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Her incredible voice delivered so much more than most other singers, so it feels only right to return to the BBC archives for a second collection of great songs and lung-busting performances from the girl from Tiger Bay.
This programme features Shirley’s inimitable take on a rich collection of hits - from pop favourites to film themes and songs from the shows, taken from a selection of programmes she appeared on over the years and her own hugely popular TV show that ran throughout the 1970s.
Amongst the classic tracks featured here are My Way, The Way We Were, Copacabana and even her own, unmissable version of The Beatles’ iconic Hey Jude.
There's more musical time-travelling through the BBC’s archives with this trip back to 1984 which proves that, unlike Orwell’s predictions, this was a truly great year.
Wham! were offering the prospect of Freedom, Frankie were encouraging everyone to Relax, U2 filled us all with Pride and Phil Collins was battling Against All Odds. And that was just the UK’s biggest chart stars - when it came to American acts, Stevie just called to say he loved us, Madonna was still Like a Virgin and Lionel Richie just offered a simple Hello.
All were huge hits then, and they - and many more - remain some of the best-loved and most familiar songs.
A celebration of the songs of Cyndi Lauper, who took the charts by storm in 1984 with her debut international hit Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, released in the same week as Madonna’s first hit, Holiday. Cyndi surprised the critics of the day almost immediately and showed she deserved so much more than labels like ‘kooky’ and ‘quirky’, with sensitive songs like Time After Time and True Colors that still resonate as strongly today as they did back in the 1980s. This trip through the BBC’s archives follows Cyndi’s journey from the start, and captures why she became, and remains, one of the most positive female forces in modern pop music.
This collection of hits includes several of Elaine Paige’s personal favourites from the BBC's song and dance archives, some of the world’s best-loved musicals ranging from Cats and The Lion King to Funny Girl and My Fair Lady, Sunset Boulevard and West Side Story to A Little Night Music and The Sound of Music. Together, they promise an irresistible mix for lovers of show tunes, highlighting some of the amazing performances that have lit up stage and screens over the past few decades.
It's one of the reasons the music charts have always been so compelling: the cruel reality that the exciting new act that has taken the Top 40 by storm may not in fact be the next Beatles, Beyonce or even Basement Jaxx – but could be one more case of here today, gone and forgotten tomorrow.
Or almost forgotten – because this is a look into the darkest corners of the BBC’s music archives for a reminder of songs by the likes of The Las, The Mock Turtles, Joan Jett and Kim Carnes. There are also some surprising names on the list: Don Henley, Patti Smith, Curtis Mayfield and John Denver - stars who perhaps enjoyed hit albums, or success with other groups, but when it came to singles, once was sadly enough.
A look into the BBC’s music archives to examine the all-time classic tracks that seem to have been around forever, and get everywhere - apart from the UK Top 40.
It’s a journey that sees us heading back in time to the Summer of ‘69 with Bryan Adams and takes in Bowie’s Changes, Dolly’s 9 to 5 and Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire – just some of the most surprising favourites to feature in this selection of the biggest, most enduring tracks ever written that mysteriously failed to have an impact on the charts the first time around.
With crowd-pleasers that still get everyone on their feet and anthems everyone can sing along to, these songs are forever part of the soundtrack to people's lives but always leave them wondering 'why was this not a hit?'
This third volume of romantic hits from the BBC archives includes classic tracks from the 70s, 80s and 90s, with songs from likes of The Carpenters, The Three Degrees, Simply Red, Meatloaf and Sting - as well as some 21st-century songs to swoon to, from Rihanna and Harry Styles.
More of the greatest sad songs ever, featuring classic tracks from the likes of Sade, The Righteous Brothers, Toni Braxton, Lewis Capaldi and many more stars who broke the charts whilst also breaking hearts.
Some more of the greatest movie themes to light up the UK pop charts from the BBC's archives, including Lulu's To Sir with Love, Kate Bush's This Woman's Work and Lisa Loeb's Stay.
Sharleen Spiteri takes a dive into the music archives for a look back at some of Texas’s greatest appearances across the BBC, including such hits as I Don't Want a Lover and Black Eyed Boy.
A look back through the BBC’s archives at the work of an artist to whom nothing compares - the acclaimed, unique and always controversial Sinéad O’Connor.
A celebration of the best BBC performances from soul legend Diana Ross, featuring such hits as Baby Love, I’m Still Waiting and Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
A trip into the BBC’s archives to look back on Terry Hall’s extraordinary, genre-hopping career. Featuring performances of hits including Gangsters, Thinking of You and Sense.
Ella Fitzgerald was one of the best-loved, most respected and successful stars of the 20th century – often referred to as the ‘First Lady of Song’ and noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction and improvisational abilities, she recorded more than 200 albums and over 2000 songs.
As ABBA mark 50 years since winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, it's time to take another voyage into the archives for more of the Swedish supergroup’s best BBC moments.
A look through the BBC archives for moment after moment from the 'empress of soul’, Gladys Knight, including songs like Baby Don't Change Your Mind and The Way We Were.
Bonnie Greer looks back on the extraordinary life of one of literature’s most significant and inspirational figures, Maya Angelou, through an exploration of the BBC archives.
This collection of Bon Jovi performances at the BBC celebrates the band’s 40th anniversary and serves as a reminder of how they became one of the biggest rock bands of the 20th century.
A collection of hits from one of pop music’s greatest geniuses - Prince, aka ‘The Artist Formerly Known as Prince’, aka ‘the Unpronounceable Symbol’, and more.
Craig Charles leads us through some of Sarah Vaughan's best-known tracks recorded for the BBC, featuring her sassy interpretations of classic songs, including Send in the Clowns.
An unpredictable but joyous collection of weather-related chart hits, courtesy of two of the BBC’s most formidable forecasters - Carol Kirkwood and Tomasz Schafernaker.
A selection of Girls Aloud's greatest musical moments on the BBC, from their chart-topping debut Sound of the Underground to Something Kind of Ooooh, Can’t Speak French, Call the Shots and beyond.
A collection of performances from the BBC’s archives from Sting's solo career and from the Police, including Roxanne, Fragile, Message in a Bottle, Brand New Day and Every Breath You Take.
Katherine Ryan presents a celebration of one of the biggest comedy talents to ever appear on our small screens – the razor-sharp-tongued first lady of laughter, Joan Rivers.
An epic collection of over 40 tracks featuring bona fide classics from some of the biggest, best and most enduring artists of all time, including Gloria Gaynor, Destiny's Child and Survivor.
A collection of performances from the BBC Archives that highlight the wit and intelligence of Kirsty MacColl, including such hits as A New England and Days.
As broadcasting legend Angela Rippon celebrates her 80th birthday, we join her for a special programme looking at her career as one of British broadcasting’s most familiar faces.
Expect the unexpected on this journey through the BBC’s magical music archives, a Top 40 with a difference.
Joan Bakewell looks back at her extraordinary career at the BBC, sharing some of her most memorable moments and discussing how, at 91, she's not ready to stop talking yet.
Some of the saddest but finest songs from the BBC’s music archives, with hits from Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, The Smiths, Randy Crawford, Coldplay, Dolly Parton Eric Clapton and Eric Carmen.
