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When Motown Came to Britain

The story of how a small group of dedicated British music fans paved the way for the first Motown tour of Britain, changing the country’s popular culture forever.

In 1965, some of Motown’s brightest new stars, including The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, arrived in London for a tour that would change the face of British music history.

At that time, pop music fans in the UK were unlikely to hear black music on mainstream radio, and names like Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson still meant nothing to most British people.

But thousands of miles away from where these exciting new sounds were being recorded in Detroit, a small group of dedicated British music fans had stumbled across the songs and began championing its artists.

This is the story of how, by doing so, they paved the way for the first Motown tour of Britain, changing the country’s popular culture forever and helping propel the Motown artists to international stardom.

59 minutes

Last on

New Year's Day 2023 22:00
±«Óãtv Two

Clips

See all clips from When Motown Came to Britain (3)

Music Played

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

  • 00:00

    Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

    Dancing In The Street

  • 00:05

    Marv Johnson

    Come to Me

  • 00:07

    The Marvelettes

    Please Mr. Postman

  • 00:10

    Cliff Richard With The Shadows

    A Matter of Moments (From The Elstree Distributors Film "Wonderful Life"

  • 00:11

    Marvin Gaye

    Pride And Joy

  • 00:11

    The Miracles

    Mickey's Monkey

  • 00:14

    Manfred Mann

    Hubble Bubble (Toil And Trouble)

  • 00:14

    Stevie Wonder

    I Call It Pretty Music, But The Old People Call It The Blues

  • 00:16

    Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

    Heat Wave

  • 00:17

    Mary Wells

    My Guy

  • 00:22

    Earl Van Dyke

    Soul Stomp

  • 00:26

    Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

    Nowhere To Run

  • 00:29

    Stevie Wonder

    Kiss Me Baby

  • 00:32

    The Temptations

    It's Growing

  • 00:33

    Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

    Shop Around 

  • 00:36

    Georgie Fame, The Blue Flames

    Yeh Yeh

  • 00:39

    Smokey Robinson

    Going to a Go Go

  • 00:39

    Stevie Wonder

    High Heel Sneakers

  • 00:41

    Stevie Wonder

    Uptight (Everything's Alright)

  • 00:42

    The Beatles

    Money (That's What I Want) (2009 Stereo Remaster)

  • 00:44

    The Supremes

    A Hard Day's Night

  • 00:48

    The Supremes

    Stop In The Name Of Love

  • 00:54

    Marvin Gaye

    I Heard It Through The Grapevine

  • 00:55

    Stevie Wonder

    Superstition

Credits

Production Manager Katie Neilan
Production Manager Anna Selby
Director Kate Siney
Producer Kate Siney
Executive Producer Mark Robinson
Production Company Wise Owl Films

Broadcast

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