Thursday, 7. August 2008, 19:37:59
Radio, Documentary, Fanzine, Jarvis Cocker
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Jarvis Cocker has been a familiar voice on the BBC radio networks recently. Here are a couple of recent documentaries.
Zine Scene (a two-parter)
BBC Radio 4/January 2008
"Jarvis Cocker explores the history of fanzines, small publications designed and produced by devotees of popular phenomena.50.9 MB (53395488 bytes)Jarvis Cocker's Musical Map of SheffieldBBC Radio 2/July 2008
"Former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker takes you on an intimate tour of Sheffield. In his evocative musical map, Jarvis creates a soundtrack that drives his memories, feelings and observations about his home town. Growing up in a city that was still reeling from the loss of big industry, Jarvis recalls his childhood, surrounded by family, and listening to conversations about love and disappointment. Along the way, he introduces the music of Sheffield legends, including Joe Cocker, Cabaret Voltaire, The Human League and Artery."51.6 MB (54146195 bytes)
Sunday, 27. May 2007, 14:58:26
Documentary, BBC, Ian Dury, Radio
Ian Dury At The BBC
A Peer Production for BBC Radio 4
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith
Presenter: Paul Dodgson
Broadcast 31 Dec 2005
27:33, 128kbps, 44.1kHz
Ian Dury, who died of cancer at the age of 57 in March 2000, was a true original on the British music scene. With the Blockheads, he successfully combined the energy and excitement of rock'n'roll and funk with the bawdy humour, wit and home-spun philosophy of the music hall and of his native Essex.
Coming out of art college he formed Kilburn and the High Roads in 1971, but was written off by record labels as a pub act. Then in 1977, Stiff records signed him. Surfing on the wave of the newly invigorated post-punk British music scene, he embarked on the now legendary Stiff tours alongside Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and Wreckless Eric. Ian Dury and the Blockheads went on to have five Top Ten hits and two hit albums.
Ian Dury was the most articulate of pop stars, by turns poetic, witty and cheeky, he was frequently asked to appear on television and radio. He charmed and delighted interviewers and audiences.
In Ian Dury at the BBC, writer and composer Paul Dodgson presents the best of Ian's contributions to the BBC archive. The result is a rich and varied biography of the singer's life, ranging from reminiscences of his Essex childhood and early days as an art student, through appearances in radio drama productions, descriptions of literary heroes, off-beat poetry readings and stories from his life. It includes accounts of his first love - 'the first time I saw curly curliness under the arms', his desire to be a better singer and from one of his last interviews, his courage and fortitude when battling cancer.
IanDuryAtTheBBC.zipMy thanks to the original capper at uknova who name I don't have unfortunately. Photo credit:
http://www.drjazz.ch/album/dury.html
Wednesday, 25. April 2007, 17:40:02
Radio, Documentary, Alex Harvey, SAHB
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The Last of the Teenage Idols
Broadcast on BBC Radio 2
Saturday 3rd February 2007
20:00 - 21:00
Alex Lester pays tribute to and celebrates the tragically short life of Glaswegian Alex Harvey, the unforgettable front man with the Sensational Alex Harvey Band who died 25 years ago.
Wearing his trademark black and white striped t-shirt, Harvey epitomized early rock and roll, his life the typical blend of success and sorrow. One minute Alex was headlining the Reading Festival, the next mourning the loss of his brother who was electrocuted on stage playing with Stone the Crows.
Insight and anecdotes are shared by Billy Connolly, Noddy Holder, Lulu, Jim Kerr, Harvey's widow Trudy and band members Zal Cleminson, Ted McKenna and Chris Glen.
Last Of The Teenage IdolsSize: 54.8 MB (57,537,700 bytes)
Length: 55m50s
MPEG 1.0 layer 3
136kbit (VBR), 128260 frames
44100Hz Joint Stereo
Converted from a RealAudio stream to mp3 using the excellent
Free RM to MP3 Converter.
SEE ALSO:
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band An Internet TributeThe Sensational Alex Harvey Band An Online MemorialThe Troubled Life of a Glasgow Troubadour
Monday, 17. April 2006, 19:49:24
Nick Drake, BBC, Documentary, Radio
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Lost Boy: In Search Of Nick DrakeThis is the version that has been re-voiced by Brad Pitt. Not that I doubt the sincerity of Pitt's interest in Drake's music, his narration doen't really lend itself to the subject matter.
BBC Radio 2 link.It's delivered in very flat matter-of-fact manner, the tone of which would be more in keeping with one of those faux reverential AutoQueue induced awards speeches that never sound right even on Oscar night. I don't dislike Pitt but he doesn't really suit this sort of thing
(is that coming across?).
I think the desire to enlist an A List celebrity on the project far outweighed common sense, or at least the stabilising influence of a BBC producer on hand. I'm pretty sure I have the original broadcast with the producer's original narration on a cassette - somewhere...
UPDATE 1:The original version of this programme was called
"Fruit Tree - The Nick Drake Story". Broadcast on 20th June 1998, BBC Radio 2. It was presented by bass player Danny Thompson. A good quality bootleg of this does exist. Hopefully, soon, here.
Until that surfaces...
lost_boy.part1.rar lost_boy.part2.rar lost_boy.part3.rar Files are split into smaller chunks for now until I'm confident about uploading anything bigger here.UPDATE 2 (2009.11.21):Apropos the original broadcast, I found the transcript
here.
"Danny Thompson tells the story of Nick Drake, the singer-songwriter who died unknown at the age of 26 but posthumously influenced a new generation of artists, including REM, Kate Bush and Paul Weller. With contributions from his actress sister Gabrielle Drake, producer Joe Boyd and engineer John Wood." Now where's that bloody recording?????
WIDGETIZE