When the Beatles didn’t meet Imelda | The Documentary

S01E01: 1956 | The Rock 'n' Roll Years

First prog in new series connecting the year's events with its music via news- reels; headlines; movies; broadcasts & rock performance...

S02E05: 1968 | The Rock 'n' Roll Years

The news and music of 1968 as flower power fades and a new era of protest is ushered in. The Vietcong mounts the Tet Offensive, France...

1: Janet Jackson: Taking Control | New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s

Film examining Janet Jackson's career from appearing in Diff'rent Strokes to huge g...

2: Prince: A Purple Reign | New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s

Documentary exploring how Prince - showman, artist, enigma - revolutionised the perception...

Anoushka Shankar | What Do Artists Do All Day?

Documentary examining the work of renowned sitar player Anoushka Shankar as she composes the score to a restoration of a 1920s...

Dolly Parton: 50 Years at the Opry

Dolly Parton and star guests, including Lady Antebellum and Hank Williams Jr, celebrate her 50 years as the queen of country.

Dolly Parton: Here I Am

A landmark film charting the extraordinary life and music of the queen of country, Dolly Parton, with exclusive interviews and archive footage.

Episode 3 | The Music Machine: The Technocrats

Dick Witts interviews Karlheinz Stockhausen on how technology has changed the role of the composer.

Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child

Film which blends archive footage, artefacts, news archive and rare performance footage to tell Jimi Hendrix's life story, from childhood in Seatt...

Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Gracelands | The African Rock 'n' Roll Years

Joseph Shabalala and his group sang iscathamiya, a Zulu unaccompanied harmony style. When Paul Simon...

Lennon: The New York Years | imagine...

Alan Yentob introduces Michael Epstein's film uncovering John Lennon and Yoko Ono's move to New York City, as Lennon sought to escape...

Panjabi MC: Bhangra Goes Mainstream | Pump Up The Bhangra: The Sound of Asian Britain

Mundian to Bach Ke is the most recognisible bhangra song. It went straight in to number...

Respect (2021)

A biographical drama about the life and rise to fame of American soul singer Aretha Franklin.

Sgt Pepper's Musical Revolution with Howard Goodall

Howard Goodall explores why Sgt Pepper is still seen as so innovative, so revolutionary and so influential, with the help...

The Arrival of Bob Marley on the UK Reggae Scene | Reggae Britannia

Very little was known about Jamican music in Britain before the launch of The Wailers album Catch a Fire,...

...Sings The Beatles

Recorded for the fortieth anniversary of Abbey Road, a journey through some classic and curious Beatles covers in the BBC archives, including Shirley Ba...

''Chariots of Fire'' score | Sound of Cinema: The Music that Made the Movies

Neil Brand speaks to composer Vangelis about his famous score from ''Chariots of Fire''; used re...

''The Birds'' soundtrack | Sound of Cinema: The Music that Made the Movies

Neil Brand explores how not a single orchestral instrument was used to soundtrack Hitchcock's terr...

1: Jesus Walks, by Kanye West | Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America

In an era of excess, a Christian rap song challenges the Church and changes ideals about religion and r...

1: Magical Mystery Tour Revisited | Arena

The making of The Beatles' controversial 1967 film, featuring previously unseen archive footage.