revelatory portrait of a musical genius, John Bridcut explores the secret conflicts in Elgar's nature which produced some of Britain's greatest music.
/programmes/b00vv0zx

2100 - 2200: Legends - Chess Records
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Sunday 2400
Chicago's was one of the greatest labels of the post-war era, ranking alongside other mighty independents like , and . From 1950 till its demise at the end of the 60s, Chess released a myriad of electric blues, rock 'n' roll and soul classics that helped change the landscape of black and white popular music. The film reveals how two Polish immigrants, Leonard and Phil Chess, forged friendships with black musicians in late 1940s Chicago, shrewdly building a speciality blues label into a huge independent worth millions by the end of the 1960s. Full of vivid period detail, it places the Chess story within a wider social and historical context - as well as being about some of the greatest music ever recorded, it is, inevitably, about race in America during these tumultuous times.
/programmes/b00vv0zz

2200 - 2300: Chuck Berry In Concert
Legendary rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry performs at the 主播大秀 Television Theatre in 1972. Johnny B Goode, Roll Over Beethoven and Nadine are just some of the highlights of this concert, shown in an extended cut. This version includes, for the first time, an epic rendition of My Ding-a-Ling that carries all before it and raises innuendo to an art form.
/programmes/b0074rbc

2300 - 2400: Culture Show Special - Keith Richards
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Sunday 2300
To mark the publication of Keith Richards' autobiography, Life, this Culture Show special looks at the life of the man with five strings and nine lives. In a candid interview he chats to Andrew Graham Dixon about his childhood in Dartford, his passion for music and the decade that catapulted the Rolling Stones from back-room blues boys to one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands in the world.
/programmes/b00vll85

2400 - 2530: Blues Britannia
Documentary telling the story of what happened to blues music on its journey from the southern states of America to the heart of British pop and rock culture, providing an in-depth look at what this music really meant to a generation of kids desperate for an antidote to their experiences of living in post-war suburban Britain.
/programmes/b00kc752

Watch clips from interviews with Keith Richards and Mick Fleetwood on the Blues Britannia website, where you can also find a gallery of classic Blues portraits from celebrated photographer .

Saturday 13 November - 主播大秀 Two
== A NIGHT WITH NEIL DIAMOND ==
2215 - 2315: Solitary Man - Neil Diamond
A 60-minute documentary including an interview and exclusive location filming with Neil Diamond in New York and Los Angeles. Robbie Robertson, Jeff Barry, Mickey Dolenz and other contributors track Neil from his childhood in Brooklyn to his early days in the Brill Building, his nascent solo career and superstardom in the early 70s, the lean years of the 80s, his career reboot via in the noughties and his Glastonbury success.
/programmes/b00vzzst

2315 - 2415: Electric Proms 2010 - Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond in concert from London's Roundhouse with his six-piece band performing all the hits and covers from his latest album, which explores the 60s and 70s songs he loves, and reinventing his classics. This is Neil Diamond stripped down with strings in his most intimate performance for years.
/programmes/b00vzzsw

See photos from the night and listen again in HD Sound on the Electric Proms website

2415 - 2445: Sings Neil Diamond
30-minute archive collection of performances of hit covers of Neil Diamond songs from an eclectic mixture of artists including UB40 (Red Red Wine), Urge Overkill (Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon), Robert Wyatt (I'm A Believer) and Lulu (Boat That I Row).
/programmes/b00vzzsy

Sunday 14 November - 主播大秀 Four
2100 - 2200: Mark Lawson Talks to Tom Jones
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Tuesday 2330
Mark Lawson talks to the iconic singer Sir Tom Jones about his life in and out of the limelight. Jones reflects on his modest upbringing in a coal mining community from the early pub tours in his native south Wales to achieving international acclaim - and the accompanying pressures of fame.
/programmes/b00vz5mj

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2200 - 2300: Tom Jones at the 主播大秀
An archive celebration of Tom Jones's performances at the 主播大秀 from the start of his pop career in the mid-60s to Later...with Jools Holland in 2010 and all points in between, including Top of the Pops and the Dusty Springfield Show. A chronological celebration of Sir Tom through the years that is also a history of music TV at the 主播大秀 over most of the past 50 years.
/programmes/b00vz5ml

Tuesday 16 November - 主播大秀 Two
2200 - 2230: Later Live鈥� with Jools Holland
Joining Jools in the studio for the tenth and final live show of this series is the legendary Robert Plant, who performs tracks from his recent Band Of Joy album. Arcade Fire are also in the studio with a couple of tunes from their chart-topping The Suburbs set. Soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples showcases tracks from her Jeff Tweedy-produced album You Are Not Alone. From Nashville Tennessee and making their TV debut are Mona, who describe their high-octane rock and roll as the sound of chainsaws dancing, and Adele will be making a welcome return to the studio to preview a track from her second album due in early 2011.
/programmes/b00w5rvq

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Wednesday 17 November - 主播大秀 Three
1900 - 2000: Radio 1 Teen Awards
主播大秀 Radio 1's Fearne Cotton and Nick Grimshaw present highlights from the first ever 主播大秀 Radio 1's Teen Awards at London's Hammersmith Apollo. Featuring performances from chart-topping acts Katy Perry, JLS, The Wanted, Taylor Swift and Professor Green, the awards reward some of the country's most inspirational teenagers and applauds the best stars from the music and entertainment world.
/programmes/b00w43sz

Find out the winners and get all the backstage gossip from Sunday's Teen Awards on Radio 1's website

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Next week; The Highland Sessions, Brian Eno and Leonard Cohen.
Take care of yourselves

Rory

The Radio 2 team are all set to bring you all the excitement from tonight鈥檚 44th annual at Nashville鈥檚 Bridgestone Arena.

Listen to Dale Winston presenting the highlights on Radio 2 this Friday at 10pm

Read about Producer Al Booth鈥檚 preparations for tonight and her experiences from last year, where she picked up the Wesley Rose International Media Achievement award 鈥淔or Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement and Promotion of Country Music Internationally鈥�, on the 主播大秀 Radio blog

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Occasionally only a clich茅 will do. When it comes to Solomon Burke, the self-proclaimed King of Rock and Soul who died last month, I鈥檓 permitting myself two. Burke was larger than life both literally (he weighed at least 30 stone) and figuratively (dozens of children and grandchildren, a sideline as an undertaker). He鈥檚 also testament to that other hackneyed phrase, 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 make them like that anymore鈥�.
In a post on the

the morning Burke鈥檚 death at Amsterdam airport was announced, wrote, 鈥淗e was still out on the road at the age of 70 (though some sources reckon he was five years older). Whichever was the truth the fact remains that these guys knew no other life.鈥� It鈥檚 hard to imagine a Justin Timberlake or Dizzee Rascal still slogging around the world in a tour bus as pensioners.

I was fortunate to see Solomon Burke twice in concert. He was so large he had to be wheeled onto the stage before settling down on his sparking golden throne. Those gigs were a cross between old-fashioned variety shows and tent revivals. Dressed in an enormous silver suit and with a ten-piece band that included horn section, a blind organist and his youngest daughter and one of his granddaughters as backing singers behind him, Burke performed sets that combined classics like Everybody Needs Somebody and his cover of Proud Mary, songs from his recent albums by Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton as well as a good smattering of gospel.

Burke was proud of his faith and performed at the Vatican for both 听and听. One of the highlights of Don鈥檛 Give Up On Me, the stripped-down album Burke made with Joe Henry in 2002, is a previously unheard Tom Waits song called Diamond In Your Mind. Its original opening lyric goes, 鈥淚 shook the hand of the president and that guy in Rome鈥︹�� Solomon was having none of it: 鈥淗old it right there! I have a very, very close relationship to The Vatican.
If I refer to the Pope as 鈥榯hat guy in Rome鈥�, I鈥檒l be dead inside a week.鈥� After a lengthy back-and-forth with Waits in which Solomon also took exception to a lyric about a 102-year-old woman who鈥檇 stopped praying after losing her arm 鈥渋n a Pinkerton raid鈥� Burke won and changed the lyrics.

I only delved into his music seriously after I saw talking about his wonderful book Sweet Soul Music at an event with in 2002. As well as being adamant that Burke was the greatest soul singer that had ever lived Guralnick also shared dozens of anecdotes about the showman he鈥檇 got to know well over the years.
My favourite was that in the 60s Burke used to make and sell sandwiches to tourmates like Dionne Warwick and Sam Cooke for $2 a pop. Once they got down South and segregated diners wouldn鈥檛 serve these black performers the price rose to five bucks. You鈥檒l hear plenty more great stories in the documentary that鈥檚 on 主播大秀 Four tonight.

主播大秀 Four - Saturday 6 November:

12am : Solomon Burke - Everybody Needs Somebody
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Sunday at 115am

Hello,
I hope you are ready for another week of Music television delights. Tuesday's excellent will certainly have me tuning into next week's Later...Live to catch another glimpse of Midlake.

John Dankworth and Robert Plant fans take note, this could be the weekend to stay in and indulge in a bit of telly. Enjoy;

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Friday 5 November - 主播大秀 Two
2350 - 2450: Later鈥� with Jools Holland
Kings of Leon join Jools in the studio for the eighth live show of this series.They perform tunes from their new album, Come Around Sundown, the follow-up to their multi-platinum award winning breakthrough Only By the Night. Eric Clapton plays tracks from his current album Clapton, which sees him paying tribute to the songs that inspired him early in his career. MIA also joins Jools, with a couple of songs from her recent long player. Brand new UK band The Vaccines perform, with their blend of Beach Boys meets Ramones pop tunes. There's also English folk band Bellowhead, the eleven piece band bought together by John Spiers and Jon Boden. Plus comedian turned TV critic Harry Hill pops in for a chat about his debut album.
/programmes/b00vtz9f

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Friday 5 November - 主播大秀 Four
1930 - 2100: Berlin Philharmonic Europa Concert with Daniel Barenboim
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Monday 2430
visit to the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford on 1st May stands out as one of 2010's musical highlights. The orchestra's annual Europa Concert celebrates their formation and each year takes place in a major European cultural centre. This year it was the turn of Oxford and the intimate surroundings of Sheldonian Theatre.
/programmes/b00vngmc

2100 - 2200: Sir John Dankworth at the 主播大秀
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Sunday 2415
With an introduction from his widow Dame Cleo Laine, this programme pays tribute to Sir John Dankworth, jazz musician, big band leader and composer for TV and film. Featuring a wide variety of performances from the 主播大秀 archive, it includes John playing saxophone in the company of his hero Duke Ellington from Monitor 1958, an appearance with his orchestra at the 1962, classic tracks from the series Jazz 625 including John's band accompanying Cleo Laine, and Cleo and John's 2007 performance on Later with Jools Holland.
/programmes/b00tp21y

Read Peter Marsh's blog post about John Dankworth here.

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2200 - 2300: Legends - The Dankworths
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Sunday 2515
Profile of the husband and wife jazz duo Cleo Laine and the late John Dankworth. John was one of Britain's best-known jazz musicians, composers and commentators, and Cleo is a singer and actress who has done just about everything - together they performed everywhere from jazz clubs to the world's major concert halls and theatres.
/programmes/b0087g6k

2300 - 2400: Jazz Britannia - Jazz 625
Vintage 1960s British jazz from the 主播大秀's archives, presented by Steve Race. Featured performers include John Dankworth and Cleo Laine, Victor Feldman with Ronnie Scott, the Tubby Hayes Big Band, the Johnny Ross Quartet, Annie Ross with the Tony Kinsey Quintet and Bill Le Sage's Directions in Jazz.
/programmes/b0074r1d

2400 - 2500: Solomon Burke - Everybody Needs Somebody
Repeated: 主播大秀 Four - Saturday 2515
Paul Spencer's film follows Solomon Burke's journey from a humble Philadelphia neighborhood to New York and Hollywood, and the music industry's highest accolades - induction into the and a Grammy for his 2002 album Don't Give Up on Me. His music is traced back to its gospel roots and we learn how faith in God sustained him, his 21 children, 79 grandchildren and 17 great grand children, the family he thought he would never have.
/programmes/b0074scp

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Saturday 6 November - 主播大秀 Two
== A NIGHT WITH ROBERT PLANT ==
2215 - 2315: Robert Plant - By Myself
Documentary. Robert Plant discusses his musical journey from Stourbridge, the British blues boom, superstardom with Led Zeppelin in the 70s, to the Band of Joy album. He also looks at his work with The Honeydrippers and North African musicians, his reunion with Jimmy Page, and his pairing with Alison Krauss.
/programmes/b00vy78w

2315 - 2415: Electric Proms 2010 - Robert Plant
Robert Plant in performance at the Roundhouse with his new Band of Joy, featuring producer-guitarist Buddy Miller and harmony vocals from Patti Griffin. They perform songs from the hit album Band of Joy and reinterpret songs from Robert's past, including some Led Zeppelin classics. Also features a finale in which the Band of Joy are joined by the mass voices of the Oriana Choir.
/programmes/b00vy78y

Listen to Robert Plant's performance in HD Sound, see pictures and hear Simon Mayo's interview with the singer on the Electric Proms website.

2415 - 2445: Robert Plant on Later鈥�
Tracing Robert Plant's solo career from the early 90s via his appearances on Later... With Jools Holland. Through a mix of performance and interviews, the programme sees Robert reunited with Jimmy Page and a Moroccan orchestra, teaming up with Tom Jones and Solomon Burke on the Hootenanny, playing with former band Strange Sensation and also with Alison Krauss.
/programmes/b00vy79y

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Tuesday 9 November - 主播大秀 Two
2200 - 2230: Later Live...with Jools Holland
Bryan Ferry joins Jools in the studio for the ninth live show of this series. After a summer of touring with Roxy Music, he will be performing tracks from Olympia, his brand new solo album. Midlake, who first came to attention with their acclaimed The Trials of Van Occupanther album in 2006, make their UK TV debut with songs from 2010's The Courage of Others set. Plus, London newcomer and potential 2011 popstar Jessie J makes her TV debut.
/programmes/b00w0g1p

Next week; Neil Diamond, Chuck Berry and Tom Jones.
Take care of yourselves.
Rory

Into October and still the schedules show no sign of slowing down - although December offers respite, clearing space for the X Factor to reclaim its number one spot. Or will it? Does anybody really care? Not when there are so many great albums to be listening to, no. And here are the very best - to these ears, anyway - of the last month that was.

Editor's Album of the Month

Darkstar - North
(Hyperdub, released 18 October)
Recommended by: Benji B, Gilles Peterson

"An emphatic reminder of the importance of Britain's northern cities in the development of electronica, notwithstanding dubstep's status as a London genre. It is a Dare!, a Penthouse and Pavement, for modern times. Almost every song is awash with bleak atmospherics and an almost hymnal sorrow. Forlorn and spacious, this isn't dubstep, it's sadstep."

Read the full review and listen to previews

The Best of the Rest

Bring Me the Horizon - There is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep it a Secret
(Visible Noise, released 4 October)
Recommended by: Rock Show with Daniel P. Carter

"They've not done everything the easy way, but Bring Me the Horizon today stand at the very vanguard of the UK metal scene. This third album takes risks with confidence, and the end results are never less than startling."

Read the full review and listen to previews
(contains language and scenes which may offend)

Bellowhead - Hedonism
(Navigator, released 4 October)
Recommended by: Mike Harding

"With their delirious joie de vivre and compelling ability to radically reinterpret the tales of our past still very much intact, there's little sign of the Bellowhead juggernaut running out of steam just yet."

Read the full review and listen to previews

Agnes Obel - Philharmonics
(PIAS, released 4 October)
Recommended by: Loose Ends, Late Junction, Marc Riley

"Such is the exceptionally sparse nature of Agnes Obel's debut album that it slips by almost unnoticed lest you lend it a distraction-free, focused ear. It is highly advisable you do so: Philharmonics' deliberate arrangements are capable of some genuinely mesmeric turns."

Read the full review and listen to previews

Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
(Notown Records, released 11 October)
Recommended by: Gilles Peterson, Rob da Bank, Huw Stephens, Gideon Coe

"Where there are no words, there are rampaging thoughts, and Lucky Shiner is an album designed to provoke and instigate. It might mean looking a little further inward but there's always been a cold comfort in talking to yourself. Especially if you enjoy your own company the way Gold Panda does."

Read the full review

Magnetic Man - Magnetic Man
(Columbia, released 11 October)
Recommended by: Zane Lowe, Nick Grimshaw, Mistajam, Annie Mac

"This album arrives on the back of countless mixtapes and collaborations between its core members and the temptation for a lesser group would be to believe that they've done enough to impress purely on the back of getting noticed. As it stands, they've not only crossed over but given themselves the scope to impress even further in future."

Read the full review

The Walkmen - Lisbon
(Bella Union, released 11 October)
Recommended by: 6 Music Album of the Day

"Lisbon is a grandstand album, a conclusion of what The Walkmen have been striving for these last three years. It is a collation and culmination of their finest work in ages. Rather than a selection of scattered snapshots, this time we've got the bigger picture. And it's irresistible."

Read the full review and listen to previews

John Legend & The Roots - Wake Up!
(Columbia, released 18 October)

"The set is a masterclass in how to respectfully update and enhance classic music, and proves how vital and relevant 30-year-old music remains today. Indeed it's such a superbly executed package you don't really mind the fact that this talented songwriter only penned one contribution himself."

Read the full review and listen to previews

The Phantom Band - Wants
(Chemical Underground, released 18 October)
Recommended by: Marc Riley, Gideon Coe, 6 Music Album of the Day

"The best thing about truly great long-players is that you get to spend many years of thrilled listening, trying to work out what something so rich, dark and powerful really, truly means. The Wants is one of those records. And there haven't been too many of those in a while."

Read the full review and listen to previews

Warpaint - The Fool
(Rough Trade, released 25 October)
Recommended by: Steve Lamacq, Late Show with Stuart Bailie

"Nine songs and 47 minutes long, their album debut feels like wandering through desert plains and darkened streets, tumbleweed at your feet and in your brain. It sounds like the sky has slightly caved in. Come smash yourself against their rocks, you won't regret it."

Read the full review and listen to previews

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When John Dankworth died back in February, British jazz lost one of its founding fathers and best loved figures.. Here was a man who was mates with Duke Ellington, played with Sidney Bechet, Gerry Mulligan and Phil Woods and even lent Charlie Parker his alto saxophone. His own bands (in particular the big band he founded in the early 50s) were partly responsible for proving to our American cousins that the Brits could swing, and helped foster the careers of a whole bunch of musicians from John Taylor to John McLaughlin. He was even sampled by Gang Starr, Madlib, Gorillaz and Cee-Lo.

Here鈥檚 the John Dankworth Seven from 60 years ago with an intricately arranged take on a Charlie Parker classic.

But there was more than one string to Dankworth鈥檚 bow. Unlike many jazzers of the time, he鈥檇 studied at the Royal Academy (at his mother鈥檚 insistence), which meant he knew the mechanics of music inside out. This was something that enabled him to earn a crust as a composer for film and television outside the confines of the jazz club.

And it probably helped him emulate the style of pretty much any jazz composer or arranger you could think of.

As a child of the 60s I grew used to seeing John (or sometimes Johnnie) Dankworth cropping up on the telly, as well as hearing his theme tunes on a weekly basis. He was usually there alongside his wife Cleo Laine, and although John would be in the background, conducting and stepping out for a solo or two, he would have probably been one of the few British jazz musicians the bloke on the Clapham Omnibus would have been able to name in the 60s and 70s. He was definitely the first British jazz musician to be knighted. You鈥檇 think the Tomorrows World theme tune would be enough to deserve that on its own, frankly, but this was possibly as much earned for his lifelong commitment to music education, based around a stated and determined aim to break down the barriers between genres. He also chaired the rather ponderously titled 鈥樷��, the precursor to the more snappily named campaign.

主播大秀 Four are devoting much of their schedule this Friday to the work of Sir John and his family, which will include plenty of archive material of the great man in performance. It鈥檒l be worth a watch.

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主播大秀 Four - Friday 5 November:

9pm: Sir John Dankworth at the 主播大秀
10pm: Legends - The Dankworths
11pm: Jazz 625

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