Acting
A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme. The show is infamous for its dry, sarcastic humour and scathing, provocative attacks on the pop industry.
V Graham Norton was an entertainment programme shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom starring Graham Norton, broadcast every weeknight as a successor to the weekly So Graham Norton. It aired from 6 May 2002 to 26 December 2003. It featured celebrities who chatted with Graham and became involved in studio games which were usually laden with sexual innuendo. The studio games were later featured on the clip show Nortonland in 2007 on digital channel Challenge. The show featured a 'webcam', a roving television camera which was randomly situated in a different place in the UK each week and which followed Graham's instructions and allowed him to interact with the public live. The feature was made technically possible using digital microwave link technology provided by Rear Window Television with the 'spontaneous' webcam feature always produced as a full quality Outside Broadcast, before being made to look like a traditional webcam at the studios.
Comedian and former Tonight Show host Jay Leno shares his passion for motor vehicles. Jay and guests drive cars, motorbikes and anything that moves all while meeting new people and exploring the rich motoring history of America and beyond.
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert is an American television music variety show that ran during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Don Kirshner and syndicated to television stations. It premiered on September 27, 1973, with a performance by The Rolling Stones; its last episode was in 1981.
The story of the big names that have shaped the musical genres, plus an occasional stopgap for the new rock 'n' roll - comedy.
A career retrospective celebrating the timeless music of one of the world's greatest singer–Dusty Springfield. For the first time, Dusty contributes to her own intriguing story with plenty of outrageous assistance from hosts Jennifer Sanders and Dawn French.
On his twenty-first birthday, the Prince goes on a quest that takes him across the land searching for the one woman that gets him sexually excited, Princess Sleeping Beauty.
Inspired by the music and subjects featured in the series “Godfather of Harlem,” this documentary series brings alive the dramatic true story of Harlem and its music during the 1960s, and connects that history to our present moment.
A primetime TV concert special celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Theater with Motown legends.
Soul music has conquered the world in the last 50 years - growing from the raw, electric rhythms of the black underclass, it is now a billion dollar industry with R&B and hip hop dominating the world's charts. It's been the soundtrack to some of the most extraordinary social, political and cultural shifts. Together with the civil rights movement, it has challenged white hegemony, helped break down segregation and encouraged the fight for racial equality. This new six-part series, made by the BBC team who produced the critically-acclaimed Lost Highway, Walk On By and Dancing In The Street series, charts the evolution of soul music - with a fascinating combination of rare archive footage and over 100 contemporary interviews. The movers and shakers from the world of soul – such as James Brown, Mary J Blige, Beyoncé and Martha Reeves, - plus some often overlooked talent, track the music that shaped our lives.
Archival music performances and contemporary interviews cover some of the history of Motown Records and Productions.
A celebration of the work of songwriter Lamont Dozier, who passed away in 2022, featuring a rich selection from the BBC's archive of performances of his work from over the decades. This collection features Dozier’s best loved and most recognisable hits, performed by the artists like Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Four Tops, and Martha and the Vandellas, whom he helped turn into international stars, as well as those who have kept his work alive and relevant to this day including Phil Collins, Kylie Minogue, Rod Stewart and Rag'n'Bone Man.
Television special taped before a live studio audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on March 25, 1983, and broadcast on NBC on May 16. Highlights include Michael Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean", a Temptations/Four Tops "battle of the bands", Marvin Gaye's inspired speech about black music history and his memorable performance of "What's Going On", and a Jackson 5 reunion. This performance is noted for Michael Jackson debuting his signature moonwalk.
Dick Clark reviews popular music of the '50s and '60s.
To mark the 50-year anniversary of Motown in 2009, a compilation of some of the iconic record label's greatest names filmed live in the BBC studios. Visitors from Hitsville USA over the years have included Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops and The Jackson 5.
Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey co-host NBC's "A Motown Christmas"
The Emmy Award-winning Band of Gold: The Invictus Story is an in-depth biographical profile of the legendary songwriting team of Edward Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland (HDH).
For over 85 years, steamship Ste. Claire transported generations of Detroiters to Boblo Island, an amusement park nestled in the waters between the US and Canada. When the vessel comes under threat of ruin, a doctor, psychic and amusement park fanatic unite to save their beloved steamship from the scrapyard. Interweaving local lore and mythology, "Boblo Boats" explores the whitewashed history of amusement parks and one crew's crusade to bring back the memories.
Mother Popcorn - James Brown What's The Use Of Breaking Up - Jerry Butler MacArthur Park - Della Reese Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday - Stevie Wonder Nowhere To Run - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas Nothing But Heartaches - The Supremes Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye Goin' To A Go-Go - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Don't Mess With Bill - The Marvelettes Something About You - The Four Tops River Deep, Mountain High - Mary Wilson It's a Man's Man's Man's World - James Brown Everyday People - Sly & Family Stone
