A talent scout, record producer, impresario, jazz critic and civil rights activist, John Hammond, who died in 1987, was a driving force in popular American music, bringing to prominence such outstanding artists as Billie Holiday, Count Basie and Bob Dylan. This rich and vibrant portrait features film of Hammond reminiscing about his life and career and talking with many of the artists who worked with him. The contributors include Count Basie, Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
Jimi Hendrix
Great Documentary about Jimi Hendrix with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Mitch Mitchell, Noel Redding, Chas Chandler and Jimi Hendrix. Melvyn Bragg as Presenter.
Great Arias
This on-going series of ten-minute programmes introduces some of opera’s finest
moments, performed and presented by some of the greatest singers of our day, Dame Joan
Sutherland, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Eva Marton, Marilyn Home, Anne Sofie von Otter, Roberto Alagna,
Philip Langridge, René Kollo and Yuri Marusin among them. Their performances are drawn from
recent live recordings of acclaimed productions of key works in the operatic repertoire and
include such high-spots as Vissi d’arte from Puccini’s Tosca, the Mad Scene from Donizetti’s
Lucia di Lammermoor, Elektra’s murderous confrontation with her mother in Strauss’s Elektra, and
Leonora’s D’amor sull’ali rosee from the final act of Puccini’s Tosca.
Eric Clapton
In this television interview, the legendary rock and blues guitarist gives an honest and offen moving account of his life and career, from his early successes, to his years of drug addiction and on to his spectacular re-emergence in the mid-1980s. The programme includes footage looking back on Clapton’s career, a specially arranged private concert with his hero, blues player Buddy Guy, and a reunion with Jack Bruce from Cream.
The Real Sound of Africa
This programme features the Zimbabwean group, The Real Sounds of Africa, who backed Paul Simon on his Graceland album, the lively twelve-piece rumba band gives a special studio performance and the members talk about their music, with ist complex rhythms.
The Smiths
From the formation of The Smiths in 1982 to the group’s break-up in the summer of 1987, singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr crafted witty, passionate and intelligent songs of love and life. This programme, made shortly before they went their separate ways, examines their musical influences and the identity they created for The Smiths, as well as including many of the band’s hits, such as Shoplifters of the World Unite and Death of a Disco Dancer.
Ken Russel’s ABC of British Music
Asked to make a programme about British music, one of his greatest passions, Russell came up with this video A to Z. His shamelessly personal selection of music – the best and the worst – ranges from Britten to The Beatles and from Purcell to Punk. The items come in a variety of forms, including specially-recorded performances, archive film, pop videos and television clips, and link man Russell also comes in many guises – butler, nun, undertaker and Hell’s Angel, among others!
A Concert of Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
The highlight of the celebrations in March 1987 during the fifth anniversary of the opening of the London Barbican Centre was the concert of the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir George Solti. The special event was held to celebrate the creation of a cultural centre and a residential complex which with ist numerous theatres, cinemas and galleries is the largest of ist kind in Europe and whose new large concert hall has now become the home of the “LSO”. Solti””s programme concept for the evening was to offer variety with a unified theme, an appropriate concept for the place. Solti said “I have selected this Beethoven programme to represent three very different moods – the heavyweight Coriolan overture, the light, Mozart-like first piano concert, and finally the wonderful glorification of dance represented by the seventh symphony.”
Suzanne Vega
In this programme, American singer/song-writer Suzanne Vega talks about her songs, her New York background and the influences on her music. She performs specially-arranged solo versions of Luka, Small Blue Thing and Tom’s Diner and is seen in concert singing Gypsy Cracking, Ironbound/Fancy Poultry, Marlene on the Wall and Black Widow Station.
The Andrew Lloyd Webber Story
Lloyd Webber has achieved unprecedented success in the world of musical entertainment. He talks about his life and his music in an in-depth interview, illustrated with excerpts from his hit shows, including Evita, Cats, and Jesus Christ Superstar, many specially staged for this programme. Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman and Marti Webb perform Lloyd Webber favourites, and the original production of The Phantom of the Opera is seen in preparation, rehearsal and performance.