- Music
- 19 Aug 15
Three-part study of the genre hits screens in October
BBC Four is plotting a brand new series to tell the definitive story of indie music.
From October, the channel will broadcast a new three-part documentary series to chart the evolution of alternative music, from the its inception in the late 1970s, to the boom of the genre in the ‘80s, and the mainstream success of its Britpop successor in the ‘90s. It will also look at its legacy and influence in the current music scene. Using archive video footage, exclusive anecdotes from the people who were there and central to the scene - and, of course, one helluva soundtrack - it should be a cracking watch.
The series is presented by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Mark Radcliffe and features exclusive interviews with performers including James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers (pictured), Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos, Carl Barat of The Libertines, Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder, Suede’s Bernard Butler, ska icon Pauline Black of The Selecter, Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Buzzcocks’ frontman Pete Shelley and Joy Divison/New Order’s Stephen Morris, plus key music industry figures.
Presenter Mark Radcliffe says: “This is really a story that's been waiting to be told. We're always hearing about the seismic shifts the music business is undergoing, but in many ways, this was the first – when the egalitarian independent spirit of punk and DIY broke the stranglehold of the men in suits in the posh offices of the major labels in that there London, creating the soundtrack of our lives along the way.”
The hour-long programmes will air on Fridays from early October.