Music television

Just a thread for any documentaries or concerts of a musical nature.

Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees
Must have first seen this over a decade ago, but still a sharp and smooth re-telling of the story of how 4 young actors were cast as a zany "Beatles-type" band, then became a huge success in the hit parade, fired their manager, and found success was fleeting. As Mickey Dolenz put it, that they became a real band was akin to Leonard Nimoy becoming a real Vulcan. All 4 guys (at the time of production) come over as relaxed and proud, as they probably should be.

Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On
A 2 hour concert from 2006, with the reliable singer-songwriter in a snappy red suit, running through loads of his hits. He also received recognition for 'Amarillo' (which he co-wrote) being the biggest-selling single of the millennium (then, possibly still is), and was joined in performance by Tony Christie. Sedaka is a likeable guy, but not all that modest (mind, with that much of a track record, can you blame him?). He has good crowd interaction, though (this being shot at the Royal Albert Hall).

Barry Manilow: Music and Passion
The man with The Nose celebrates his 100th performance in front of an adoring crowd, singing a mix of the familiar and the less so, finishing with Copacabana (at the Copa). It took me 'til the final song to tumble where the show title came from  

Morrissey: Live at Eurockeennes
Erstwhile acerbic Mancunian legend in concert in France, around 2006, and thus featuring a lot of material from his then-current album 'Ringleader of the Tormentors', which I must give another listen to. Enjoyable stuff, a few Smiths numbers added, too.

The Specials: In Concert
A 30th Anniversary Tour stop at Wolverhampton Civil Hall in November 2009, no less. A jolly hour of music, even if Terry Hall has maintained the same look of disdain for decades. They saved 'Ghost Town' for last, but their other stuff was as good, if not better.

Upside Down: The Creation Records Story
Man starts record label, signs The Jesus & Mary Chain, Teenage Fanclub, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream and Ride, seeks drugs, nearly loses business, nearly loses mind, signs Oasis, makes it massive, gets to 1999 and decides to call it a day. Fun story, though, with some great talking heads (McGee, Noel Gallagher, Bobby Gillespie etc)

Go: A Film About Moby
From 2006, this was an interestling hour-long look at the dance legend's early years, time spent in New York, how he got his big break as a DJ at a club called Mars (this took about half the running time), then skip through the problems of following the 'Go' single, how 'Play' proved to be a surprise success, how he felt about 9/11 as a honorary New Yorker, and his growing stature in subsequent years. A refreshing and honest take, this taught me some things, which was nice.

Gary Numan: Reinvention
A leisurely run through his early successes, slow descent up to the 1992 album 'Machine & Soul' which he judges to be his nadir, and how he clawed his way back up from there, helped by the respect of other musicians like Trent Reznor. He seems genuinely in a good place these days.

Made in Sheffield
Entertaining doc from 2002 which looked once again at the explosion of talent after Punk showed what was possible. Apart from the usual names (ABC, Human League, Heaven 17), it was good to see coverage for less regarded names like 2.3, Artery and The Extras. Of course, of all these bands, it was Def Leppard who made it mega-huge, which perhaps tells its own story.

Word Up!: Black American Pop at the BBC
Basic compilation, mainly from the 1980's (so no Stylistics etc). Amongst the predictable (Whitney, Luther, Janet), it was nice to see some less familiar (The Real Roxanne's 'Bang Zoom', Darryl Pandy's 'Love Can't Turn Around' etc), and of course Cameo.

Lionel Richie: Dancing on the Ceiling
Fascinating hour-long whizz through his early years in the Commodores, how and why he went solo, what made him a massive success, and why his hiatus lasted longer than it was meant to and threw him off his stride. I got a positive picture of the guy, even with his personal failings. And the music still works...

Public Enemy: Prophets of Rage
The Rolling Stones of rap, they were three diverse characters who should not have co-existed as long as they did. I was impressed with their story and their success, less with their admittance of error. But they're still fighting the power, what can you say?

Jean-Michel Jarre: Music and Lyrics
Very enjoyable hour with interviews mixed with footage from his 2008 European tour. The French, rightly, treat him as a legend (whereas Mike Oldfield doesn't get that status in England). His innovative music and concerts continue to impress. Maybe the most amazing story was that he was booked to perform a concert celebrating NASA's 25th anniversary of something. The 'Challenger' shuttle exploded that morning, but the concert went ahead as a more life-affirming spectacle than planned.

The Swing Thing
An hour and a half to encapsulate the story of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Billie Holliday and Glenn Miller etc The swing bands struggled against innate American racial prejudice until WW2, after which the British took over the mantle anyway. The modern exponents like Harry Connick Jr are merely homaging someone else's idiom.

Lemmy
2 hour documentary/concert tour thing about the rock god from Motorhead, his past, present & future. Typical anecdote: when asked how he would end a film of his life, he suggested being on a mountain top, a flash of lightning and him disappearing, leaving behind a plaque that reads "Fooled ya!"  

Yes - Yesspeak
Enjoyable hour looking over the history of the "Kings of Prog Rock", relating to their 35th anniversary tour, using a classic line-up. It helps that guys like Jon Anderson & Rick Wakeman are articulate and often witty observers.

Gerry Rafferty: Right Down The Line
Scottish singer-songwriter who died in Jan 2011 is recalled here by family, friends and colleagues, even Billy Connolly turns up. Gerry comes across as a musician who hated the publicity game, and despite his successes, refused to bend his beliefs. His drinking received some mention.

Celtic Connections: Gerry Rafferty Remembered
In connection w/the above, a memorial concert with many musicians playing his songs in tribute, both those who knew him, like Barbara Dickson and The Proclaimers, and those who admired his work, like Ron Sexsmith and James Vincent McMorrow. A warm and impressive concert, introduced by Ricky Ross.

Thin Lizzy: Live and Dangerous
From the Rainbow Theatre, 1978, a live set of the Irish rockers at their height, and well worth checking out.

Lust For Life: Iggy Pop
1986 documentary on his early years in the Stooges, with comments from Ron Asheton besides Iggy, and his later work with David Bowie, who clearly impressed Pop (and I didn't before know they co-wrote China Girl). There were also concert footage of Pop doing most of his big hits. A good, if oddly dated, show.

Michael Bolton: Live at the Royal Albert Hall
From Nov 2009, the oft-derided white soul singer ran through most of his big hits and a few golden oldies (Summertime, That's Life). Whilst I don't always agree with his song choices, he has got an impressive voice, and I could sing along with most of the choruses, so hey.

The Joy of Disco
Trumping a recent doc on Hip-Hop, it seems that Disco in fact changed the face of music forever and created a paradigm in which all subsequent music evolved (unless you've heard of Kraftwerk). Nice to see Ian Levine for once with a reason to smile.

Queens of Disco
Short biog-type doc looking at various stars of the scene: Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, Sylvester, Grace Jones, Chaka Khan and, er, Madonna. Hmm...

Disco at the BBC / TOTP2 Disco special
2 more bites at the same cherry. The latter scored by including a couple of "modern" disco winners from Spiller and Infernal. Otherwise you could pretty much tick off the names as they came up.

Ahh, just the mention of Kraftwerk makes me smile. Never really thought of Madonna and disco at the same time lol.

Adric wrote: Ahh, just the mention of Kraftwerk makes me smile. Never really thought of Madonna and disco at the same time lol.

No, me neither. I think it was made around the time of 'Hung Up', with its nicked Abba riff, and she's more of a musical chameleon anyway.

Kraftwerk, I think are great

Still Bill
An hour and a quarter with Bill Withers as he approaches and passes 70. He seems profoundly down to earth about his success and his longevity. We see signs of new creativity, but I guess time will tell.

Bill Withers : In Concert
A half-hour show shown next to the above. I came away from both shows loving 'Grandma's Hands' which was new to me.

Classic Soul at the BBC
Also shown with the above, this was a usual hour-long runthrough of various artistes like Aretha, Sam Moore (doing a version of his & Dave's 'I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down') and of course Bill Withers.

Rockpalast: The Smiths
From Hamburg, 1984, they did an hour in which they did some numbers 2 or 3 times. If you love their 'Hatful of Hollow' album, this was your night.

I'm a Pop Star!
The 3rd of 3 shows (I missed the first 2), this was a slightly serious runthrough of how you make it as a star, and what can go wrong. The strength was the talking heads and their anecdotes: Adam Ant, Gary Numan, Nik Kershaw, Jason Donovan, Sandie Shaw & many more were all worth hearing.

Keane: War Child
Charity concert curated by Keane, with performances also from Lily Allen, Pet Shop Boys and Brendan Benson, among others. A good show, and a good cause.

John Barry: Licence to Thrill
Most known for his film work, this also covered the brief heyday of the John Barry Seven, and how Adam Faith got his big musical break, on forgotten BBC music show Drumbeat.

This Is Lionel Richie
He's got a new album out, and runs through some of his old hits to prove it, along with duets with Pixie Lott and Rebecca Ferguson. He seems quite mellow these days.

When Rock Goes Acoustic
Amusing hour-long look at the penchant for big ballads so the crowd can wave lighters/mobiles in the air. For some it was just a sideline (Oasis), for others it overshadowed their rock intentions (Extreme). Many worthy talking heads elevate this above the pedestrian.

Billy Idol: In Super Overdrive - Live
Entertaining hour & 1/4 from a show in Texas in 2009. Billy has had his ups & downs, but he still rocks as much as ever. Managed to include a few Generation X numbers along the way, which was nice.

Lionel Richie at the BBC
An hour of live performances from throughout his career. Some great songs, still. I also listened to a compilation of his lately, which made a nice co-relation to this.

Burt Bacharach: This is Now / ...Sings Bacharach & David
First, a 1996 doc narrated by Dusty Springfield, which played off Burt's then-renaissance with the likes of Noel Gallagher rhapsodising at his lyrical genius (or musical genius if he didn't do the words). Plenty of archive footage to back up the claims. The latter show was a compilation of various performances, including unfamiliar ones, such as Dusty singing 'Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa', and The Stranglers apathetic version of 'Walk on By'. The funniest part of the whole story is that Dionne Warwick still bears a grudge that Cilla Black had a #1 UK hit with 'Anyone Who Had A Heart'  

Nat 'King' Cole - When I Fall In Love
Charming hour with footage of Nat mixed with chat from his widow & daughters. The archive stuff included a lovely sequence with a 10 year old Billy Preston, and a neat song with Sammy Davis Jr. In that, Sammy did the first verse in impression of Nat. Nat got him back by impersonating Sammy in the 2nd verse, to Sammy's evident delight  

One Night With Barry Manilow
Also a charming hour mixing performance and some talking heads. Weirdly, during discussion of 'Could It Be Magic', both Robin Gibb and Donna Summer spoke in its favour (she having had a minor hit with a cover of it). Seeing this coincidence after the last week or so was very spooky.

Barry Manilow at the BBC
More archive footage from various shows, mixed with a bit of chitchat. It says a lot about him that this tended to be from appearances on chatshows like Parkinson, rather than TOTP or the Old Grey Whistle Test. Still, Barry's Barry  

Exotic Pop at the BBC
A whimsical hourlong compilation from various people who don't fit the usual Anglo-American mould, i.e. Nana Mouskouri, Charles Aznavour, Plastic Bertrand, and my favourites Incantation (with 'Cacharpaya' )