Posted April 1, 200916 yr Queens of British Pop Part 1 of 2 Wed 1st April 10:45 PM Narrator Liza Tarbuck offer a celebration of 6 female pop stars, singers and icons that lit us up from the early 60s to the late 70s. Programme 1 tells the story of Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull, Suzi Quatro, Siouxsie Sioux and Kate Bush - some of the female artists that emerged alongside some of Britain's defining musical movements, from the Swinging Sixties through to glam rock and punk. We give an insight into the lives of these top female artists, offering first-hand or eyewitness accounts of the highs, the lows and the obstacles they had to overcome. Our selected artists have pushed boundaries, played around with gender roles and had their private lives overshadow their success, but it is their experiences that have helped change the face of British pop as we know it today. Includes new interviews with Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull, Suzi Quatro, Siouxsie Sioux and contributions from Tom Jones, Lulu, Burt Bacharach, John Lydon, Martha Reeves, Nancy Sinatra, Mark Radcliffe, Henry Winkler, Marc Almond, Peter Gabriel, Claire Grogan, Jarvis Cocker, Kiki Dee, Nigel Havers, Lily Allen and Adele, to name but a few. Are any of you planning on watching this?
April 1, 200916 yr Sky+ed it. It sounds really interesting. I'm a huge fan of Dusty, Sandie and Kate.
April 8, 200916 yr Great show tonight. Loved the segments on Alison Moyet and Leona :wub: Dont quite understand why Kylie was featured though.
April 9, 200916 yr Dont quite understand why Kylie was featured though. I can understand the inclusion of Kylie far more than the inclusion of Geri Halliwell, probably the LEAST talented member of the Spice Girls (well, okay, that would be Posh Spice I suppose...... :lol: )... If they had to choose any Spice Girl (and, frankly, I wouldn't have had the Spicies between Kylie and Amy Winehouse anyway...), then it should've been Mel C..... She was certainly the most talented member of that group..... I suppose I understand the inclusion of Leona, even though I dont think that she bodes well at all for the future of British Pop given her completely manufactured origins, and those who follow in her wake such as the incredibly bland Alexandra; I would much rather the UK had an equivalent to Lady GaGa or Shakira than an equivalent to Mariah or Whitney....
April 9, 200916 yr Very good show last night and last week. Tell alot of good info on their career :P
April 9, 200916 yr Author I can understand the inclusion of Kylie far more than the inclusion of Geri Halliwell, probably the LEAST talented member of the Spice Girls (well, okay, that would be Posh Spice I suppose...... :lol: )... If they had to choose any Spice Girl (and, frankly, I wouldn't have had the Spicies between Kylie and Amy Winehouse anyway...), then it should've been Mel C..... She was certainly the most talented member of that group..... I suppose I understand the inclusion of Leona, even though I dont think that she bodes well at all for the future of British Pop given her completely manufactured origins, and those who follow in her wake such as the incredibly bland Alexandra; I would much rather the UK had an equivalent to Lady GaGa or Shakira than an equivalent to Mariah or Whitney.... As part 2 was celebration of six queens of British pop music, and a look at their impact between 1980 and 2009. Profiling Annie Lennox, Alison Moyet, Kylie Minogue, Geri Halliwell, Amy Winehouse and Leona Lewis. Female stars taking us from post-punk to The X Factor, with a slice of girl power along the way. I thought the two-part series was okay, but the BBC has done much better; especially when compared to their brilliant Pop Britannia series on BBC4 (repeated on BBC2) in 2008. I know it is a difficult ask to select just 12 female artists but if I was trying to represent the UK female artist genre then I would have selected slightly different choices: Taking into account their UK based rule it justifies the inclusion of the American Suzi Quatro & Australian Kylie Minogue at the expense of British born acts who became successfully established abroad first (Petula Clark; Olivia Newton-John (whom regards herself as an Aussie anyway even though she was born in Oxford) & Sheena Easton). But my 12 would have excluded the non Brits (Suzi Quatro & Kylie Minogue): Dusty Springfield Sandie Shaw (just ahead of Lulu & Cilla Black) Sandy Denny A fantastic folk singer with the seminal Fairport Convention & solo who left a very strong body of work before dying tragically young in the late 1970s after falling down the stairs at home. Joan Armatrading A British guitar singer songwriter just predating Kate Bush by a couple of years. Siouxsie Sioux Kate Bush Annie Lennox Alison Moyet Kirsty MacColl A wonderful singer who sung on a load of great records by other artists (The Smiths; Morrissey; Electronic; Billy Bragg; Tracey Ullman; Talking Heads; Big Country, Dave Gilmour, Happy Mondays and The Wonder Stuff) who had a very interesting back story to be told before her tragic death released just after the release of her critically acclaimed final album Tropical Brainstorm. PJ Harvey Quite frankly I'm gobsmacked that this highly individual & critically acclaimed artist was not included. I can only presume the Mercury Music winning artist was excluded for being too similar to Siouxsie Sioux & Kate Bush. Mel C In terms of record sales she was the most successful solo Spice girl as well as being arguably the most vocally talented of the five. All through setting up her own independent record label "Red Girl" which signs distribution deals with companies throughout the world. Whilst her 2006 single "First Day Of My Life" has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide despite failing to reach the UK Top 75 and was named the 3rd most legally downloaded track on German iTunes history at the end of 2008.. Amy Winehouse (Leona Lewis not included as I think they should have waited for her second album to be successful first before including her.)
April 9, 200916 yr I can understand the inclusion of Kylie far more than the inclusion of Geri Halliwell, probably the LEAST talented member of the Spice Girls (well, okay, that would be Posh Spice I suppose...... :lol: )... If they had to choose any Spice Girl (and, frankly, I wouldn't have had the Spicies between Kylie and Amy Winehouse anyway...), then it should've been Mel C..... She was certainly the most talented member of that group..... I suppose I understand the inclusion of Leona, even though I dont think that she bodes well at all for the future of British Pop given her completely manufactured origins, and those who follow in her wake such as the incredibly bland Alexandra; I would much rather the UK had an equivalent to Lady GaGa or Shakira than an equivalent to Mariah or Whitney.... I do agree Melanie C should've been featured, she has written more number one singles (including the Spice Girls) than the two guys from The Beatles. However, Geri has had the more obvious success with 3 UK number singles in a row 'Mi Chico Latino', 'Lift Me Up' & 'It's Raining Men'. Also I think Geri was nominated for A BRIT, But I'm not sure. I do love both girls though! I want a new Melanie C album soon, I missed it :( iPlayer activate
April 9, 200916 yr I do agree Melanie C should've been featured, she has written more number one singles (including the Spice Girls) than the two guys from The Beatles. However, Geri has had the more obvious success with 3 UK number singles in a row 'Mi Chico Latino', 'Lift Me Up' & 'It's Raining Men'. Also I think Geri was nominated for A BRIT, But I'm not sure. I do love both girls though! I want a new Melanie C album soon, I missed it :( iPlayer activate You missed her best... Bag It Up :o :wub:
April 9, 200916 yr You missed her best... Bag It Up :o :wub: :o My first ever single! I forgot that was number one! :lol: So 4 number ones
April 9, 200916 yr Watched the first part still to see the second. Will watch it later. I think if they were going to single out a Spice Girl, Geri was the only one they could have used really. She practically was the driving force with the whole 'girl power' 'world domination' thing the five some did in the 90's. Sure all 5 members were needed but she was the one who garnered the most media attention and was most vocal. Quite intentionally I think. Kylie being included is just a bit stupid tbh. Tis about BRITISH. They snub PJ Harvey for her? Pffft.
April 10, 200916 yr I think if they were going to single out a Spice Girl, Geri was the only one they could have used really. She practically was the driving force with the whole 'girl power' 'world domination' Sorry mate, but that's just nonsense.... The real driving force behind Spice Girls was really Simon Fuller..... I mean, look how quickly it all fell apart when they sacked him..... :rolleyes: "Girl Power" my arse...... The phrase itself was a second-hand polemic from the underground "Riot Grrl/Punk" movement of the early 90s, it was actually an American alt/punk band called Bikini Kill and their lead singer Kathleen Hanna who coined the phrase "girl power", which was then taken up by british band Huggy Bear when they trashed the studios of The Word, much to the amusement of Mark Lamarr, Terry Christian and the several million viewers watching it....Anyone who ever read the NME and Melody Maker in the early 90s would be well aware of this also.... The phrase was then picked up circa '94 by gobby girl poppy punk duo Shampoo..... So, in reality the phrase "girl power" had more than one adovcate, both of whom had vastly more cred than fukkin' Spice bints...... Mel C as a solo artist has far more respect than Geri, and rightly so, Geri's solo career was utter sh!te and fell apart fairly rapidly, Mel C is still doing well, just not in UK, her sales are more in Europe...
April 10, 200916 yr Sorry mate, but that's just nonsense.... The real driving force behind Spice Girls was really Simon Fuller..... I mean, look how quickly it all fell apart when they sacked him..... :rolleyes: "Girl Power" my arse...... The phrase itself was a second-hand polemic from the underground "Riot Grrl/Punk" movement of the early 90s, it was actually an American alt/punk band called Bikini Kill and their lead singer Kathleen Hanna who coined the phrase "girl power", which was then taken up by british band Huggy Bear when they trashed the studios of The Word, much to the amusement of Mark Lamarr, Terry Christian and the several million viewers watching it....Anyone who ever read the NME and Melody Maker in the early 90s would be well aware of this also.... The phrase was then picked up circa '94 by gobby girl poppy punk duo Shampoo..... So, in reality the phrase "girl power" had more than one adovcate, both of whom had vastly more cred than fukkin' Spice bints...... Mel C as a solo artist has far more respect than Geri, and rightly so, Geri's solo career was utter sh!te and fell apart fairly rapidly, Mel C is still doing well, just not in UK, her sales are more in Europe... Geri has been classed as an icon though, thanks to the BRIT Awards of 97! Whilst Mel C creates better music and does well, she didn't wear a union jack dress
April 10, 200916 yr Sorry mate, but that's just nonsense.... The real driving force behind Spice Girls was really Simon Fuller..... I mean, look how quickly it all fell apart when they sacked him..... :rolleyes: "Girl Power" my arse...... The phrase itself was a second-hand polemic from the underground "Riot Grrl/Punk" movement of the early 90s, it was actually an American alt/punk band called Bikini Kill and their lead singer Kathleen Hanna who coined the phrase "girl power", which was then taken up by british band Huggy Bear when they trashed the studios of The Word, much to the amusement of Mark Lamarr, Terry Christian and the several million viewers watching it....Anyone who ever read the NME and Melody Maker in the early 90s would be well aware of this also.... The phrase was then picked up circa '94 by gobby girl poppy punk duo Shampoo..... So, in reality the phrase "girl power" had more than one adovcate, both of whom had vastly more cred than fukkin' Spice bints...... Mel C as a solo artist has far more respect than Geri, and rightly so, Geri's solo career was utter sh!te and fell apart fairly rapidly, Mel C is still doing well, just not in UK, her sales are more in Europe... Well yeah that is pretty obvious. But they couldn't include Fuller in a QUEENS of Pop thing could they? :P I wasn't denying the fact that it was Simon Fuller that made them the 'product' they quite obviously were. But if they were to select a member Halliwell was the obvious choice. Like I said she was the band member that took the whole thing that had been cooked up for them that much further...
April 10, 200916 yr The artist I was shaking my head at (apartr from the ridiculous inclusion of Minogue) was Marianne Faithfull...ok, Broken English is tremendous.... but a 'Queen of British Pop'? The girl can't sing a note and is more famous for hiding Mars bars up her jacksy than being a queen of anything, let's be honest. Lovely looking girl in her time, though.... but a voice like a cat approaching orgasm. Whilst Elizabeth Fraser can hardlyt be called 'pop'..... any 'best UK female artist' list minus her name is a nonsensical one. Easily our best vocalist, but always overlooked. Annie Lennox was sight to behold.... as self-important, sour and serious as always and looking as appealing as her awful voice these days - I can't think of any star, Brit or American, who has fallen from grace with more of a bag than Lennox - a true hero to zero. In reality, she's not released a single thing of any interest or validity since 'Diva' - 16 years ago. No Kirsty MacColl? Crazy..... Great to see Siouxsie getting the credit she's always deserved but never, ever got from her homeland. A trailblazer..... the word 'icon' simply isn't big enough for her. Also wonderful to see our second greatest ever female artist, Alison Moyet, included. After her utterly shameful treatment by Sony, how marvellous is it to see her releasing the finest music of her career during this decade? Her 'Hometime' album is my album of this decade... and this is the album Sony held onto and passed on for 5 whole years before finally allowing her to be released from her contract - when they thought she was basically too old to sell records anymore and would slink away into obscurity. Idiots. Not only a stellar voice - a lovely lady, too. I agree the inclusion of Leona was waaaaay too soon - you can't judge ANY artist after one (extremely dull and disappointing) album. Whilst I agree she's certainly Queen of the Carey Karaoke..... a queen of British pop? Nonsense. And onto the most worthy of the lot - Kate Bush. The laziest and most frustrating woman in music, for sure..... but her catalogue of music is unrivalled by any artist anywhere. There isn't a singer alive who conveys such extreme REAL emotion and who writes such intelligent, moving music. Thank God we have her - even if pop star mothers are never, ever, ever a good idea. Other exclusions? If you're including nonentities like ex Spice Girls....surely the originators of girl power, Bananarama, should have been in there somewhere? After all - they did it first - with more style, glamour and with tongues firmly planted in cheeks, a whole decade and a half before the wannabes came along with their pish-pop and million-pound marketing campaigns. Shame on Adele for lauding them up so - is she on acid, maybe?
April 11, 200916 yr Geri has been classed as an icon though, thanks to the BRIT Awards of 97! Whilst Mel C creates better music and does well, she didn't wear a union jack dress Sorry, but I think that any serious documentary-type show which looks at things in detail should NOT be judging an artists worth by her shameless self-publicity and attention seeking and, er, wearing some tacky, slutty "dress" which barely covers her minge :rolleyes: ... Geri was such a shameless self-publicist and attention-seeker, she was NOT a serious artiste by any stretch of the imagination, hell I even liked some stuff Kylie did far more than anything by Geri/Spices..... The only difference between Geri and Jade Goody was the fact that Geri sought attention in a girl band as opposed to a Reality TV show, her attempts at managing the Spice Girls and her solo career were disastrous, whereas Mel C did a LOT better..... In reality, Geri's barely anymore talented than Jade, and would probably never even have gotten through the rehearsal stages of X-Factor due to the fact that she simply cannot sing to save her life (which wouldn't in itself be a problem if her material itself was interesting, but it wasn't).... No way in hell should Geri be put before such genuine talents as Shirley Manson or P J Harvey, or even Mel C..... The beeb got that one totally wrong imo.....
April 11, 200916 yr I agree the inclusion of Leona was waaaaay too soon - you can't judge ANY artist after one (extremely dull and disappointing) album. Whilst I agree she's certainly Queen of the Carey Karaoke..... a queen of British pop? Nonsense. In a way I agree with you... But I see Leona's inclusion in this as being very phyrric...... It's like, "WTF??? We've gone from the likes of Kate, Siouxsie and Alison to THIS????? Sh!t, where the hell does it go from here....?" :rolleyes:
April 11, 200916 yr It was nice to see Geri there really, though, holding up the banner for women in their 40s :D
Create an account or sign in to comment