This Week’s Music for Grown-Ups on Radio/TV

Your new listening/watching guide… thanks to compiler Mike Ollier


RADIO For Grown-Ups

Monday BBCR2 22.30 ~ 11.30
* Humphrey Lyttleton
Trad, bebop and contemporary jazz

Monday BBCR3 23.15 ~ 01.00
* Andy Kershaw
Andy features the desert blues of the outstanding Tinariwen

Wednesday BBCR2 23.00 ~ 23.30
* Classic Singles
4th of a six-parter profiling great 45s… The Stones' Brown Sugar.

Thursday BBCR6 22.00
* George Lamb
A Blondie concert from 1979 is featured.

Thursday BBCR3 23.15 ~ 01.00
* Late Junction
Featuring Steve Knightly (of Show Of Hands) promoting his solo album

Friday BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan
As usual, the BBC website have no details on what is on this week ~ but it doesn't matter, it'll be great.

Friday BBCR2 21.15 ~ 21.30
* Chronicles, Volume One: 1961
Sean Penn reads from THE book. 6 of 8

Friday BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library
Clarinettist George Lewis who was instrumental (see what I did there?) in the trad jazz revival from post-war to the swinging 60s.

Friday BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On Three
Violinist Jon Rose


The BBC website has exclusive footage of a Crowded House acoustic session and The Arcade Fire at Maida Vale studios.


TV For Grown-Ups

Monday More4 22.300 ~ 00.45
* End Of The Century: The Story Of The Ramones
Onetwothreefour.. a feature-length rockumentary (if you will) from 2003 about the punk-rock pioneers. Gabba gabba hey.

Wednesday BBC1 10.35 ~ 11.35
* Imagine: Damon & Jamie's Excellent Adventure
The Beeb's Yentob-fronted arts strand focuses on Damon Albarn's Mandarin opera, Monkey.

Thursday BBC4 19.30 ~ 20.10
* Rock Goes To College: Boomtown Rats
A live gig from 1978. Not a lot to add to that, really.

Friday BBC4 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Glastonbury 2007
More Glasters highlights

Friday BBC3 ~ all weekend, check times
* T In The Park
It's on the yoof channel so probably not a lot to salivate over here though it may be worth checking in to see if Amy has sobered up from Glasters (doubt it though) and to see if Lily can hold off the rain with her enjoyable reggae-lite pop. Warning: this programme will contain Razorlight.

Saturday BBC2 12.30 ~ 8.20
Live Earth
Al Gore, promoter, introduces… urgh, have you seen the playlist? Surely all the oil that went into the plastics to make Pussycat Dolls, David 'whine' Gray, Damien 'whinge' Rice, Snooze Patrol, Genesis (run for the hills) and John 'not a' Legend could have been diverted to something more worthy?

Warning, this programme will contain Razorlight who have environmentally made the trip down from T In The Park. Redeemed only by The Beastie Boys. It's all hosted by, gulp, Graham Norton. Actually, it could be worse, Russell Brand is introducing on R2. I'm glad I'll be in France.

Bit weak for music on TV this week ~ a compensation of sorts is that a new The Thick Of It, Armando Iannuci's brilliant political spoof/satire is on this week. There are timely repeats of the brilliant Xmas special… worth watching for the breathtakingly funny rant concerning Al Jolson and iPods from Malcolm's second-in-command, Jamie.