The Music Is Black
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Chris Cameron, are joined by special guests for a celebration of recent music by black artists.
As part of the BBC's The Music Is Black season, conductor Chris Cameron joins the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for Friday Night is Music Night from their home in Salford.
The show features luxurious orchestral arrangements of songs made famous by artists including Manchester's Cleopatra, Sweet Sensation and Sweet Female Attitude, as well as icons Omar and PP Arnold. Special guest artists include Rowetta and The Real Thing, alongside vocalists from across the North West of England as we celebrate the region's creativity and cultural influence on Black British music.
The concert forms part of a landmark collaboration with the new V&A East Museum, inspired by its inaugural exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story. It continues a BBC season of content celebrating 125 years of Black music in the UK.
Presented by Linton Stephens and recorded in Salford on 11 November 2026
The evening will include:
The Real Thing: You to Me Are Everything
Sweet Sensation: Sad Sweet Dreamer (arr. Chris Cameron)
Sweet Sensation: Purely by Coincidence (arr. Chris Cameron)
Omar There's Nothing Like This (arr. Calum Au)
Sweet Female Attitude: Flowers (arr.Katie Chatburn)
Shapeshifter: Lola (arr. Jules Buckley)
Shirley Bassey: Diamonds are Forever (arr Nic Raine)
PP Arnold: The First Cut is the Deepest (arr. Callum Au)
Cleopatra: Come and Get Me and Cleopatra's Theme (arr. Robin Wallington)
Rowetta
The Real Thing
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Chris Cameron (conductor)
On radio
Broadcast
- Fri 20 Nov 202619:30BBC Radio 3
