Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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James Naughtie

In this major BBC Radio 4 series, James Naughtie uncovers the roots of our music and reveals the soundtrack to our own history. 
 
The history of classical music is inextricably linked with the places it was written, its purpose and its patrons, as well as with politics, war and social change. From the earliest music of the monasteries, to the court and church music of the Renaissance and Reformation and beyond, composers have always changed with the times. 
 
In these programmes, James Naughtie reveals how the chance happenings of history built a classical tradition that tells a glittering and inspiring story. His journey takes him from early beginnings to the present day, where he examines the current state of classical music. 
 
This epic and important series features extracts from the music itself, as well as the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Alison Carney, Laurence Fox and Simon Russell Beale alongside James Naughtie’s own.

The Making of Music

The complete landmark BBC Radio 4 series

Alex Horne

Alex Horne and his special guests bring together stand-up and live music in a free-wheeling and spontaneous combination. 
 
 Each episode sees Alex, his band and guests explore a different topic. These range from love to technology, the seasons to the body. 
 In this collection of the complete series 1-3 Alex is joined by comedians including David O’Doherty, Isy Suttie, Kevin Eldon, Phill Jupitus, Matt Lucas, Doc Brown, Sara Pascoe, James Acaster, Marcus Brigstocke and Adam Buxton. 
 They are also joined by Al Murray and Tim Key in their Edinburgh Special from 2012, and the band kick off celebrations in style with a New Year Special. 
 Come join Alex and his band Joe Auckland (trumpet and banjo), Mark Brown (sax and clarinet), Will Collier (double bass and guitar), Ben Reynolds (drums and percussion) and Joe Stilgoe and Ed Sheldrake (piano and keyboard) for some much needed joy and jolity.

Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section: The Complete Series 1-3

The BBC Radio 4 comedy show

Jeremy Summerly

Jeremy Summerly tells the story of the Christmas Carol in England in these illuminating and delightful programmes. 
 
The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when singers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. But the journey it has taken is unique in music history. Here Jeremy Summerly follows that journey from medieval times to the present day. It's a story that sees the carol veer between the sacred and secular, in a tradition that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the church. 
 
The carol is an expression of seasonal joy in the coldest, hardest time of the year. However inefficient the heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth and positive nostalgia. Many favourite carols were actually written for children to sing, including Once in Royal David's City. It famously leads off the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, a service broadcast by the BBC from King’s College, Cambridge since the 1920s, commanding a worldwide audience of several million. But has it left an imbalance in the appreciation of our caroling tradition? And why do carols remain popular and familiar to so many? 
 
Illustrated with examples of carols obscure and familiar through the ages, and taking in numerous locations around Britain along the way, this is a history of the carol to bring comfort and joy.

A Cause for Caroling

A celebration of the Christmas carol in Britain

Roald Dahl

Two new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of Roald Dahl's gripping autobiographical stories. 
 
These two compelling adaptations, based on Roald Dahl’s real-life tales of his of his boyhood and youthful overseas adventures, celebrate his remarkable life and commemorate his genius. 
 
Boy Dahl’s childhood was one of excitement, wonder, terror and sadness. From his fascination with the local sweetshop to the Great Mouse Plot, the horrors of boarding school, the obnoxious Boazers and his time as a chocolate taster for Cadbury’s, we hear of the extraordinary events that shaped him and inspired his bestselling books. 
 
Going Solo Setting sail for Africa on the SS Montola, aged 22, Dahl is plunged into an unfamiliar world of eccentric colonial characters. In Tanzania he enjoys life on the savannah, encountering lions and deadly mambas – but when World War II breaks out, and he must round up the Germans in Dar es Salaam, he experiences the brutality of war. As he leaves the bush behind and takes to the skies as an RAF pilot, many thrilling adventures and dangerous missions will ensue before he finally makes his way back home... 
 
Starring Patrick Malahide as the voice of Dahl, these colourful dramatisations will carry you away into worlds every bit as amazing, strange and memorable as the ones in his acclaimed fiction. Duration: 3 hours approx

Boy & Going Solo

BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas

Joan Bakewell

Humphrey Carpenter

Francine Stock

Matthew Parris

Distinguished guests nominate a great musician for BBC Radio 4's Great Lives 
 
For 20 years, Great Lives has been a linchpin of Radio 4, presented by Joan Bakewell, Humphrey Carpenter, Francine Stock and Matthew Parris. In it, a household name is invited to choose one of their heroes to discuss with the presenter and a guest expert. But will their chosen person live up to intensive scrutiny, and merit the description of having led a great life? 
 
In this special collection, celebrating the programme's 20th anniversary, the very best episodes featuring musicians' lives are collected together. From Marvin Gaye to Lonnie Donegan, here are examples both classical and contemporary. Simon Armitage expresses his admiration for on Ian Curtis, Phill Jupitus nominates Joe Strummer, pianist Joanna MacGregor selects Nina Simone, and former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo champions Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Whether it's Hanif Kureishi on David Bowie or Stuart Maconie on Ralph Vaughan Williams or the lives of the proponents are every bit as interesting as those of their nominees. 
 
Fascinating and engaging, these captivating episodes follow the ups and downs of some of the most iconic musicians of all time, separating the truth from the myths to reveal just what made them so great, and why they continue to influence and inspire us today. 
 
 
List of episodes and date of first broadcast on BBC Radio 4: 
 
 Louis Armstrong 12.7.02 
 Sergei Rachmaninoff 11.4.03 
 Pyotr Tchaikovsky 16.4.04 
 Marvin Gaye 5.11.04 
 Sir Edward Elgar 19.11.04 
 Mozart 19.4.05 
 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor 21.10.05 
 Ella Fitzgerald 2.5.06 
 Nina Simone 19.9.06 
 Joe Strummer 3.4.07 
 Billie Holiday 1.5.07 
 John Cage 04.09.07 
 Paul Robeson 29.4.08 
 Ian Curtis 6.5.08 
 Alan Freed 26.8.08 
 Pavarotti 9.12.08 
 Thomas Beecham 21.04.09 
 John Coltrane 12.05.09 
 Miriam Makeba 15.09.09 
 Agustin Barrios Mangore 26.1.10 
 Malcolm McLaren 07.12.10 
 Kathleen Ferrier 26.04.11 
 Kirtsy McColl 09.08.11 
 Lonnie Donegan 03.1.12 
 Ralph Vaughan Williams 25.12.12 
 Fela Kuti 13.8.13 
 Jacqueline Du Pre 1.04.14 
 Dinu Lipatti 20.12.16 
 Captain Beefheart 03.04.18 
 Miles Davis 17.04.18 
 David Bowie 31.07.18 
 Ferruccio Busoni 30.04.19 
 Brian Epstein 14.5.19 
 Herbert Howells 06.08.19 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
Presented by Humphrey Carpenter, Matthew Parris and Francine Stock 
Produced by Mark Smalley, Miles Warde, Perminder Khatkar, Peter Everett, Isobel Eaton, Jolyon Jenkins, John Byrne, Maggie Ayre, Christine Hall, Julia Johnson, Mark Smalley, Chris Ledgard, Beth O'Dea, Lucy Lunt, Eliza Lomas, Melvin Rickarby

Great Musicians' Lives

A BBC biography collection

John Wilson

Bill Morris

Marcus du Sautoy

Tasmin Little

Lauren Child

Gary Rhodes

Digby Jones

Rachel Portman

Michael Portillo

Andrea Levy

Major public figures go back to their beginnings and uncover where they really started 
 
John Wilson (acclaimed arts and culture reporter and journalist, and presenter of Front Row, Newsnight Review and Pick of the Week) meets up with a variety of public figures from such diverse fields as food, mathematics, politics, writing and music, and takes them back to the influential schools, teachers, and early workplaces they may have forgotten, but which have not forgotten them. 
 
His guests include the first Black trade union leader, Lord Bill Morris; classical violinist Tasmin Little; the late restaurateur and television chef, Gary Rhodes; Lord Digby Jones, former Minister of State for Trade and Investment; the late Women's Prize and Costa Book Award winning author, Andrea Levy; veteran journalist, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo, and many more. The locations too are widely varied and richly formative - from car component manufacturers and specialist vocational institutions to grammar and private schools. 
 
Top of the Class is a fascinating look beneath the usual façade of a public figure, perfect for anyone wanting to see the human face behind a successful life story, as well as the teachers, mentors, best friends and rivals who helped them grow into the person they became. 
 
Episode guide 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
Bill Morris 28 July 2008 
Tasmin Little 4 August 2008 
Lauren Child 11 August 2008 
Gary Rhodes 18 August 2008 
Marcus du Sautoy 28 December 2010 
Rachel Portman 18 January 2011 
Lord Digby Jones 25 January 2011 
Michael Portillo 19 July 2011 
Andrea Levy 26 July 2011 
 
Production credits 
Presented by John Wilson 
Produced by Sarah Taylor 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Top of the Class

The complete BBC Radio 4 series

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