Music Television 6.5

Isle of Wight '24: Blossoms
A reasonable showcase with some classics and new stuff.

Radio 2 In Concert: The Neville Brothers
They were at Glastonbury in 1990, and did some songs I was familiar with, like Yellow Moon and I Walk On Gilded Splinters, and others I didn't.

Yo! MTV Raps - Spring Break 1990
Dr Dre (not that one) and Ed Lover fronted a rather dreary part-showcase for Biz Markie and others, though more of it was videos, like Salt N Pepa.

Glastonbury '24: Friday night round-up
Jack and Jo introduced short bits from Idles and Fontaines DC, and longer bits from Sugababes and Paul Heaton (so missing their scheduled turn wasn't quite the disaster then).

Soul Music: Hallelujah
Leonard Cohen's original version had dozens of verses, but luckily John Cale wanted to cover it, and edited it into something manageable. Jeff Buckley covered Cale's version, and the rest became history.

Sir Simon Russell Beale's Life In Music
Zeb Soanes interviews the great actor at St Martin in the Fields, for a fundraising event. SRB chose pieces by Bach, Byrd and Beethoven, and how choral music played a part in his life.

Isle of Wight '24 - Saturday evening
Tracks from Natalie Imbruglia, Jake Shears, S Club and Jessie J.

Radio 2 In Concert: James
They played Shepherds Bush Empire in 1997, and opened with Sit Down, so in a spirited frame.

Africa Direct: Kenyan Society of Rock
Ted Ngure talked about his band, Last Year's Tragedy, how they were working on their 3rd record, there being good camaraderie between acts in different genres in Nairobi, and gigging to support another act, Rash.

Glastonbury '24 - Saturday afternoon & evening
A bit of a hotchpotch, with plenty from Cyndi Lauper (her microphone problems seemed more that other instruments were drowning her out), The Staves, Bloc Party, Michael Kiwanuka, Camila Cabello and Kasabian.

Shifting Soundscapes
Alice Boyd retraces the steps of Martyn Stewart, whose field recordings from the 1970s evoked one image of England, somewhat adjusted by time.

Saturday Night w/Hayley Palmer - Jay Aston & Josie Colquhoun
Mother and daughter, filmed at Jay's home. The Fizz plan to use Mike Nolan's exit to get 2 new people in, and become a quartet again. Lockdown encouraged Mike to call it a day. Bobby's exit from BF seems in part because he lived in Italy. Jay talked her health struggles, and Josie has had troubles of her own, too. She's got her own musical ambitions too.  Jay's parents were in entertainment too, so it's a kind of family business.

Isle of Wight '24 - Feeder
A short spell from the Welsh rockers.

Radio 2 In Concert: Ocean Colour Scene
The minor Britpoppers were at the Manchester Apollo in 1998, perhaps already on the slide.

Summer Night Concert '24
To the Schonbrun Palace in Vienna for a program including works from Verdi, Smetana, Shostakovich and even a little bit of the many Strausses.

I Want My MTV: Steve Aoki
A likeable enough cove, even if I've rarely liked any of his songs (though his new one with NeYo, Heavenly Hell, is one of them).

Tafwyl '24: Saturday highlights
Huw Edwards, Tara Bethan and Lloyd Lewis linked highlights from acts, and chatted to others. Fleur de Lys, Meinir Gwilym, Cabarela and Griff Lynch were some of them.

Isle of Wight '24: Keane
They're back together, and had enough albums to make this set worthwhile and not just desperate.

Glastonbury '24: Keane / Nitin Sawhney
Another blast from the former, and a less familiar though still enjoyable selection from the latter.

TRNSMT '24: Friday highlights
Shereen Cutkelvin has replaced Edith Bowman, and Day 1 seemed most notable for Liam Gallagher in full effect, but Sugababes, the Snuts, Declan McKenna, Example and Garbage were also there.

Isle of Wight '24: Nothing But Thieves
A short but pleasant spot, with a band chat too.

Glastonbury '24: Little Simz / The Streets
A much-hyped Pyramid debut, in the spot prior to Coldplay's headlining. With a little extra from the doughty rapper who again made crowd magic happen.

Tafwyl '24: Yws Gwynedd
Night 1 of 2 saw a full-ish set from this band, which seemed to go well enough.

Radio 2 In Concert: Erasure
Hey, someone I'm familiar with for once. This 1987 gig from Brighton during their "Circus" tour managed to include a cover of Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight), so their later ABBA EP wasn't the surprise some might have thought.

TRNSMT '24: Saturday highlights
Night 2 brought The Vaccines, The Mary Wallopers, Dylan John Thomas, Dead Pony, the legendary Rick Astley, Cian Ducrot and Courteeners, but nothing from headliner Gerry Cinnamon.

Lorraine - Nelly Furtado
She's back with her new, 7th album, her recent ADHD diagnosis, being the mother of 3, and mutual admiration with Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.

Tafwyl '24 - Sunday highlights
A round-up from Day 2, including HMS Morris, Lily Beau, Al Lewis and Blodau Papur. Good stuff.

Isle of Wight '24 - McFly
They seem to be more spirited 20 years in than they maybe were at first. Experience can do that.

TRNSMT '24: Sunday highlights
The 3rd day had a little longer coverage, which led to Blossoms, Baby Queen, Alison Goldfrapp, Tom Grennan, the Reytons, Enter Shikari, Chase & Status, and finally headliner Calvin Harris, who did more of a mix than a set.

Classic FM Live - Classical Anthems
A special concert from the Royal Albert Hall, with Ben Palmer conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, except when the great Sir Karl Jenkins came on to conduct 3 of his own works.

Glastonbury '24 - Orbital
They had special guests like Tilda Swinton and Mel C, and finished with Chime, can't be bad.

5Sur5: Alex Legrand
Something a bit different, with Alex talking about his act Khash Empire, and a few videos. Leslie Saint-Julien asked the questions.

Tafwyl '24: Gwilym
The last of the 4 shows saw a concert, though perhaps the timing was a little off, as footage from Mali Haf and Mared filled the early part.

BBC Proms '24: Sir Mark Elder's Farewell to the Halle
After a career running from his Proms debut in 1975, to this final show with the Halle Orchestra after nearly 25 years, with a new piece first, then the main event being some Mahler, and then an encore from Elgar. Impressive stuff.

Yo! MTV Raps: Kris Kross
They came on in 1993, when pushing a new album The Bomb, and living with the hype after Jump made them stars. They already looked much older, and were working on a new singles and video.

The One Show - Will Young
He was pushing his new single and album, and discussing adding a Q&A element to his live shows, and how he had reached a point where he had proved he was more than just a talent show winner.

The Prodigy Live
They played the Zap Club in Brighton in 1994, so covered material from their first two albums, and a lively old time it was.

Last Night at the Proms '92
A shortened repeat to mark the recent death of conductor Sir Andrew Davis, with pieces by Rossini, Massenet and Shostakovich, and the guest singing of Dame Kiri te Kanawa.

I Want My MTV: Nelly Furtado
She's also back with a new album, and interestingly discussed early hits like I'm Like A Bird and Turn Off The Light, as well as recent single Love Bites. Otherwise she picked numbers by Culture Club, Sade, and 2 Pac ft Dr Dre.

Saturday Night w/Hayley Palmer - Chesney Hawkes
Just a few months after their last show, this time they're together in person, in some relaxed outdoor location. I realise now the show must premiere on Youtube before getting this repeat slot. So they discuss an imminent show with Nik Kershaw and other friends, which happened a month or two back. Saffron was one guest, his love interest from the One and Only video, who later did become the lead singer in Republica, which I suppose I should stop being sceptical about. He's working on new material.

Isle of Wight '24: Simple Minds
The Scottish legends gave a good account of themselves with a fairly lengthy show.

Behind The Music: Wolfgang Van Halen
Eddie's son, how he came to love the guitar, and even joined his dad and uncle as a live act for a while, but how Eddie never quite got to grips with his addictions. Wolfgang now has his own band, Mammoth WVH, and is making a name for himself.

Radio 2 In Concert: Divine Comedy
They played Belfast in 1997, around the peak of their commercial appeal, with memorable (and lengthy) singles, and their Father Ted theme.

Isle of Wight '24 - Sunday evening
A short interlude which included Beverley Knight as well as Cian Ducrot, Zara Larsson and Caity Baser.

Belladrum '24 - Thursday highlights
Day 1 of 3, as Niall and Fiona introduce bits and bobs from Trail West, Pillow Queens, Calum Bowie, the Futureheads, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Teenage Fanclub and the inevitable Sugababes.

Catatonia - The Home International
Special gig from Port Talbot back in May 1999, as their heyday was well on the fade.

Glastonbury '24 - Jessie Ware
She headlined the West Holts stage on the Saturday, and had plenty of material to expound her Pearl-based set.

Soul Music - Don't Leave Me This Way
The Reverend Richard Coles inevitably spoke of how this disco classic had an effect on his career and life, whilst earlier versions were somewhat less discussed.

BBC Proms '24 - Verdi's Requiem
Ryan Bancroft conducted the BBC National Orchestra of Wales through a one-tune performance, and pretty solid it was.

Yn Y Lwp
Choices from Alffa, Tomos Williams and Griff Lynch, and Catrin Herbert considering 25 years of Pride Cymru.

Radio 2 In Concert: Aerosmith
They came to the Hammersmith Odeon in 1989, just after their big late 80s resurgence with hits like Dude (Looks Like A Lady) and Love In An Elevator.

Yo! MTV Raps - Sir Mix-A-Lot
Here in 1992, after the fuss has rather died down, but he manages to perform a new single, amidst vids from Black Sheep and Cypress Hill, and features from Fu Schnickens and Ice Cube.

Glastonbury '24 - Disclosure
They headlined the Other stage whilst Coldplay were doing their thing. They did get Sam Smith on to do Latch, though.

Belladrum '24 - Friday highlights
Niteworks, N'famady Kouyate, Lucia and the Best Boys, Ocean Colour Scene, Kate Rusby, Jake Bugg and James Arthur made for a curious mix of past and present, famous and less so.

Isle of Wight '24 - Green Day
Headliners on the final night, and delivering a lengthy set to suit, hard to credit they've been around for 30+ years when Billie Joe still gets away with appearing young. But he was happy, and so were the crowd, and so was I, I guess.

Belladrum '24: Saturday highlights
Day 2 saw Croft no. Five, Niall McCabe, High Fade, The Tumbling Souls, Hamish Hawk, The Shires, Calum Beattie, Lucy Spraggan, Twin Atlantic, a debuting Bill Bailey, and headliners Deacon Blue. Good stuff.

Isle of Wight '24: Sunday final highlights
A short spell to cover Toyah, and reshow tracks from the Prodigy, Pet Shop Boys and Green Day.

Glastonbury '24: Saturday late night highlights
Jessie Ware, Disclosre, Orbital, Keane and Little Simz (all shown already), but new stuff from Gossip, Sleaford Mods, Porij, Peggy Gou and a feature on Cyndi Lauper.

Geddy Lee asks: Are Bass Players Human Too? - Les Claypool
Intriguing as Les' band, Primus, is not one much on my radar. Sonoma County is wine country, and sure enough that featured, and they also visited a guitar workshop. Geddy and Les had long been friends, and Primus had supported Rush once or twice. There was a moment to pay respect to Neil Peart also.

Karl Jenkins - The Composer Behind The Moustache
A lively look at the Welsh legend whose jazz background started him off, before advertising made his name, and his works like Adiemus and The Armed Man really put him into the stratosphere.

Isle of Wight '24 - Friday highlights
A round-up that includes Crowded House, The Streets, The Pretenders, The Darkness, The Prodigy and Johnny Marr among others.

Soul Music - Bring Him Home
Alfie Boe and others discuss their personal links to this Les Miserables classic.

BBC Proms '24 - Clyne & Messaien
Nicholas Collon conducted the BBC Philharmonic through works by Clyne and Messaien. Not one of the more enriching shows.

Slighe Na Cuimhne - Sheryl Crow
A profile that mixed some live performance footage with chatter through her career. She won 9 Grammys and her 11th album in 2019 is also her last, apparently.

Isle of Wight '24 - Saturday highlights
The 2nd round-up runs from Keane and Jessie J, through Feeder and Jake Shears, to Suede, Pet Shop Boys and Blossoms. Pretty good.

Soul Music: The Impossible Dream
How this Man of La Mancha classic inspired those in a dire state to battle and overcome odds to triumph.

Look at Life: Who Needs Eel Pie?
A short look at the famous club from 1966, which managed to look less at the rock bands coming through, than the prospects for young people.

Glastonbury '24 - Steel Pulse / Brittany Howard
Nearing the end of these live shows, this was a curious double bill of UK reggae legends and the frontperson of the Alabama Shakes.

BBC Proms '24 - John Wilson's American Classics
John Wilson conducted the Sinfonia of London through a busy rundown, from Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copland, George Gershwin and Duke Ellington, and a few more.

Isle of Wight '24 - Sunday highlights
The final one from June, with slightly fairer coverage than the live shows did. A fun treat.

Glastonbury '24 - SZA
The Sunday night Pyramid headliner, making her festival debut, and one of the more left-field suggestions. She delivered a solid show, which seemed like much her regular current tour show, with costume changes, jungle set props and so on. The audience were very on-side.
There was also highlights from James Blake, Ghetts, Romy (of the XX) and Burna Boy too.

Glastonbury '24 - The National
I recall years ago they were introduced as future headliners. And so (sort of) they did headline the Other stage on the Sunday night, following in the footsteps of Queens of the Stone Age and Pet Shop Boys, only with many less hits. They have been around 25 years apparently, and this unremarkable show was pleasant enough.

Cliff in London
From the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London in 1980, as he continued to find enough hits to keep going (I'm No Hero was his latest album, Carrie his latest big hit).

BBC Proms '24 - A Kanneh-Mason Playlist
Sheku and Braimah were joined by friend Plinio Fernandes, and with Tom Featherstonehaugh conducting the Fantasia Orchestra through an electric program that stretched from Bartok and Brahms through Marley and Wonder.

MTV Behind The Music: Christina Aguilera
She also came through the short-lived training ground that was the (All New) Mickey Mouse Club, and Justin Timberlake was present here to be nice. Her first album was generic, but once she hooked up with Linda Perry, she improved matters, though whilst this 2010 tribute seemed more forgiving, I think even her 2003 peak didn't really have a long-term effect.

Eisteddfod '24 - Llwyfan Y Maes - Eden
The legendary Welsh girl trio did a lengthy set, after an hour's build-up including other acts like Calan and Fleur de Lys.

Glastonbury '24 - Justice
A dance act headlining the West Holts stage on the Sunday night, they rattled through a jolly enough set.

BBC Proms '24 - The National Youth Orchestra
The annual visit from the NYO, conducted by Alexander Bloch, thoguh works by Wagner, Mahler and Mazzoli, with a Bizet encore.

Rock Goes To College: The Joe Jackson Band
Hatfield Polytechnic rocked out in 1979 to an early era of a singular singer-songwriter who'd had a couple of big hits, but also included fine tracks like the Sunday Papers and Happy Loving Couples among others.

Glastonbury '24: Rock & Indie
The first of 5 one-hour compilations from the 3-day event, which at this stage was a good chance to include acts like King Krule and Declan McKenna who weren't otherwise given much of a mention.

Music Map: Bolero
A rather mercurial series looking at other musical similarities in Maurice Ravel's master-work, which this show was at pains to emphasise lasts 15 minutes, though I've seen shorter and longer versions.

Weather Hits at the BBC
A marathon 2.5 hour compilation of songs with sometimes tenuous weather-connections, and without including gems like Black Hole Sun or many others. Fun, though.

Saturday Night w/Hayley Palmer - Mark Shaw
Then Jericho's frontman is still performing, both here in the UK, and also in Spain, and was accepting of his fame level, given that TJ didn't entirely set the world on fire.

Symphony of a Billion
Why India is a booming place to learn classical music, or is it?

Egypt Through The Lens: Stage and Screen
The stories of Umm Kulthumm, Abdel Halim Hafez and Mahmoud Shokoko, who all seemed talented and interesting types.

In The Best Possible Taste - A Tribute to Kenny Everett
Made soon after his death, and featuring sketches from the man himself, as well as tributes from radio colleagues like Tony Blackburn and Terry Wogan, work colleagues like Barry Cryer, friends like Cleo Rocos, and comic legends like Spike Milligan.

BBC Proms '24 - Modern Movie Soundtracks
Robert Ames conducted the London Contemporary Orchestra through a lengthy selection of tunes from films like Everything Everywhere All At Once, Squid Game and Tar.

I Want My MTV: Fall Out Boy
I'm getting quite fond of this series after an uncertain start. It surprises me that though Pete Wentz is the band member who seems to draw the most attention, one of the others is the singer.

Glastonbury '24 - Must-Watch Tracks
A rather spurious collection, with LCD Soundsystem and Janelle Monae at least belatedly getting some love.

Lwp - Maes B '24
From Pontypridd, another festival mercifully kept to one show, including Wrkhouse, Chroma, Buddug and Pys Melyn among others.

Glastonbury '24 - Headliners & Legends
By this stage, a degree of ennui was setting in. Surely the point of doing all these shows would be to include different tracks from acts. I realise that no matter how many songs Paul Heaton did, the one he did with Norman Cook has cachet to be included, but Dua Lipa and Sugababes and Coldplay and SZA and so on would have been as well served by something different. Still, at least Brittany Howard, PJ Harvey and Seasick Steve made the cut at all.

Sight & Sound In Concert: The New Joe Jackson Band
From 1983 at the Regal Theatre, Hitchin, a fun little set which managed to include The Sunday Papers again, and Steppin' Out, but omitted It's Different For Girls.

Girls Aloud at the BBC
A steady round-up, but no Call The Shots. I did wonder if there'd be enough to fill the hour without solo stuff, but they managed it.

BBC Proms '24 - Pappano Plays Britten
Some conductors seem to be reaching their ends, but Sir Antonio led the London Symphony Orchestra here through the War Requiem.

Team GB's Homecoming '24
Much like the concert from after the 2021 Olympics, a mish-mash of acts like Rag N Bone Man and Krept & Konan, with oldies James a surprise choice, and Clean Bandit headlining.

Glastonbury '24 - Pop
Really silly now to see the same Coldplay, Sugababes and Dua Lipa tracks yet again, though Remi Wolf, London Grammar and Confidence Man were something a bit different.

I Want My MTV: Imagine Dragons
Dan and Wayne talked about their early days, how they dealt with anxiety, and some of the other acts they were impressed with, like Paul Simon and Queen.

Eminem - Behind The Lyrics
The 13xGrammy winner, from around 2011, or at least up to his Recovery release. His career has had a longevity and evolution that surprises me.

Radio 2 Live In The Park: All Saints
A short show from 2018 in Hyde Park, which did at least have a few newer tracks amidst the well-worn.

Radio 2 In Concert: Paul Young
He went to Wolverhampton in 1997, and did plenty of old favourites, and a few of his 1990s ones too. Sounded like a fun show, which I can't always say.

Glastonbury '24 - Rap and R&B
The 5th and final of these collections, so rather more names previously ignored, like Headie One, Noname and Wretch 3 2.

RPO - The First 50 Years
Andrew Sachs presented this 1997 tribute to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who seemed to spend a lot of the time trying to keep the wolf from the door. Founding conductor Sir Thomas Beecham left things in a shaky start when he died, but a hook-up with K-Tel turned out to be lucrative. Andre Previn was among the musical directors doing their bit to enhance the RPO prestige.

Reading & Leeds '24 - Fred Again..
A headliner spot from Saturday night, apparently the first ever dance act to be booked as headliner, in approximately 30 years of the festival.

Slighne na Cuimhne - Rickie Lee Jones
Someone who rarely gets the tribute treatment, this look at the "Duchess of Coolsville" considered her 14 albums, and 2 Grammys. She wrote her memoir in 2021. Tom Waits helped her early on, but her addictions brought an end to the arrangement. She got clean after a while, and also married. She later worked with Dr John, and even later fell bankrupt. And through all this, her only UK footnote is the song Chuck E's In Love.

Heno - Dewi Pws Tribute
Reflection on the Edward H Dafis/Tebot Piws/solo musician who died last week, from other musicians like Dafydd Iwan and Elin Fflur, about his musical and acting triumphs.

BBC Proms '24 - Holst's The Planets
Sakari Oramo conducts a selection of students from the Sibelius Academy and the Royal College of Music, through works by Sibelius and also the titular Holst work.

Best of Glastonbury '24
The usual 2 hour round-up, largely familiar from the 5 x 1 hour round-ups, but interesting to see Kasabian, Peggy Gou and The National all making the cut.

The First Time - Karen O
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman talked to Matt Everitt about various aspects of her career, growing up in Jersey, the music industry changes over a 15 year period, being at college in Ohio and a fan of Nina Simone. YYY still do some gigs every year.

MTV Behind The Music: Bell Biv DeVoe
How they became the Ringo Starrs in New Edition, but turned things around with the big hit Poison. However their 2nd album didn't go too well, and nor did a NE reunion. They all seem happier these days at least.

TRNSMT '24
6 hours of coverage, linked by Shereen Cutkelvin; unlike the Glasto efforts, these all managed to avoid repeats. Liam Gallagher only headlined one night, but he rounded off every edition of this, which is a knock on the other headliner(s). There also seemed more breadth of acts included too.

Radio 1 Big Weekend '13: Bruno Mars
The American R&B star headlined 11 years back when the show came from Derry/Londonderry, a happy time before Uptown bloody Funk.

Glastonbury '24 - PJ Harvey
The last few shows, a critical do-no-wrong merchant, but some good songs.

Kings from Queens - The Run DMC Story
Impressive 3x1 hour documentary, how they came together, how they hit the big time, how things tailed off in the 1990s, how DMC got into a bad place & how Jay's death brought him back, and what they did next. Many big name contributors offering love and respect along the way.

Glastonbury '24 - Janelle Monae
A short showcase, someone who doesn't quite get the attention and respect she clearly deserves, especially compared to some of those in a similar category.

BBC Proms '24 - Disco at the Proms
Andi Oliver introduced, as Daniel Bartholomew Poyser conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra through a somewhat extended megamix of the famous and a few less so.

Radio 2 In The Park '23 - Kylie Minogue
There seems no end to some of these things. She was a headliner in Leicester last year, and besides bringing Jessie Ware on to guest, she left out her early years, save for The Locomotion.

Yn Y Lwp
Molly Palmer intro's tunes from Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog, Awen Ensemble, Ynys and Pys Melyn, plus a plug for the show's YT account.

Glastonbury '24 - Michael Kiwanuka
He got a decent showing on the Pyramid stage.

Radio 2 In The Park '23 - Soft Cell
Electropop legends had a few more recent tracks, including Purple Zone, amongst their more familiar classics.

Saturday Night w/Hayley Palmer - Cassa Jackson
Something a bit different, as Cassa hasn't had any hit records yet, but has been recording for 4-5 years, has toured with JLS, done some busking, and had previously done a show with Hayley during Covid.

BBC Four Sessions: Nick Lowe
New-wave legend has a new album out, but this 2007 show from LSO St Luke's pushed a previous one, and had a few hits in the mix too.