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BBC Radio 4


Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe take us on a musical journey of discovery, exploring the web of connections between tracks across the breadth of all musical styles, from pop, rock, reggae and hip-hop to classical, jazz, folk and country.


Add to Playlist

Pianist Keelan Carew and saxophonist Emma Rawicz join Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe as they add five more tracks, taking us from an unforgettable Nat King Cole classic to a sunken cathedral, a famous submarine, and the Austrian Alps. 

Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Unforgettable by Natalie Cole & Nat King Cole
Señor Mouse by Gary Burton and Chick Corea
La Cathédrale Engloutie by Debussy 
Stingray by Barry Gray 
The Lonely Goatherd by Julie Andrews

Other music in this episode

Particles of Change by Emma Rawicz
Ya Taali’een el-Jabal by Kronos Quartet ft Rim Banna
Unforgettable by Nat King Cole
Memories of You by Louis Armstrong
Under the Sea (from The Little Mermaid) by Samuel E Wright
Theme from Thunderbirds by Barry Gray

Emma Rawicz and Keelan Carew enjoy the vibes

Flautist and composer Claire Wickes and composer Vince Pope join Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe to add five more tracks, taking us from some traditional Irish violins to San Francisco's Kronos Quartet, stopping along the way for some musical Greek mythology.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Runaway by The Corrs
La flûte de Pan by Claude Debussy
Cassandra by Florence and the Machine
Stay With Me by Clint Mansell & Kronos Quartet
Ya Taali’een el-Jabal by Kronos Quartet ft Rim Banna

Other music in this episode

A Girl Like You by Edwyn Collins
True Detective: Night Country - Caribou (ft. Tanya Tagaq) by Vince Pope 
Posee un Corazón by Leonor Dely
Oyé Oyé (Lumbalú) by Leonor Dely & Millero Congo 
Venus by Bananarama
Midas Touch by Midnight Star
Cassandra by ABBA
Cassandra by Taylor Swift
Cole's First Dream from the 12 Monkeys soundtrack by Paul Buckmaster
Theme from Minority Report by John Williams
Lux Aeterna from the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack by Paul Buckmaster

Claire Wickes and Vince Pope and plenty of strings

Bassoonist Amy Harman and bandleader, jazz man and multi-instrumentalist Peter Long join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye to add five more tracks, a journey which starts with a virtual cartoon band and ends up in Colombia, stopping off at Gotham City, Knebworth and the New York jazz scene in 1946.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz
Main Title Theme from Batman by Danny Elfman
Another One Bites the Dust (live) by Queen
One Bass Hit by Dizzy Gillespie 
Posee un Corazón by Leonor Dely

Other music in this episode

Steppin' Out by Joe Jackson
Animal Crackers by Melanie
The Laughing Policeman by Charles Penrose
Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks
Main Title Theme from Superman by John Williams
Main Title Theme from Beetlejuice by Danny Elfman
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Bernard Herrmann
Main Title Theme from The Simpsons by Danny Elfman
Another One Bites the Dust by Queen

Amy Harman and Peter Long cue the bass

Pianist and silent film music specialist Neil Brand and trumpeter Imogen Whitehead join Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe to add the first five tracks of the new series, taking us from an energetic bee to Woodstock via The Netherlands and Bristol.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Hocus Pocus by Focus 
Teardrop by Massive Attack
Glory to God in the Highest by George Frideric Handel 
Animal Crackers by Melanie 

Other music in this episode

On my Radio by The Selecter
Flight of the Bumblebee performed by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Flight of the Bumblebee performed by Wynton Marsalis
Hocus Pocus by Focus, Live from The Rainbow
Unfinished Symphony by Massive Attack
Sometimes I Cry by Les McCann
We Will Rock You by Queen
Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) by Melanie

Neil Brand and Imogen Whitehead launch a new series

How did the greats become the greats? And what did it cost them to get there? Legend is the award-winning music biography series from BBC Radio 4 exploring the lives of pioneering artists who shaped modern music.

In Legend: The Bruce Springsteen Story, we discover how a scrawny, long-haired introvert from New Jersey became the iconic, muscular – and oft-misunderstood – rock star of the 1980s, and ultimately the eloquent elder statesmen he is now. What does his story reveal about America today?

Across the series, Laura Barton takes a front-row seat at five key gigs which illuminate a different side of The Boss. She travels to Asbury Park in 1971 to hear how teenage Bruce began to learn his magic trick at The Upstage Club. She hears about his nerve-wracking London Hammersmith gig in 1975, the electrifying final night of the Born in the U.S.A tour in 1985, and his emotional homecoming show at St Rose of Lima school gym in 1996. Lastly, Laura heads to Milan to witness the final concert of his 2025 Land of Hope and Dreams tour.

Featuring Bruce in his own words across the decades, alongside voices from the E Street Band, devoted fans, biographers, and critics.

Listen first on BBC Sounds.

A BBC Audio Production for BBC Radio 4
Producer: Eliza Lomas
Sound Design and Original Music: Hannis Brown
Series Developer: Mair Bosworth
Production Coordinator: Stuart Laws
Additional Research: Sarah Goodman
Series Editor: Emma Harding
Commissioning Editors: Daniel Clarke and Matthew Dodd
Assistant Commissioner Podcasts: Will Drysdale

Introducing - Legend: The Bruce Springsteen Story

Musician and songwriter Joe Stilgoe and Oscar-winning composer and arranger Anne Dudley join Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe to add the final five tracks of the series, taking us from calypso to K-pop via Beethoven and Brubeck.

Add to Playlist returns on 14 November.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Calypso Queen by Calypso Rose
Concrete and Clay by Unit 4 + 2
Piano Concerto in G Major: III (Rondo) by Beethoven 
Blue Rondo à la Turk by Dave Brubeck
Gangnam Style by Psy

Other music in this episode:

Disco Inferno by The Trammps
WHO AM I by Berwyn
Abatina by Calypso Rose
I Love to Love by Tina Charles
Rock the Boat by Hues Corporation
Concrete and Clay by Eddie Rambeau
Take Five by Dave Brubeck

Anne Dudley and Joe Stilgoe round off the series

Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and musician and composer Rhodri Marsden join Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe as they add five more tracks, with unexpected and surprising connections. The eclectic music choices range from an Americana classic knocked off in just 30 mins to the winner of this year's Ivor Novello Award for Best Album, via a reworking of a Bach organ sonata for piano.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Louie Louie by The Kingsmen
I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
Organ Sonata No.4 movt II (Andante) by Bach, played by Víkingur Ólafsson
My Dearest Dear by Ivor Novello – sung by Mary Ellis
WHO AM I by Berwyn

Other music in this episode:

P.I.M.P. by Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band
Killing Me Softly With His Song by Fugees
El Loco Cha Cha by René Touzet
Louie Louie by Richard Berry
Fly Me To The Moon by Bart Howard, sung by Frank Sinatra
Someone Like You by Adele
Hotel California by The Eagles
It's a Sin by Pet Shop Boys
Organ Sonata No.4 movt II (Andante) by Bach, played by Robert Quinney

Catrin Finch and Rhodri Marsden on absence and resilience

Trombonist, arranger and big band leader Callum Au, and composer, pianist and singer Natalie Duncan, are today's studio guests as they look for unexpected links that connect five disparate tracks. With Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye, they head from an early Adele classic to a reinterpretation of a Roberta Flack hit via a 15-minute reworking by Duke Ellington of one of his most celebrated works.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Chasing Pavements by Adele 
Mood Indigo by Duke Ellington
Tuba mirum by Mozart 
Back Together Again by Roberta Flack, ft Donny Hathaway
Killing Me Softly With His Song by Fugees
 
Other music in this episode:

Krupastrophe by Callum Au & Louis Dowdeswell
Heaven by Emeli Sandé
Sinfonia 'Infernali' from L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi
Killing Me Softly With His Song by Roberta Flack
Empty Chairs by Don McLean

Callum Au and Natalie Duncan and the beauty of brass

Saxophonist and Radio 3 broadcaster Jess Gillam and pianist Keelan Carew are Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe's studio guests as they add the next five tracks, taking us from an east London housing estate to Heaven, via a certain celebrated Norwegian hall of a Mountain King.

Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Ill Manors by Plan B
The Coronation scene from Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
King by Years & Years
In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg
Heaven by Emeli Sandé

Other music in this episode:

Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
Hùg air a’ Bhonaid Mhòir (Celebrate the Big Bonnet) by Julie Fowlis
Alles Neu by Peter Fox
Fourth movement of the Symphony No 7 (The 'Leningrad' Symphony) by Dmitry Shostakovich
In the Hall of the Mountain King by The Who
In the Hall of the Mountain King by ELO
Sonic the Hedgehog Theme
Inspector Gadget Theme

Jess Gillam and Keelan Carew with music fit for a king

With three weeks remaining of this year's BBC Proms, Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe present a Proms-themed edition. Studio guests are the celebrated trumpeter Alison Balsom, who'll be performing in this year’s Last Night of the Proms, and bassoonist, Radio 3 and Proms presenter Linton Stephens. Expect music from the Proms and beyond as we head from a live, scaled-back Springsteen anthem to the Outer Hebrides, via Mendelssohn, Shostakovich and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
 
Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Born in the USA (live) by Bruce Springsteen
2nd movement of the Symphony No 10 in E Minor by Dmitri Shostakovich
Superstar from Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice
Andante: 2nd movement of the Violin Concerto in E minor by Felix Mendelssohn 
Hùg air a’ Bhonaid Mhòir (Celebrate the Big Bonnet) by Julie Fowlis 

Other music in this episode:

A Night on the Bare Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky
Trumpet Concerto in E flat major by Johann Nepomuk Hummel
The Lovecats by The Cure
Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen
I Don't Know How to Love Him by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice, sung by Yvonne Elliman
Touch the Sky (from the film Brave) by Julie Fowlis

You can listen to every Prom and unmissable moments from across the season on BBC Sounds. Just search ‘Proms’.

Neil Brand and Imogen Whitehead launch a new series

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