Nadine presenting a one-off Radio 2 programme

The Great British Songbook Of The Noughties

Alan Carr and Nadine Coyle, of Girls Aloud, will be taking a look back at the Great British Songbook of the Noughties.

Alan and Nadine will play the best British songs from the decade including hits from Coldplay, Lily Allen, Kaiser Chiefs and Amy Winehouse. They'll also be joined by some very special guests who will share their memories of the Noughties.

One band which will undoubtedly feature in the history books is Coldplay. In 2000, the group released their debut album – Parachutes – which went to Number One in the UK charts. Since then, Coldplay’s popularity has spread far and wide. They’ve achieved platinum album sales and numerous awards becoming not only one of Britain’s most successful bands of this decade but international superstars.

Not achieving the same global success as Coldplay, but still extremely popular in Britain, have been a number of other rock bands, some influenced by Indie music and the Britpop of the nineties. Bands such as the Kaiser Chiefs, the Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Snow Patrol, Elbow and Keane have sold millions of albums and been part of the music fabric of this decade.

But the Noughties have not just been about rock groups. Strong females including Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen have dominated the charts singing songs reflecting British culture as they see it. British music has also benefited from the work of home-grown singer-songwriters including James Blunt, KT Tunstell, James Morrison and Duffy.

For the first time ever, reality TV and the age of celebrity has gone hand in hand with pop music. TV shows such as Pop Idol, Popstars the Rivals and X Factor have produced some of the most successful artists of the noughties, including Will Young, Girls Aloud and Leona Lewis. Technological advancements have also had an impact on the music industry in unprecedented ways.

This decade, however, has not just been about new artists. Bands from previous decades such as The Police and the Spice Girls have been reuniting for one-off tours and others, such as Take That and Spandau Ballet have written and released new material.

Radio 2

Friday 1 January 2010, 1400-1700