Two very different acts from southern Spain perform at the Union Chapel in Islington, London. Radio Tarifa are a trio who combine flamenco with ancient Moorish, Yiddish and North African music, while Cadiz-bom singer-songwriter Javier Ruibal, with guitarist Tito Alcedo, perform songs that marry North African rhythms to flamenco.
A concert - from the Union Chapel in Islington, London - exploring many of the songs and partnerships that have made Martin Carthy the touchstone of the English folk scene for 40 years.
This profile of the Malian Afro-pop pioneer charts his career and includes songs from his recent album Moffou.
Senegalese musician Baaba Maal and his group Dande Lenol perform with an electric band, brass section and theatrical dancers. Featuring a duet with Mansour Seek.
The group perform tracks from their recording of Mexican music, Nuevo.
The former Talking Heads front man in concert at London's Union Chapel.
The crown prince of African music in fiery form on the last night of his European tour. Features songs from his album Nothing's in Vain (Coono Du Reer) plus past classics like Immigres.
India Arie, the Atlanta-based soul star, in concert.
Eliza Carthy, filmed here at London's Union Chapel, is one of folk music's dazzling young stars - who has made the genre relevant to new audiences.
Orchestra Baobab formed in 1970 and became one of Senegal's most popular bands. Last year, they recorded their first album in 15 years and, as filmed at WOMAD, proved their status as Afro-Cuban pioneers.
Portugal's fado star Mariza
Beck in concert in London, featuring songs by Nelly and Justin Timberlake alongside cuts like his own Loser.
The folk icon and singer/ guitarist celebrates his 60th birthday with Johnny Marr , Bernard Butler and Ralph McTell in a London concert featuring songs that span his career.
The Velvet Underground man plays music new and old, including Venus in Furs.
The Godfather of Soul performs in east London.
One of England's greatest folk voices, and Radio 2's Folk Singer of the Year, is captured at LSO St Luke's in East London, singing songs drawn from her entire career including material from award-winning album An Echo of Hooves, and tracks penned by some of the UK's best songwriters such as Richard Thompson.
A stomping set from the intimate LSO St Luke's, London, including new single Shame.
Bittersweet country-folk in an intimate gig at LSO St Luke's in London.
The Irish singer/songwriter plays songs from his platinum-selling album O from LSO St Luke's Church, East London.
The R&B singer and keyboardist, a pioneer of the 1960s Soho scene, in concert at LSO St Luke's in London. He's joined by original members of his band the Blue Flames, bluesman Zoot Money, trumpeters Guy Barker and Eddie Thornton , pop-soul diva Madeline ! Bell and trombonist Rico Rodriguez. Numbers include Yeh Yeh, Getaway and Flamingo All nighter.
The American singer/songwriter gives behind-the-scenes access to a show at Bush Hall , west London, where he plays tracks from his latest album Here Come the Choppers alongside classics such as One Man Guy and Hard Day on the Planet.
The Scottish singer and guitarist on life on the road and in concert at west London's Bush Hall.
Marc Almond joins the Mercury Prize-winning sensations live in London.
The US rock legend sings songs made famous by folk artist Pete Seeger in the 1950s. It's the smallest UK show the Boss has played - at a converted east London church - but is no less entertaining.
Singer songwriter Roseanne Cash , daughter of Johnny, in performance.
Concert of soul-infused country-folk by American singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne and his band, recorded at St Luke's in East London at the conclusion of a UK tour. Bolstered by specially assembled string and brass sections, it features familiar favourites like Trouble and Jolene, alongside tracks from the album Till the Sun Turns Black. Also featuring Three More Days and Can I Stay?
Series of unique concerts by musicians from around the world. This edition features acclaimed country-folk singer/songwriter Gillian Welch, accompanied by guitarist and collaborator David Rawlings. Welch draws on folk, country, bluegrass and Appalachian mountain ballads to create her own sometimes bleak American music which somehow sounds both ancient and modern.
Series of unique, intimate performances by some of the greatest legends and contemporary stars around. The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens gives his first full concert in nearly three decades, in an exclusive BBC performance at the Porchester Hall, London. In an exotic Morrocan cafe-style set, he and his band treat the audience of friends, family and fans to songs from across his career, including classic tracks like Father and Son, Peace Train, Wild World and Where Do the Children Play.
At East London's LSO St Luke's, singer-songwriter Nick Lowe performs a set comprising of familiar songs from his long and illustrious career alongside new songs from his latest album At My Age. He's joined by a specially assembled band including longtime cohorts Robert Treherne on drums and Geraint Watkins on keys, plus a horns section featuring legendary bandleader and trombonist Chris Barber.
Ryan Adams, with his band The Cardinals, performs a unique session from the intimate setting of LSO St Luke's, London. Songs include Winding Wheel, Goodnight Hollywood Blvd, Two, Halloween Head and a cover of Alice in Chains' Down in a Hole.
Canadian country singer and four-times Grammy award winner kd lang performs together with a 30-strong strings section from the BBC Concert Orchestra. The set features songs from across her 25-year career, including her biggest hit Constant Craving, covers of Neil Young and Leonard Cohen songs, and material from her 2008 album Watershed.
Van Morrison showcases tracks from albums including Keep It Simple, Magic Time and Vanlose Stairway, backed by a full band and joined by guests including guitarist Mick Green and organ maestro Georgie Fame.
This edition features American singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash, who reflects on her 25-year musical career. Her acclaimed album Black Cadillac confronts the recent losses of her father Johnny Cash, her mother Vivian Liberto and her stepmother June Carter Cash. The concert features songs from Black Cadillac, 80s country hits and covers of Johnny Cash's Tennessee Flat Top Box and Big River.
This edition features Bruce Springsteen in a departure from his rock 'n' roll superstar persona, singing the songs made famous by Pete Seeger in the 50s. Backed by a hootenanny-style 18-piece ensemble including horns, fiddles and accordion, he performs songs from his album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.
Nick Cave and his band perform a set drawn from their latest album Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! and a 20-year repertoire including The Mercy Seat, Red Righ Hand and Deanna. By turns menacing and hilarious, Cave comes on stage like a Southern preacher in the festooned, converted church and soon has the appreciative crowd hanging off his every word, while the Bad Seeds are at the top of their game behind him.
Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. Loudon Wainwright III plays tracks from his latest album Here Come The Choppers alongside such classics as One Man Guy and Hard Day on the Planet to an enthusiastic audience. Footage shot during his recent British tour is at once hilarious and moving, revealing a complex and talented character who has spent decades turning everyday personal matters into public art.
The legendary Tony Bennett performs an intimate concert for BBC Four in the setting of LSO St Lukes, London, accompanied by a four piece band.
Legendary Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist Bert Jansch performs a career retrospective concert at LSO St Luke's in East London to celebrate his 60th birthday. Guests include ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, Ralph McTell and fellow Pentangle member Jacqui McShee. Bert Jansch was one of the key trailblazers of the British folk scene of the 1960s. As a soloist, and then with folk-jazz outfit Pentangle, Jansch blazed a trail for an iconoclastic blend of folk, blues, jazz and original songs that has made him a hero to the likes of Neil Young and Jimmy Page. His guitar and singing style remain unique. This concert features many of the songs that Jansch has played throughout his career, including Davy Graham's Anji, Jackson C Frank's Blues Run The Game and traditional material like Blackwaterside, together with more recent songs like Riverbank and Crimson Moon.
Series of concerts featuring musicians from around the world at LSO St Luke's in London's East End. The late James Brown, aka the Godfather of Soul, is joined by a 19-piece band including two drummers, three backing vocalists, two dancers in hot pants and a brass section. He performs some of his most famous songs, including Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, It's a Man's Man's World, I Feel Good and Sex Machine.
Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. Antony Hegarty and the Johnsons perform a selection of tracks from their award-winning album I Am a Bird Now.
Concert performance from an ensemble synonymous with musical innovation, San Franciso's Kronos Quartet. They perform works from their 2002 recording, Nuevo, a project based entirely around Mexican composers, musical traditions and influences spanning nearly 100 years. Tracks featured include Mini Skirt by the late Juan Garcia Esquivel, whose early experimentation with stereo caused him to be dubbed the king of space-age bachelor pad music, Chavosuite, which features music from three wildly popular Mexican TV programmes and an explosive Prutsman arrangement of Silvestre Revueltas' Sensemaya. Playing with a fascinating array of samples and backing tracks which culminates in an encore of a drum-backed version of Misirlou, as featured in Pulp Fiction, this is a truly unique performance by a classically trained quartet absolutely committed to playing new music in new ways. Since its inception in 1973, Kronos has been known for its unique artistic vision and fearless dedication to experimentation. In nearly 30 years, they have assembled a body of work unparalleled in its range and scope of expression and, in the process, have captured the attention of audiences worldwide.
The maverick singer/songwriter in a concert specially filmed for BBC4 at LSO St. Luke's in London's East End. The performance features material from Cale's the album Hobosapiens alongside classics dating back to Venus In Furs from his days as a founder member of Velvet Underground, plus many of the best moments from solo albums Paris 1919, Slow Dazzle and Music For A New Society.
Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. P J Harvey brings some real rock and roll to the intimate venue of LSO St Luke's in London, following the release of her solo album Uh Huh Her. She performs a set that includes hits such as Big Exit, Dress, The Letter and Shame.
Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. In an exclusive specially-staged performance at St Luke's church in east London, Irish singer/songwriter Damien Rice and his band bewitch the audience with songs from his platinum-selling album.
Recorded at Islington's Union Chapel, this concert brings together English folk legend Martin Carthy and some of his most important collaborators - including wife Norma and daughter Eliza, known collectively as Waterson-Carthy. Fiddling partner Dave Swarbrick, who joined Fairport Convention in the late 1960s, also features, as does extraordinary brass band Brass Monkey.
Folk star Eliza Carthy in concert at the Union Chapel in London. The set includes songs from her album Angelicana, nominated for Album of the Year at the Radio 3 Awards for World Music. Carthy often takes liberties with people's preconceptions about folk music, pushing the boundaries with style, dynamism and flair. Daughter of British folk golden couple, Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson, she has almost single-handledly invigorated, revitalised and made folk music revelant to younger audiences.
Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. At the Union Chapel in Islington, north London, Madrid-based Radio Tarifa show off their unique combination of flamenco, ancient Iberian, Moorish, Yiddish, North African and Middle Eastern music. Also, Spanish singer-songwriter Javier Ruibal is joined on stage by guitarist Tito Alcedo to perform numbers from Javier's album Las Damas Primeras.
One of England's greatest folk voices in session at LSO St Luke's in East London, with material drawn from her entire career including songs from her award-winning Topic album, An Echo of Hooves, and some of our best songwriters, including Richard Thompson. June is accompanied by her regular band featuring Huw Warren on piano, Tim Harries on double-bass, Mark Emerson on viola and Mark Lockheart on saxophone. They are joined by guitarist Martin Simpson and accordionist Andy Cutting.The concert mixes love songs and meditations on the state of England.
The extraordinary Scottish singer and guitarist Dick Gaughan has been grabbing audiences for four and a half decades with his mix of traditional ballads and agit-folk songs. Here in a special concert at London's Bush Hall, Gaughan shows why he has been such a defining figure of the folk revival, performing both solo and with a specially assembled star band of harpist Mary Macmaster, guitarist Martin Simpson and piper Michael McGoldrick. In the interweaving documentary footage, Gaughan shows the cameras around his hometown of Leith and travels to a festival appearance, giving insights into life on the road and what informs his passionate beliefs and work.
From the Union Chapel in Islington, an exclusive performance from multi-talented former Talking Heads frontman and world music guru David Byrne. Featuring classic Talking Heads numbers, songs from his solo album Look into the Eyeball, as well as excerpts from the opera La Traviata and Cape Verde's Cesaria Evora, and a special version of his hit single with X-Press 2, Lazy.
Series of unique concerts featuring musicians from around the world. At London's Union Chapel, Beck performs a solo and acoustic set that includes numbers from his album Sea Change, along with special renditions of some of his extensive back catalogue, including Loser. Songs are performed using half a dozen guitars, including some slide blues along with piano, harmonica and drum machine. Beck also covers Nelly's Hot in Herre, along with a few bars of Justin Timberlakes Cry Me a River.
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.
The crown prince of African music, Youssou N'Dour, in fiery form on the last night of his 2003 European tour at the Union Chapel in London. Mixing material from his highly acclaimed album Nothing's In Vain (Coono Du Reer) with classic songs like Immigres and Seven Seconds from his back catalogue, Dakar's favourite son mixes acoustic intimacy with all-singing, all-dancing showstoppers in a joyous celebration of his music.
In an exclusive BBC4 session filmed at BBC Television Centre, Paul Weller performs numbers from his album 22 Dreams, solo hits including From the Floorboards Up and Peacock Suit, and a couple of classics from The Jam's back catalogue. Weller performs with his regular five-piece band and is joined on some numbers by the Wired Strings and a brass section. He also has special guests, including Oasis guitarist Gem Archer on Echoes Round the Sun, fiddle player Eliza Carthy on Wild Wood and Where'er You Go and former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon on Black River.
Portuguese star Mariza in concert at the Union Chapel in London. The Mozambique-born Fado singer was voted the Best Newcomer at the Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2003, and her remarkable voice and astonishing performances have been winning her fans all over the world.
Atlanta-based singer-songwriter India Arie in concert at the Union Chapel in London. The set includes songs from both her Grammy-nominated albums, Acoustic Soul and Voyage to India, and she also slips in a couple of cover versions, including a version of Sade's The Sweetest Taboo.
Series of unique concerts by musicians from around the world. Georgie Fame, who burst onto the scene in the 60s and continues to entertain fans with his cocktail of jazz and blues, plays a set at LSO St Luke's in London. Performing with him are some original members of his first band The Blue Flames, British trumpet impresario Guy Barker and Fame's sons James and Tristan. Features classics such as Yeh Yeh, Getaway and Flamingo Allnighter.
Singer-songwriter Salif Keita performs songs from his album Moffou at Islington's Union Chapel. Includes a profile of the man widely regarded as being one of the founders of the Afro-pop genre and who received a Grammy nomination for his first album Amen.
1960's It Girl-turned-arthouse singer, Marianne Faithfull, exudes charm in a performance in front of an intimate audience of friends and fans at LSO St Luke's in east London. A great band accompany her on an eclectic mix of songs from her critically-acclaimed covers album Easy Come Easy Go, including The Decemberists' The Crane Wife 3, Morrissey's Dear God, Please Help Me, Dolly Parton's Down From Dover and Randy Newman's chilling In Germany Before the War. There are also dips into the past, with her first ever live performance of the original 1960s arrangement of As Tears Go By, plus the early Jagger-Richards song Sister Morphine.
The truly legendary American singer celebrates his eighty-fifth birthday in fine style, with a special concert at the historic London Palladium. Accompanied by his quartet, Tony Bennett moves effortlessly through a repertoire spanning 60 years, with songs such as Steppin' Out with My Baby, The Good Life, Smile and his favourite, I Left My Heart in San Francisco. He is joined for two unique duets by stellar British singers Cleo Laine and Leona Lewis.
Sir Tom Jones in a unique session of folk, blues and beyond from the beautiful LSO St Lukes in the City. Jones and a special band put together by Ethan Johns, the producer of his last two albums Praise & Blame and Spirit in the Room, deliver songs of guilt, redemption and judgement drawn from those records and also collaborates with special guests Seasick Steve on Mississippi Fred McDowell's You Gotta Move, with 84 year-old American folk legend Tom Paley on the Mississippi Sheiks' Sitting on Top of the World and young Londoner Josh Osho on Big Bill Broonzy's Black Brown and White Blues. Filmed more like a rehearsal in the round than a concert with Ethan Johns on guitar, Richard Causon on keys, Dave Bronze on bass, Jeremy Stacey on drums and The Staves - three young sisters from Watford - on backing vocals, this BBC FOUR Session finds Jones The Voice in masterful yet genial form, exploring his roots in the songs and styles of the American South in the 50s and 60s - early rock n roll, country, gospel, folk, blues and beyond.
As part of the Goodbye TV Centre celebrations, guitarist, singer and songwriter Richard Thompson plays a one-off concert filmed in TC8. Thompson has been performing in BBC TV studios since 1969, starting on Top of the Pops with Fairport Convention and then making frequent appearances on the Old Grey Whistle Test, The Late Show and Later with Jools Holland as a solo artist and bandleader. Filmed before the opening night of the tour celebrating the Top 20 placing of his album Electric, Thompson leads his current power trio through songs from that album, including Salford Sunday and Stony Ground, alongside classics from his songbook like I Want to See the Bright Lights and Tear Stained Letter. Thompson is joined on a couple of acoustic songs by former Fairport bandmate and master fiddler Dave Swarbrick, frequent collaborator Pete Zorn adds sax to Al Bowlly's In Heaven and his daughter Kami Thompson harmonises on Waltzing for Dreamers. Filmed before a small studio audience in the bare style of some of the previous BBC music shows on which Thompson has appeared, this concert celebrates Thompson and a tradition of popular music performance from TV Centre.
Filmed at Stoke Newington Town Hall in north London, this career-spanning concert features Bonnie Raitt and her road-tested band in sparkling form. Raitt started out supporting blues artists like Mississippi Fred McDowell, while championing the generation of singer-songwriters who emerged in the early 70s. Now in her 60s, she released her debut album in 1971 and her most recent album Slipstream in 2012. This set roams across her career and includes signature songs like Love Has No Pride, Nick of Time and the bluesy Love Me Like a Man. The slide guitar-slinging, flame-haired queen of roots and blues rock is joined by frequent collaborator and songwriter Paul Brady on Marriage Made in Hollywood and there's even a bluesy romp through the old Elvis tune, A Big Hunk o' Love.
In 1973, an album was released that against all odds and expectations went to the top of the UK charts. The fact the album launched a record label that became one of the most recognisable brand names in the world (Virgin), formed the soundtrack to one of the biggest movies of the decade (The Exorcist), became the biggest selling instrumental album of all time, would eventually go on to sell over 16 million copies and was performed almost single-handedly by a 19-year-old makes the story all the more incredible. That album was Tubular Bells, and the young and painfully shy musician was Mike Oldfield. This documentary features contributions from Sir Richard Branson, Danny Boyle, Mike's family and the original engineers of the Tubular Bells album among others. The spine of the film is an extended interview with Mike himself, where he takes us through the events that led to him writing Tubular Bells - growing up with a mother with severe mental health problems; the refuge he sought in music as a child, with talent that led to him playing in folk clubs aged 12 and signing with his sister's folk group at only 15; his frightening experience of taking LSD at 16; and finally arriving at the Manor Recording Studios as a young session musician where he gave a demo tape to a recording engineer who passed it along to young entrepreneur Richard Branson. After the album's huge success, Mike retreated to a Hereford hilltop, shunned public life and became a recluse until he took part in a controversial therapy which changed his life. In 2012 Mike captured the public's imagination once again when he was asked to perform at the London Olympic Opening Ceremony, where Tubular Bells was the soundtrack to 20 minutes of the one-hour ceremony. Filmed on location at his home recording studio in Nassau, Mike also plays the multiple instruments of Tubular Bells and shows how the groundbreaking piece of music was put together.
The definitive documentary record of one of Jimi Hendrix's most celebrated performances, now digitally remastered and featuring footage never seen on television before. It includes such signature songs as Purple Haze, Voodoo Child (Slight Return) and his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, as well as interviews with Woodstock promoter Michael Lang and Hendrix band members Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, Larry Lee and Juma Sultan among others.
Marvin Gaye is one of the great and enduring figures of soul music, but his life was one of sexual confusion, bittersweet success and ultimately death by the hand of his own father. Through Marvin's own words and intimate memories gathered from rare film and recordings, director Jeremy Marre tells the story of a 'life of outer grace and inner torment'. Including interviews with the singer's family, friends and musical colleagues, with re-enactments and archive film of Marvin on stage, at home and in the recording studio.
BBC Four celebrates merry midwinter in unique style, with an exhilarating blend of folk tradition and burlesque fun. Energetic 11-piece Bellowhead and Mercury-nominated alternative folkies The Unthanks get together with the impressive young singers Thea Gilmore and Lisa Knapp, plus other special guests. Steered by genial host Paul Sartin, the assembled artists perform seasonal songs of their own alongside yuletide favourites, ranging from folk ballads and carols to parlour songs and carousing dance numbers, with everyone coming together for a final knees-up. Filmed at the atmospheric Shoreditch Town Hall, the setting evokes an old music hall combined with a festive Victorian family parlour, bedecked with garlands, period lamps and fireplace. Even the audience are dressed up in old-fashioned finery and prove themselves ready to kick up their heels.
Highlights of a unique gathering of eclectic artists at Air Studios in London to celebrate the songs and composers of the Great American Songbook. Paolo Nutini sings the classic composition Nature Boy, popularised by Nat King Cole, and has fun with the songs of Louis Prima. Melody Gardot enigmatically explores the songbooks of Cole Porter and Harold Arlen, while Claire Martin swings it and performs classic songs by Rogers and Hart and Irving Berlin. Sharleen Spiteri presents her accomplished interpretation of the Billie Holiday classic God Bless the Child and Gwyneth Herbert reinterprets the Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn classic Love Me or Leave Me with loops and beats. Jose James delivers a smooth and swinging version of Just Squeeze Me, a song made popular by Duke Ellington, while Krystle Warren performs a bluesy version of Cole Porter's risque Love for Sale and a string-laden performance of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. The session is a celebration of the music and popular songs of the famous and prolific American composers of the 1920s and onwards. Composers such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Rogers and Hammerstein and Hoagy Carmichael, to name but a few - composers who wrote the tunes of Broadway theatre and Hollywood musicals that earned enduring popularity before the dawning of rock n roll. These songwriters have penned songs which have entered the general consciousness and which are now best described as standards - tunes which every musician and singer aspires to include in their repertoire, such as Over the Rainbow, Cheek to Cheek, Love for Sale, Love Me or Leave Me, Get Out of Town and The Lady Is A Tramp.
An all-star cast celebrates the influence of reggae on the UK's music and culture in a live concert coinciding with BBC Four's Reggae Britannia documentary season. Expect to hear hits from the 1960s to the present day telling the story of the musical evolution from ska, through rocksteady, roots, dub, lovers rock and beyond. Music director Dennis Bovell assembles a big band featuring some of the most important reggae musicians in the British scene to back up a star cast of singers and toasters including Big Youth, Ken Boothe, Neville Staple, Ali Campbell, Dave Barker, Brinsley Forde, Dennis Alcapone and Winston Reedy, Pauline Black, Janet Kay, Carroll Thompson and Rico Rodriguez. The concert celebrates the journey that captured the turmoil and channelled the dreams of Jamaicans who came to Britain, those who were born here and the white kids who grew up alongside them and embraced their culture and their roots.
