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The Alternative 80s
Series exploring British indie music. This episode looks back to a time when the independent labels transformed from cottage industries into real businesses.
Episode two explores a time when the independent labels transformed from cottage industries into real businesses that could compete with the majors. It examines the evolution of 'indie' - a guitar-based genre of music with its own sound, fashion and culture.
Independent record labels provided a platform for some of Britain's most groundbreaking artists at this time, including The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Smiths, who would burst onto the scene in 1983 staging a mainstream intervention and starting a small revolution.
In the midst of shiny 80s sounds and shoulder-padded fashion, indie was anti-image and anti-flamboyance. Through many of the indie bands in this period, everyday life was repackaged in melody and poetic lyrics. It's not hard to see why a generation of youth, disaffected from the times they were living in, sought refuge in the poetic haze of early indie. The bands were accessible too, and aspiring music journalists could meet their favourite indie stars at the small and intimate gigs where they performed.
The programme concludes in the late 80s with the Madchester scene, as alternative music crossed over into the mainstream chart. This breakthrough was inspired by a merging of indie rock and the burgeoning acid house culture, and it was led by a new crop of bands such as The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.
The series is presented by ±«Óãtv Radio 6 Music's Mark Radcliffe and this episode features exclusive interviews with performers including James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers, New Order's Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, Shaun Ryder, Suede's Bernard Butler, The KLF's Bill Drummond, Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian, Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde, The Jesus and Mary Chain's Jim Reid, and Talulah Gosh's Amelia Fletcher.
It also includes interviews with a number of influential music industry figures such as former Happy Mondays manager Nathan McGough, Pete Waterman, Factory Records' designer Peter Saville and journalists Alexis Petridis and Sian Pattenden.
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Clips
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“It was such a private, elite club…â€
Duration: 01:53
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'Here in Manchester there was a club called the Hacienda...'
Duration: 02:19
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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Joy Division
Disorder
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Kajagoogoo
Big Apple
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Dollar
Give Me Back My Heart
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Black Lace
Superman
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Lionel Richie & Jennifer Nettles
Hello
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The Smiths
This Charming Man
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The Smiths
William, It Was Really Nothing
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The Smiths
What Difference Does It Make?
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Dire Straits
Money For Nothing
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Cocteau Twins
Lorelei
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Cocteau Twins
Aikea Guinea
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Cocteau Twins
The Spangle Maker
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The Jesus and Mary Chain
Never Understand
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New Order
Blue Monday
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Shop Assistants
All Day Long
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Half Man Half Biscuit
Trumpton Riots
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The Pastels
Comin' Through
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Razorcuts
Sorry to Embarrass
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Talulah Gosh
Talulah Gosh
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The Mighty Lemon Drops
Inside Out
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The Jesus and Mary Chain
April Skies
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Aztec Camera
The Garden Party
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The Jesus and Mary Chain
Some Candy
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Rick Astley
Never Gonna Give You Up
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Kylie Minogue
I Should Be So Lucky
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Mel & Kim
Respectable
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The KLF
Doctorin' The Tardis
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The KLF
Last Train to Transcentral
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00:06
The Smiths
William, It Was Really Nothing
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00:07
Lionel Richie & Jennifer Nettles
Hello
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00:07
The Smiths
This Charming Man
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00:10
Echo & the Bunnymen
The Killing Moon
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00:10
Dire Straits
Money For Nothing
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00:13
The Smiths
What Difference Does It Make?
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00:20
New Order
Age Of Consent
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00:42
Rick Astley
Never Gonna Give You Up
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00:48
The KLF
3 A.M. Eternal
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00:53
Happy Mondays
Moving In With
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00:58
Happy Mondays
Step On
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00:58
Blur
There's No Other Way
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00:58
The Stone Roses
Fools Gold
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Producer | James Hale |
Series Producer | Siobhan Logue |
Production Company | Telesgop |
Broadcasts
- Fri 9 Oct 2015 22:00
- Sat 10 Oct 2015 02:00
- Sun 11 Oct 2015 00:30
- Fri 9 Sep 2016 22:30
- Sat 10 Sep 2016 01:30
- Fri 21 Apr 2017 23:00
- Sat 22 Apr 2017 02:45
- Sat 31 Mar 2018 01:30
Featured in...
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±«Óãtv Music playlist: The Story of Indie
Find all the music from The Story of Indie with our playlist.