All You Need Is Lab - How Science And Technology Inspired Innovation In Music

Musician and songwriter Midge Ure looks at the many ways scientific and technological innovation have stimulated creativity in pop music.

From the invention of the steel guitar string, through the tape recorder and the synthesiser, to the drum machine and Autotune, musicians have always embraced the latest ideas and adapted or distorted them to produce new sounds.

Musicians Anne Dudley (Art of Noise) and Thomas Dolby join music journalist David Hepworth and blues researcher Tom Attah, exploring how the laboratory has informed and inspired the studio.

Midge demonstrates what you can achieve with just a laptop these days - but laments the passing of an age of invention in popular music.

Featured music includes:

The Beatles

Chopin

Robert Johnson

Muddy Waters

Little Walter

Charlie Christian

Les Paul and Mary Ford

The Tornados

The Small Faces

Queen

The Sweet

Stevie Wonder

Band Aid

Donna Summer

Fat Boy Slim

Daft Punk

Nick Clegg

Producer: Trevor Dann

A Trevor Dann production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2014.

Midge Ure explains how technical innovation has always stimulated musical creativity.