MUMBAI: This summer BBC Radio 2 delivers a whole host of entertainment – from the continuing Guitar Season to an array of new faces and coverage from both the Cambridge Folk Festival and Edinburgh Festival and lots more, there’s something for everyone.
Lewis Carnie, Head of Programmes for BBC Radio 2 says, “Over the coming months, BBC Radio 2 will be showcasing some fantastic entertainment as we bring our listeners the best of the summer’s folk and arts festivals, and showcasing the finest music and comedy.”
As Graham Norton takes his annual break from his Saturday morning show from July through to September, three of the UK’s favourite funny men will be keeping his seat warm. Following five shows with Liverpudlian comedian and actor, John Bishop, on Saturday 16 August Irish comedian Patrick Kielty takes over for three weeks. He is followed by stand-up comedian and sitcom star Lee Mack, who will be hosting the shows on Saturday 6 and 13 September (10am-1pm).
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Singer, actress and television personality Martine McCutcheon will be sitting in for Paul O’Grady on Sunday 20 and Sunday 27 July (5-7pm). On Saturday 26 July (3-6pm), singer/songwriter Charlotte Church will be sitting in for Dermot O’Leary.
Waving goodbye to Claudia Winkleman for the summer months, The Arts Show Summer Season welcomes a host of guest presenters from elsewhere at Radio 2, who will be sharing their own thoughts and musings on the worlds of arts and culture.
On Friday 25 July Chris Evans is the first to take to the helm. He’ll be speaking to art critic and broadcaster Alastair Sooke about one of their shared passions, modern British art, from Lowry to Hockney, from Banksy to Hirst. Plus Chris will be discussing the cinematic Titan Orson Welles and exploring the weird and wonderful world of art auctions, with two of the UK’s leading auctioneers. They’ll be discussing what’s hot and what’s not at the moment and look at the most expensive painting ever sold. Film critic Camilla Long will be reviewing the week’s big movie releases.
Chris Evans says, “What a treat to have the whole of the world of the arts to play with. When I was offered the chance to kick off the Radio 2 Arts Show Summer Season I said yes without hesitation. As well as reviewing the latest blockbusters at the Box Office I look forward to delving deeper into the psyche of some of my favourite artists, and will enjoy working out exactly what makes the market tick in an exploration of art auctions.”
On Friday 1 August, Jeremy Vine will be joined by guests Mark Allen and Mark Lawson. The discussions will range from record collections to the relationship between social media and poetry, the rise in the number of independent films around the country, and whether or not we can still appreciate great art if we find out the creator is a bad person.
Jeremy Vine says: “I am really looking forward to dipping my toe into the cultural pool of The Arts Show. Both Marks, Allen and Lawson, will be great guests, so listeners can look forward to some interesting and lively debates.”
On Friday 8 August, Anneka Rice takes the Radio 2 Arts Show to Edinburgh as she celebrates Europe’s largest arts festival, with music from Ladysmith Black Mambazo and violinist Nicola Benedetti.
On Friday 15 August Simon Mayo is also in Edinburgh, and will be joined by authors Kate Mosse and Patrick Ness as they explore how to get published in this day and age, and how the internet has changed the way people read and write.
On Friday 22 August Vanessa Feltz hosts the penultimate Radio 2 Arts Show Summer Season programme. With DJ David Rodigan, she will be discussing her favourite genre of music, reggae, and looking ahead to Notting Hill Carnival. She’ll also be delving into Shakespeare, focusing on one of her favourite characters, Kate, from The Taming of the Shrew. Danny Braverman will be chatting about his play ‘Wot! No Fish?’, and Julie Rogers will be talking about her hit song The Wedding and her new album.
Ken Bruce curates the last in the BBC Radio 2 Arts Show Summer Season by celebrating the 91st birthday of British multi-award winning director and actor Lord Richard Attenborough. Ken will also be marking the 50th anniversary of Towersey Festival in Oxfordshire, talking to British folk-rock guitarist and festival headliner, Richard Thompson. The Art Show’s reporter, Thomas Magill, will be bringing listeners the best of the 2014 Jane Austen Festival in Bath and exploring what’s coming up in early September, including the 200th anniversary of Mansfield Park.
The Radio 2 Guitar Season continues through July and August in its Monday slot from 10pm-11pm. Through documentaries and performances from all-time greats, the season is exploring the impact of the guitar on popular culture and its importance to all music genres. There’s also the opportunity for listeners to vote for their favourite guitar riff of all time in Radio 2’s Top 100 Greatest Guitar Riffs.
Gary Kemp presents Mick Ronson – The Man with the Golden guitar (Monday 28 July). Originally broadcast in April 2013, Gary explores why Mick is such an important figure in British rock ‘n’ roll, featuring archive footage of Mick and David Bowie.In The Peggy Sue Guitar (Monday 11 August), Alvin Stardust talks listeners through his incredible experiences jamming with Buddy Holly and being on stage with Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent.
The Anatomy Of A Guitar (Monday 18 August) uncovers the battle for the guitar to become the dominant beast in the world of music. The programme explores the versatility of the instrument and dissects some classic models to learn how it makes its unique sound.
And listeners can cast their vote for the Radio 2 Top 100 Greatest Guitar Riffs of all time. The 100 riffs have been selected by a panel of music experts including Radio 2 and 6 Music DJs, music critics and record producers. The listener vote launched on Monday 14 July at bbc.co.uk/radio2 and the ultimate Top 100 countdown as chosen by listeners will be revealed in the Guitar Season finale on Bank Holiday Monday (25 August) from midnight to 5pm across a whole host of shows. This is a Wise Buddah production.
Also, as part of the season, Radio 2 wants to give listeners a chance to have a go at playing the guitar themselves so have created The Radio 2 Guitar Pick-Up – six weekly lessons that launch at bbc.co.uk/radio2 on Saturday 19 July. Comedian John Bishop will be learning to play too and listeners can hear his first lesson on Saturday 19 July (10am-1pm) in his second show standing in for Graham Norton.
The Radio 2 Folk Show presented by Mark Radcliffe returns to the Cambridge Folk Festival at Cherry Hinton Hall on Saturday 2 August (3pm-6pm) and will be helping to celebrate the Festival’s 50th Anniversary.
Mark Radcliffe says: “The Cambridge Folk Festival is one of the highlights of my year. It is a privilege to be able to share with the listeners the incredible live performances and the behind the scenes news from the most well-known folk festival in the world, and to be a part of these 50th Anniversary celebrations.”
The line-up for this year’s festival includes Cara Dillon, The Fisherman’s Friends, guitar legend Richard Thompson, Grammy Award winning country star Rosanne Cash and Irish chart toppers Sinead O’Connor and Van Morrison. Radio 2’s coverage continues with a round-up of festival highlights on The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe on Wednesday 6 August (7-8pm).
As part of the BBC’s commemoration marking the centenary of the outbreak of World War One, starting on Monday 4 August through to December, in his lunchtime show Jeremy Vine (12-2pm) hosts a five-minute real-time journey through the events, voices and music of World War One, going back in time to 1914 to experience the war as it happened. He presents events as they unfold, hearing breaking news from the continent and at home (taken from the newspapers of the time); talking to the ‘real people’ of 1914 (actors giving voice to genuine historical accounts); and hosting round-table discussions with contemporary experts on everything from rationing to trench foot.
All this will be soundtracked by music of the time – including army marching band numbers, classical compositions, and the tongue-in-cheek music hall melodies that would have been most familiar to a 1914 audience. Made by Unusual Productions.
At 10pm, as part of the mass public ‘Lights Out’ moment across the UK, Radio 2 will play a specially recorded song to commemorate World War One. This will be followed by another chance to hear Radio 2’s audio drama of War Horse. Timothy Spall is the voice of Joey the horse and leads a glittering cast that includes Brenda Blethyn as Mother and the late Bob Hoskins as Sergeant Thunder. Moving, and at times melancholic, the folk songs in the piece are written and performed by John Tams, Coope, Boyes and Simpson, John McCusker, Andy Cutting and Andy Seward.
On Friday 8 August Radios 2 and 3 will be joining forces for a very special late night Prom, as Clare Teal takes a step back to the golden age of jazz and swing in Radio 2 at the Proms – The Battle of the Bands. With the Royal Albert Hall stage big enough to accommodate two rival bands, the Prom recreates the music of both the Count Basie Band led by James Pearson and the Duke Ellington Band led by Grant Windsor.
And Friday Night is Disco Night on 22 August, so get ready to Hustle and do the Funky Chicken as Ken Bruce squeezes back into his flared trousers to present a special disco-themed evening. Stephen Bell conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra live from the Mermaid Theatre in London with singers Annie Skates (vocal coach on ITV’s X-Factor), Hazel Fernandes (British house music artist), Lance Ellington (featured singer on BBC One’s Stricly Come Dancing) and Andrew Playfoot (session vocalist, previously worked with Kylie, George Michael and Will Young). The show includes hits by Kool and the Gang, Sister Sledge, Earth Wind and Fire, Gloria Gaynor and, of course, the Bee Gees.
On Friday 5 September the multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer who has been dubbed ‘The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook’, Michael Feinstein, joins Friday Night is Music Night. Michael shares his memories of music legends such as Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer and Duke Ellington, together with their music and songs, in the company of his special guests which includes Joe Stilgoe. He has played at the Sydney Opera House, the White House and Buckingham Palace and now joins the 60-piece BBC Concert orchestra and Broadway maestro, Larry Blank, for this very special Friday Night Is Music Night dedicated to the art and craft of the great songwriters.
Tune in to Simon Mayo’s Drivetime show from Monday 18 to Thursday 21 August (5-7pm) for the best of the Edinburgh Festival, as Simon broadcasts live from the Blue Tent as part of the BBC’s extensive coverage. Each programme will have a live house band, with special guests including Paul Carrack on Monday, James on Wednesday and the Kaiser Chiefs on Thursday.
The team will be packing in as many guests as possible with four extra special celebrity Confessions and a bumper Book Club panel on Monday 18 August with Ian Rankin, Shetland author Ann Cleaves and Alexander McCall Smith. Plus the regular foody Thursday slot will have a very special guest.
On Bank Holiday Monday (25 August, 8-10pm) Annie Nightingale returns to Radio 2 for another programme of eclectic musical selections from across the past four decades. Annie will be asking listeners to help her make playlists around different themes; they will then be able to go online to hear extended versions of these using Playlister – the new digital music service from the BBC. Playlister is a quick, simple way to find and keep track of the music that you hear on the BBC, allowing the audience to build their own personal playlist of tracks which can then be exported to music streaming services including, Spotify, Deezer and iTunes.
Annie Nightingale says, “It’s been the most exciting summer, from Glastonbury to Wimbledon to the World Cup, plus festivals and holiday adventures, all culminating in the August Bank Holiday. I am thrilled to be returning to Radio 2 for another special show which I hope will reflect the best of summer 2014 for all the music loving listeners, this time with a Playlister twist!
Also on Bank Holiday Monday (10-11pm) Radio 2 welcomes London-based, American singer-songwriter Nell Bryden in her first show for the network. She will be hosting a special show, Nell Bryden’s New York Hour, celebrating and talking about the music she loves from both sides of the Atlantic.
Nell Bryden says, “I’m a proud New Yorker, born and raised, but I’ve also been lucky enough to spend most of my touring adult life in England so I’ve noticed some interesting comparisons between my favourite songs State-side and my favourite ones from this side of the pond. I love a great song that becomes a soundtrack to your life. All the moments we remember get more memorable with the right music to accompany it, like a melodic postcard to remind you where you’ve been. Join me for an hour of cross-Atlantic singer-songwriter based music, all based on the strength of a song to get you through your day.”
On Saturday 30 August (10pm-midnight) Sounds of the 80s will be on-air and also visualised on Red Button as presenter Sara Cox welcomes Mike Rutherford of Genesis for a guitar-based video edition.
