16 episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 01 | Bob Marley And The Wailers - Live At The Lyceum | 20031118 | 20040112 | This 1975 concert marked the 'crossover' of reggae into popular music and established Marley as an inter-racial hero. Paul Gambaccini, who was there, revisits the Lyceum to discover how this seminal album was born. |
| 01 | 02 | George Harrison - Concert For Bangladesh | 20031125 | 20040119 | This 1971 concert was the first charity concert and the benchmark for Band Aid and all that followed. But it was also much more - a beginning for World Music, a remarkable live set from Bob Dylan, a glimpse of George Harrison's solo talents so soon after the break up of the Beatles and a compelling political statement. Paul Gambaccini tells the stories behind the music. |
| 01 | 03 LAST | Britten's War Requiem | 20031202 | 20040126 | A life-long pacifist, Benjamin Britten wrote his War Requiem to highlight the futility of war and promote the cause of world peace. The venue for its first performance, in May 1962, was highly symbolic - the newly consecrated Cathedral built amid the ruins of Coventry, the city which suffered some of the worst bombing of World War II. Those who were in the cathedral that evening remember it as an intensely emotional experience; the German baritone, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, chosen for further symbolic reasons by Britten to sing alongside the British tenor, Peter Pears, commented that it was difficult to sing with tears in one's eyes. Many have since re-lived the experience from the Decca studio recording released the following year. Paul Gambaccini plays the record and hears from those who were in the cathedral on that momentous evening. |
| 02 | 01 | An Historic Return - Horowitz At Carnegie Hall | 20050104 | 20050806 | Vladimir Horowitz, the Russian American pianist, retired from public performance in 1953. A full 12 years later he decided that his retirement had been premature and, on May 9th 1965, he made his dramatic comeback at New York's carnegie hall. Almost 40 years on Paul Gambaccini returns to Carnegie Hall with some of those who remember that historic afternoon as one of their most treasured moments: those who queued for two nights to get standing room tickets, the man who tuned the piano, and the record executive who literally had to push the nervous maestro on stage!. |
| 02 | 02 | The Judy Garland And Liza Minnelli Concert At The London Palladium | 20050111 | 20050820 | On 8 November 1964, Judy Garland proudly introduced her 17 year old daughter, Liza Minnelli, to more than 2000 rapturous fans at a favourite venue - she'd already given 60 performances at the Palladium. They had appeared on TV together before, but this was their first joint stage concert - and it was a sensation. Paul Gambaccini listens to the album and goes backstage at the Palladium to re-live the night it was recorded with fans, musicians and crew. |
| 02 | 03 LAST | The Who Live At Leeds | 20050118 | 20050813 | Valentine's Night, 1970. Leeds University Refectory. On stage - The Who. Widely acknowledged as one of the best live rock albums, this concert marked a turning point in the band's wild, guitar smashing career. From hereon, they were a mainstream rock band. Paul Gambaccini listens to the album and travels to Leeds to meet people who were at this historic gig, both on stage and in the audience. |
| 03 | 01 | When John Met John | 20050827 | 20080801, 20080803 | On thanksgiving night, 1974, on the stage of New York City's Madison Square Garden, Elton John, then the best-selling artist in America, announced a surprise guest. To the delight of the ecstatic crowd, another titan of rock, John Lennon, walked onto the stage and sang with Elton in what was to be his last public appearance before his assassination. Paul Gambaccini was there. Listening to Here and There, the album that came out of the concert, he shares his memories of the unique event with musicians and audience members who were also there when history was made. Playing at Madison Square Garden on Thanksgiving Night 1974, Elton John announced a surprise guest. To the delight of the audience, John Lennon took the stage in what would be his last public appearance before his assassination. |
| 03 | 02 | Three Tenors In Rome | 20050903 | 20070923 | July 1990. In July 1990, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras united on one stage on the eve of the World Cup Final, singing in front of a world-wide satellite audience of around 800 million. |
| 03 | 03 LAST | At The Drop Of A Hat | 20050910 | 20080822, 20080824 | On 2 May 1959, at the Fortune Theatre in London, the unlikely hit which had filled the theatre nightly for over two years, finally closed. But George Martin of EMI Records was there to record the show as an LP. Michael Flanders and Donald Swann set a new standard in comedy with this review; their relaxed satirical style would influence Beyond the Fringe, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and the Monty Python team among others. Paul Gambaccini meets those who remember the show and discovers there was more to the comic pair than a few funny songs about animals. Michael Flanders and Donald Swann's satirical revue filled London's Fortune Theatre for two years before closing on 2 May 1959. Happily, the final performance was recorded on an album. |
| 04 | 01 | Bernstein In Berlin | 20060819 | 20080829, 20080831 | At Christmas 1989, just a month after the Berlin Wall was first breached, Leonard Bernstein conducted an international cast in Berlin. Re-naming Beethoven's Ninth Ode to Freedom instead of Ode to Joy for the occasion, he rehearsed the various orchestras, choruses - including a children's choir - and soloists in West Berlin on Christmas Eve, then played East Berlin's Schauspielhalle on Christmas Day to celebrate the reunification of Berlin. The result was a classical number one and a UK pop chart hit. On Christmas Day 1989, six weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Leonard Bernstein conducted a band of musicians and singers from East and West in a celebratory performance of Beethoven's Choral Symphony. |
| 04 | 02 | Elvis Comes Back | 20060826 | 20080912 | In 1968 Elvis' star was somewhat tarnished; he'd been overtaken by the likes of the Beatles and Bob Dylan, he hadn't had a chart-topping hit for six years, and his last live appearance was in '61. Since then he'd only been seen in movies which were increasingly critically slated. But all that changed in December 1968; Elvis' electric performance on NBC TV convinced the nation that he was still the King. An electrifying performance on NBC TV in December 1968 restored the reputation of Elvis Presley at a time when his star seemed to be on the wane. |
| 04 | 03 | Miles Davis And Quincy Jones, Live At Montreux | 20060902 | 20080907, 20080905 | In 1991 (25th anniversary of the Montreux Jazz festival), Quincy Jones coaxed Miles Davis - renowned for his relentless pursuit of new sounds and his intransigent refusal to re-visit past glories - into reprising his Gil Evans arrangements from the period 1949-1960. Those who were there speak of the magic of hearing miles' Porgy and Bess and sketches of Spain again. Miles died two months later. For the 25th anniversary of the renowned international jazz festival, Jones coaxed Davis into reprising his collaborations with Gil Evans from the 50s and 60s. A spellbound audience heard such masterpieces as Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain played in public for the first time in decades. |
| 04 | 04 LAST | Fifty Years Of Bing | 20060909 | In the sweltering summer of 1976, Bing Crosby chose to celebrate 50 years in showbusiness with a concert for his fans in London. On stage again for the first time in 40 years, he appeared with special guest Rosemary Clooney, plus Bing's wife and children. But for the medley of 33 of his greatest hits, he was alone. Even in his 70s, Bing was still magic; the pioneer of the microphone had lost none of his skill, and the audience will never forget that night. | |
| 05 | 01 | Hot August Night | 20070825 | 20080808, 20080810 | 1972 saw a remarkable series of performances by Neil Diamond at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The spectacular staging and surround-sound effects ensured that those who were there would never forget the event. |
| 05 | 02 | The Prom Of Peace | 20070901 | 20080815, 20080817 | On August 21, 1968, Russian tanks entered Czechoslovakia to put an end to Alexander Dubcek's Prague Spring. An extraordinary irony saw the Soviet State Symphony Orchestra making its debut at the Proms on the same day in a programme featuring Czech composer Antonin Dvorak's Cello Concerto. The performance by soloist Mstislav Rostropovich remains one of the greatest ever live recordings of the piece. On 21 August 1968, Russian tanks entered Czechoslovakia to put an end to Alexander Dubcek's Prague Spring. An extraordinary irony saw the Soviet State Symphony Orchestra making its debut at the Proms on the same day in a programme featuring Czech composer Antonin Dvorak's Cello Concerto. The performance by soloist Mstislav Rostropovich remains one of the greatest ever live recordings of the piece. |
| 05 | 03 LAST | The Reunion In Central Park | 20070908 | On September 19, 1981, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel appeared together for the first time in 11 years. A crowd of 400,000 gathered in New York to witness a performance that illustrated how a decade of separation had not damaged the chemistry which had made the duo international stars in the first place. |