 | BBC RADIO 2 New Year's Day
Thursday 1 January 2009 | |
Motown – 30 At 50
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
2.00-5.00pm BBC RADIO 2 | | | | |
 Paul Gambaccini celebrates 50
years of Motown This year, one of the world's most famous record labels celebrates its 50th anniversary. At the start of this significant year for Motown Records, Paul Gambaccini presents a countdown of the Top 30 biggest-selling Motown singles in the UK to date. The show also features rare archive material, as well as top music personalities talking about their favourite Motown memories. Presenter/Paul Gambaccini, Producer/Gary Bones BBC Radio 2 Publicity Showman And Star-Maker –
A Tribute To Bill CottonEp 2/2
New Year's Eve Wednesday 31 December to
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
7.00-8.00pm BBC RADIO 2 | | | | |
Paul O'Grady turns his attention to The Power Years, in the concluding part of this tribute to the man who transformed British television: Bill Cotton. The Seventies ushered in a new era in popular entertainment at the BBC and, as Head of Light Entertainment, Controller of BBC One and, eventually, Managing Director of Television, Bill Cotton was either the man behind these new shows or was responsible for the BBC departments and personnel that created them. This programme takes a look at such long-running success stories as Parkinson, The Generation Game, Jim'll Fix It and Children In Need. Cotton's many achievements included ensuring that the BBC won the race to be the first station to start daytime television with Breakfast Time, as well as the launch of the regular BBC One soap opera, EastEnders. The programme considers these achievements and Cotton's lasting legacy, both on screen and behind the scenes of British television. Contributors to the series include Sue Lawley, Rolf Harris, Penelope Keith, Bruce Forsyth, Sir Jimmy Savile, Sir Michael Parkinson, Paul Daniels, Sir Tom Jones, Val Doonican, John Cleese, Sandie Shaw, Cilla Black, Michael Grade, Dame Vera Lynn and many more. Presenter/Paul O'Grady, Producer/Malcolm Prince BBC Radio 2 Publicity Theme Time Radio Hour With Bob Dylan
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
11.00pm-12.00midnight BBC RADIO 2 | | | | |
On the first day of the New Year, Bob Dylan selects tracks that feature the number one as their theme. This eclectic mix of music includes: One by Harry Nilsson; The One You Slip Around With by Wynne Stewart and Jan Howard; Dedicated To The One I Love by The Five Royales; One Night by Elvis Presley; Johnny One Note by Anita O'Day; One Time, One Night by Los Lobos; and Just One More by George Jones. Presenter/Bob Dylan, Producer/Phil Hughes BBC Radio 2 Publicity | BBC RADIO 3 New Year's Day
Thursday 1 January 2009 | |
New Year's Day Concert From Vienna
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
10.15am-1.00pm BBC RADIO 3 | | | | |
 Daniel Barenboim conducts the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra To welcome 2009, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performs its annual celebratory concert of waltzes, polkas and marches, conducted for the first time by Argentinean-Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim. Presenter/Brian Kay,
Producer/David Gallagher BBC Radio 3 Publicity Composer Of The Week – BerliozEp 4/5
Monday 29 December to Friday 2 January
12.00noon-1.00pm BBC RADIO 3 | | | | |
Donald Macleod and Sir John Eliot Gardiner explore the poetic vein of death and melancholy running through Berlioz's output, as this special series continues. It seems, on the face of it, a somewhat gloomy line of enquiry but is, in fact, one that brings together an astonishing variety of reflections on mortality. The programme covers the composer's The Death Of Cleopatra, his third (and, ultimately failed) attempt to win the coveted Prix de Rome; his Grande Symphonie Funèbre et Triomphale, which was commissioned for a grand ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the July Revolution; and Tristia ("Sad Things"), a triptych of reflective pieces including the well-known Death Of Ophelia and the less well-known Funeral March for the final scene of Hamlet. Presenter/Donald Macleod, Producer/Chris Barstow BBC Radio 3 Publicity Paradise LostEp 11/12
Monday 22 December to Friday 2 January
5.00-6.00pm BBC RADIO 3 | | | | |
Anton Lesser continues to read John Milton's Paradise Lost to mark the 400th anniversary of the writer's birth. In Book Eleven, the Son of God explains to His Father that the Transgressors repent. God accepts this but decrees that they can no longer live in Paradise. The Angel Michael is sent down to "drive out the sinful pair" but first takes Adam to a high hill to show him what is to come. Reader/Anton Lesser, Producer/Nicolas Soames BBC Radio 3 Publicity New Generation ArtistsEp 9/10
Monday 29 December to Friday 2 January
6.00-7.00pm BBC RADIO 3 | | | | |
BBC Radio 3 presents performances by more of its current crop of New Generation Artists, including Danish cellist Andreas Brantelid in Fauré, British tenor Allan Clayton in two of Britten's Canticles, and Finnish string quartet Meta4 in Haydn's Quartet in A major, Op. 55, No. 1. Producer/Lindsay Kemp BBC Radio 3 Publicity Nigel Kennedy Quintet
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
9.15-10.30pm BBC RADIO 3 | | | | |
Listeners have another chance to hear Nigel Kennedy's second Prom of the 2008 season and the Nigel Kennedy Quintet (NKQ). Kennedy says: "People can say I'm a classical violinist if they want to, but I've always viewed myself as a musician who plays music and not just a certain part of it." For the past few years, Kennedy has been living in Poland, exploring the country's rich musical heritage and working with some of its finest jazz musicians. This late-night Prom showcases the fruits of his explorations. The NKQ features Kennedy on violin, with Tomasz Grzegorski on saxophone, Piotr Wylezol on piano, Adam Kowalewski on double bass and percussionist Pawel Dobrowolski. They are joined by singer Xantone Blacq. Presenter/Sean Rafferty, Producer/Elizabeth Arno BBC Radio 3 Publicity | BBC RADIO 4 New Year's Day
Thursday 1 January 2009 | |
Frost Fair
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
11.30am-12.00noon BBC RADIO 4 | | | | |
Francine Stock and guests evoke the spirit of the extraordinary fairs once held on the frozen River Thames, with a host of musicians, historians, skaters and an ice-musician. Between 1309 and 1814, the river froze some 23 times, on occasions so solidly that fairs were held upon it. The first was held some 400 years ago, in the bitter winter of 1607-8, and subsequent fairs saw the river play host to streets of booths, fox-hunting, the roasting of oxen, swing boats, music, dancing and theatre. On one occasion, even an elephant was led across the ice. This programme features contributions from: Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney; former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo; writer Francis Spufford; New Scientist editor Roger Highfield; meteorologist Ian Currie; culinary historian Ivan Day; internationally acclaimed Norwegian ice-musician Terje Isungset; and actor Adam Godley. Presenter/Adam Godley, Producer/Beaty Rubens BBC Radio 4 Publicity Talk To The Hand – The History Of Puppets On TV
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
1.30-2.00pm BBC RADIO 4 | |
Phill Jupitus explores the enduring appeal of TV puppets, interviews their creators, talks to those who run their fan clubs and investigates why they remain so popular today. The programme also takes a look at their outrageous behaviour and the abuse they often give their human "friends", and asks why they are allowed to get away with doing and saying things that real people cannot. Presenter/Phill Jupitus, Producer/Helen Lee BBC Radio 4 Publicity Hong Kong By Night
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
2.15-3.00pm BBC RADIO 4 | | | | |
Liz Sutherland and Oliver Williams star in Hong Kong By Night by award-winning writer In-Sook Chappell. British-born boy Arthur (Williams) was brought up in Hong Kong, and doesn't feel right anywhere else. Chinese girl Poppy (Sutherland) was born in Hong Kong and brought up in Britain. She doesn't feel right anywhere. Poppy has come to the island chasing roots she doesn't understand. She hates the city. Arthur, meanwhile, loves Hong Kong – he speaks the language, he's got a suitcase full of Chinese characters and he fits right into his adopted country. Arthur meets Poppy in a lift. Poppy is sleepwalking at the time. With no keys, no money and wearing only a nightie under her mac, she is faced with the choice of either spending a night in the lobby of her apartment building or accepting Arthur's invitation to explore Hong Kong by night. Arthur takes Poppy on the Star Ferry across the water to the other part of the island – Kowloon, the Chinese mainland. From the night market on Temple Street to the slaughterhouses of Mong Kok, they find themselves and each other in this extraordinary neon wonderland. Writer Chappell won the Verity Bargate Award in 2007. Her winning play, This Isn't Romance, will be staged at the Soho Theatre later this year. Producer/Abigail le Fleming BBC Radio 4 Publicity The Quest For Virgin Birth
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
8.00-8.30pm BBC RADIO 4 | | | | |
Geneticist Aarathi Prasad unravels the riddle of the natural phenomenon known as parthenogenesis or virgin births. Thanks to a breakthrough in DNA profiling, scientists can now show that some species, such as sharks, turkeys and komodo dragons, practise parthenogenesis if their survival is threatened. This raises important issues about conservation, since asexual reproduction reduces genetic diversity, making it harder for organisms to adapt. For the 21st-century human female, new embryonic stem-cell technologies are making a virgin birth look entirely possible. The programme explores the complex implications, both ethical and biological, of what it will mean if and when women are given the chance to reproduce in this manner. Presenter/Aarathi Prasad, Producer/Amanda Hargreaves BBC Radio 4 Publicity | BBC RADIO 5 LIVE New Year's Day
Thursday 1 January 2009 | |
Sam Delaney
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
10.00am-12.00noon BBC RADIO 5 LIVE | | | | |
Writer and broadcaster Sam Delaney looks ahead to what listeners can expect from 2009. He assesses England's chances of reclaiming the Ashes, asks who will finish top of the Barclays Premier League, and investigates what people will be watching, listening to and downloading this year. Presenter/Sam Delaney, Producer/Keith Bunnker BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity The PMQ Show
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
12.00noon-1.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE | | | | |
Andy Parsons presents a fast, funny and furious topical panel show, with three top-level guests competing to be Prime Minister for 2009. Andy is Speaker Of The House and, as his guests make their proposals for sorting out the country, he marks them for wit, imagination and performance. However, if they fail to make the grade, the Speaker cuts them off and moves on. Presenter/Andy Parsons, Producer/David Morley BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity | BBC 6 MUSIC New Year's Day
Thursday 1 January 2009 | |
On The Turn With Malcolm McLaren
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January
1.00-4.00pm BBC 6 MUSIC | | | | |
At a time of unprecedented change, Malcolm McLaren ushers in the New Year by celebrating the artists that have wrought change on music, fashion and youth culture from the Second World War to the present day. Born in 1946, Malcolm has witnessed, and taken part in, the evolution of music and particularly the way in which groundbreaking artists – from Little Richard to MIA – have pushed boundaries and effected change through the decades. Malcolm celebrates these pioneers and mavericks and sets their innovations in the context of the changes that were taking place in society and technology at the time. Presenter/Malcolm McLaren, Producer/Frank Wilson BBC 6 Music Publicity | 
