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Midge Ure and Kim Appleby explore London's new romantic movement, travel to Coventry to investigate the rise of ska and speak to some of Sheffield's electronic music pioneers.

Two 80s icons explore the distinct sounds that came out of different parts of Britain and Ireland in one of pop's golden decades.

Midge Ure, lead singer of Ultravox and one of the men behind Band Aid, and Kim Appleby, who had a string of hits with her sister Mel in the Stock, Aitken and Waterman-produced band Mel and Kim, go on a journey back in time to the 80s to figure out why certain cities produced their own diverse tunes.

It's a fascinating tale. Emerging from the ashes of punk, British and Irish music ripped up the pop rule book in the 80s and topped the charts worldwide. But there was no definitive 'British' pop sound. Innovative chart-toppers were being produced by artists hailing from all over the UK and Ireland.

In this first episode, Midge Ure and Kim Appleby explore London's new romantic movement, travel to Coventry to investigate the rise of ska and speak to some of Sheffield's electronic music pioneers.

The show features interviews with key figures, like Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet, Marco Pirroni from Adam and the Ants, Pauline Black from The Selecter, Martin Ware and Glenn Gregory from Heaven 17 and 'super-producer' Trevor Horn. But of course the star is the music - and this episode includes some of the best tunes, videos and performances from the early part of this marvellous musical decade.

59 minutes

Last on

Sun 21 Mar 2021 00:35
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Music Played

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

  • 00:01

    Gary Numan

    Cars

  • 00:02

    Gary Numan

    Cars

  • 00:02

    Sex Pistols

    Anarchy In The UK

  • 00:02

    ³§â€ÍÖ³æ±è°ù±ð²õ²õ

    Theme From S-Express

  • 00:04

    Mel & Kim

    Respectable

  • 00:04

    Depeche Mode

    New Life

  • 00:04

    Mel & Kim

    Respectable

  • 00:05

    Mel & Kim

    We Aint Ever Gonna Be Respectable

  • 00:06

    Kraftwerk

    The Model

  • 00:06

    Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

    Electricity

  • 00:07

    Roxy Music

    Ladytron

  • 00:08

    Talking Heads

    Once In A Lifetime

  • 00:11

    Talking Heads

    Once In A Lifetime

  • 00:11

    Burundi Black

    Burundi Black

  • 00:11

    Adam and the Ants

    Dog Eat Dog (Album Version)

  • 00:13

    Spandau Ballet

    To Cut A Long Story Short

  • 00:14

    Duran Duran

    Girls On Film

  • 00:15

    Adam and the Ants

    Stand And Deliver

  • 00:15

    Spandau Ballet

    Highly Strung

  • 00:16

    Duran Duran

    Rio

  • 00:16

    Duran Duran

    Girls On Film

  • 00:16

    Duran Duran

    Wild Boys

  • 00:17

    Spandau Ballet

    True

  • 00:17

    Duran Duran

    Wild Boys

  • 00:18

    Spandau Ballet

    True

  • 00:18

    Kim Wilde

    Kids In America

  • 00:19

    Kim Wilde

    Kids In America

  • 00:33

    The Special A.K.A.

    Gangsters

  • 00:35

    The Selecter

    Three Minute Hero

  • 00:38

    The Specials

    Ghost Town

  • 00:41

    Madness

    It Must Be Love

  • 00:43

    Byron Lee

    Jamaica Ska

    Performer: Byron Lee and Dragonaires.
  • 00:44

    Visage

    Fade To Grey

  • 00:44

    Visage

    Fade To Grey

  • 00:45

    Tubeway Army

    Replicas

  • 00:47

    The Human League

    19 Being Boiled

  • 00:21

    Kim Wilde

    Kids In America

  • 00:22

    Soft Cell

    Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

  • 00:24

    Toots & The Maytals

    54-46 Was My Number

  • 00:26

    The Pioneers

    Longshot Kick De Bucket

  • 00:28

    The Upsetters

    Return Of Django

  • 00:27

    Toots & The Maytals

    Fifty Four Forty Six Was My Number

  • 00:27

    The Ethiopians

    Train To Skaville

  • 00:29

    Prince Buster’s All Stars

    Al Capone

  • 00:31

    The Specials

    (Dawning of a) New Era

  • 00:32

    Dandy Livingstone

    Rudy A Message to You

  • 00:49

    Buggles

    Video Killed The Radio Star

  • 00:51

    Donna Summer

    I Feel Love

  • 00:50

    The Human League

    Rock 'n' Roll

  • 00:52

    Heaven 17

    (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang

  • 00:53

    ABC

    Poison Arrow

  • 00:54

    ABC

    The Look Of Love

  • 00:54

    Heaven 17

    (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang

  • 00:55

    The Human League

    Don't You Want Me

  • 00:56

    ABC

    The Look Of Love

  • 00:57

    Heaven 17

    Temptation

  • 00:59

    Heaven 17

    Temptation

Credits

Presenter Kim Appleby
Presenter Midge Ure
Production Company True North Productions

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