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The Alternative 80s

Episode 2 of 3

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 鲍鱼tv 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.

1 hour

Last on

Sat 31 Mar 2018 01:30
鲍鱼tv Four

More episodes

Previous

The DIY Movement

Next

Into the Mainstream

See all episodes from Music for Misfits: The Story of Indie

Clips

See all clips from The Alternative 80s (2)

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • Joy Division

    Disorder

  • Kajagoogoo

    Big Apple

  • Dollar

    Give Me Back My Heart

  • Black Lace

    Superman

  • Lionel Richie & Jennifer Nettles

    Hello

  • The Smiths

    This Charming Man

  • The Smiths

    William, It Was Really Nothing

  • The Smiths

    What Difference Does It Make?

  • Dire Straits

    Money For Nothing

  • Cocteau Twins

    Lorelei

  • Cocteau Twins

    Aikea Guinea

  • Cocteau Twins

    The Spangle Maker

  • The Jesus and Mary Chain

    Never Understand

  • New Order

    Blue Monday

  • Shop Assistants

    All Day Long

  • Half Man Half Biscuit

    Trumpton Riots

  • The Pastels

    Comin' Through

  • Razorcuts

    Sorry to Embarrass

  • Talulah Gosh

    Talulah Gosh

  • The Mighty Lemon Drops

    Inside Out

  • The Jesus and Mary Chain

    April Skies

  • Aztec Camera

    The Garden Party

  • The Jesus and Mary Chain

    Some Candy

  • Rick Astley

    Never Gonna Give You Up

  • Kylie Minogue

    I Should Be So Lucky

  • Mel & Kim

    Respectable

  • The KLF

    Doctorin' The Tardis

  • The KLF

    Last Train to Transcentral

  • 00:06

    The Smiths

    William, It Was Really Nothing

  • 00:07

    Lionel Richie & Jennifer Nettles

    Hello

  • 00:07

    The Smiths

    This Charming Man

  • 00:10

    Echo & the Bunnymen

    The Killing Moon

  • 00:10

    Dire Straits

    Money For Nothing

  • 00:13

    The Smiths

    What Difference Does It Make?

  • 00:20

    New Order

    Age Of Consent

  • 00:42

    Rick Astley

    Never Gonna Give You Up

  • 00:48

    The KLF

    3 A.M. Eternal

  • 00:53

    Happy Mondays

    Moving In With

  • 00:58

    Happy Mondays

    Step On

  • 00:58

    Blur

    There's No Other Way

  • 00:58

    The Stone Roses

    Fools Gold

Credits

Producer James Hale
Series Producer Siobhan Logue
Production Company Telesgop

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