At the BBC - Season 23 / Year 2024

Another collection of Shirley Bassey's performances from the BBC archives, including such hits as My Way, The Way We Were, Copacabana and even her own version of The Beatles' iconic Hey Jude.

A collection of archive music performances from the year, including Freedom by Wham!, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax, Pride by U2, Against All Odds by Phil Collins, I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder, Madonna's Like a Virgin and Hello by Lionel Ritchie.

A celebration of the songs of Cyndi Lauper, who took the charts by storm in 1984 with her debut international hit Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, released in the same week as Madonna's first hit, Holiday. Cyndi surprised the critics of the day almost immediately and showed she deserved so much more than labels like ‘kooky' and ‘quirky', with sensitive songs like Time After Time and True Colors that still resonate as strongly today as they did back in the 1980s. This trip through the BBC's archives follows Cyndi's journey from the start, and captures why she became, and remains, one of the most positive female forces in modern pop music.

A selection of archive performances of hits by artists who barely troubled the singles charts again, including appearances by the La's, the Mock Turtles, Joan Jett, Kim Carnes, Don Henley, Patti Smith, Curtis Mayfield and John Denver.

A selection of classic songs that never made the UK Top 40 the first time they were released, including Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams, David Bowie's Changes, Dolly Parton's 9 to 5, and Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire.

A selection of performances of love songs from the BBC's music archives, with classics by Carpenters, the Three Degrees, Simply Red, Meatloaf and Sting, as well as some 21st-century songs to swoon to from Rihanna and Harry Styles.

A collection of songs from the BBC archives that will definitely deliver heartache, but also the chance to experience more of the greatest sad songs ever. Featuring the likes of Sade, the Righteous Brothers, Toni Braxton, Lewis Capaldi and many more who hit the charts while breaking people's hearts.

Some more of the greatest movie themes to light up the UK pop charts from the BBC's archives, including Lulu's To Sir with Love, Kate Bush's This Woman's Work and Lisa Loeb's Stay.

Sharleen Spiteri takes a dive into the BBC's music archive to select the Glasgow band's greatest appearances on a selection of programmes and live events from across their 35-year career. It's a collection featuring all of their biggest hits, from I Don't Want a Lover and Black Eyed Boy to Summer Son and Say What You Want, combined with Sharleen's memories of several of her own favourite moments, including last year's triumphant return to the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury, dressing up as Elvis and a key collaboration with hip-hop icons the Wu-Tang Clan.

A look back through the BBC's archives at the work of the Irish singer-songwriter, with tracks including Mandinka, Black Boys on Mopeds and Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home. This playlist also features collaborations with Shane MacGowan of the Pogues and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, as well as cover of much-loved classics, including The House of the Rising Sun and the song that made her a star - Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U.

A selection of the best performances from singer's visits to the BBC on programmes like Top of the Pops, Wogan and the National Lottery Show, both as the frontwoman of the Supremes and as a successful solo artists, Featuring Baby Love, I'm Still Waiting, Why Do Fools Fall in Love?, Upside Down and Love Hangover.

When Terry Hall died in December 2022, at the age of 63, we lost one of British music's most influential, unpredictable and adored singer-songwriters of recent times.

Here, take a trip into the BBC's archives to look back on Terry's extraordinary, genre-hopping career - from his early, decade-defining days as front man with The Specials, to Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield and his acclaimed solo career.

Along the way, there were also multiple collaborations, ranging from Mark Ronson to Bananarama, the best of which are captured here in performances of hits including Gangsters, Thinking of You, Sense and Our Lips Are Sealed from shows like Top of the Pops, Whistle Test, Live in Session for BBC 6 Music, Glastonbury, the pioneering Oxford Road Show – and even some Cheggers Plays Pop.

What shines through in these performances is Terry's love of all kinds of music and his desire to never stand still and always try something different.

Some of Ella Fitzgerald's finest performances, captured on BBC programmes from over the years and including such classics songs as Day by Day, Cheek to Cheek and Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye.

As a curtain-raiser to an evening of programmes marking the 50th anniversary of Abba's Eurovision Song Contest victory in Brighton, this compilation features BBC appearances by the Swedish superstars on Top of the Pops, Wogan, The Late, Late Breakfast Show and The Mike Yarwood Christmas Show. The programme also features a rare Top of the Pops performance of the song So Long from 1974, missing from the BBC archive and thought to be lost until a fan unearthed a home recording.

Archive performances by the singer known as the Empress of Soul to mark her 80th birthday, combining classic tracks alongside her band the Pips with solo songs. Songs like Baby Don't Change Your Mind, The Way We Were and Help Me Make It Through the Night are drawn from Gladys's appearances on Top of the Pops, Old Grey Whistle Test and The Harry Secombe show.

A compilation of the rock band's greatest BBC performances to mark their 40 years in the business, from early 1980s appearances on Top of the Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test, to intimate sessions for Radio 2 and clips of their stadium-filling tours.

A collection of hits from one of pop music's greatest geniuses - Prince, aka ‘The Artist Formerly Known as Prince', aka ‘the Unpronounceable Symbol', and more.

BBC forecasters Carol Kirkwood and Tomasz Schafernaker present a selection of performances of weather-related songs from the archives, including Bill Withers singing Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone and Why Does It Always Rain on Me? By Travis.

Having been formed for 2002 reality show Popstars: The Rivals, Girls Aloud dominated the UK charts and the tabloids over the next decade. This programme features a selection of archive BBC appearances by the group, including performances of Sound of the Underground, Something Kinda Ooooh, Can't Speak French, Call the Shots and Biology.

In the late-1970s to mid-1980s, Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland of the Police enjoyed a run of chart-topping singles, best-selling albums and huge concerts all across the world. When the trio went their separate ways four decades ago, it was Sting who established himself as one of the UK's most respected singer-songwriters. This collection of performances from the BBC's archives celebrates both the solo star and the band that brought him to our attention in the first place, with hits like Roxanne, Fragile, Message in a Bottle, Brand New Day and Every Breath You Take.

A trawl through the BBC archive to find a number of songs on a theme of survival, with highlights including disco classic I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor, Destiny's Child singing Survivor, and heavyweight US rockers Survivor with the theme song to Rocky III, Eye of the Tiger.

A selection of archive performances that highlight the wit and intelligence of the singer-songwriter, who would have turned 65 this year had her life not been tragically cut short in December 2000. Including such hits as A New England, Days, and Fairytale of New York, her classic Christmas collaboration with the Pogues.

Expect the unexpected on this latest journey through the BBC's archives, which features surprising songs and rare performances taken from shows that may have been forgotten, Featuring appearances by Jimi Hendrix, MC Hammer, Dusty Springfield, Tammy Wynette, the Beach Boys and Pet Shop Boys.

A journey through a selection of some of the saddest - but finest - songs from the BBC's music archives, with tear-jerkers from Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, the Smiths, Randy Crawford, Coldplay, Dolly Parton, Eric Clapton and Eric Carmen.

A celebration of Robert Smith and his band and the unique song-writing talents they possess, with a collection of archive performances on BBC programmes, featuring A Forest, Lovecats, Friday I'm In Love, Close to Me and Boys Don't Cry.

Another selection of cover versions from the archive, featuring the best in pop, rock and soul from the past five decades, with artists including Adele, Annie Lennox, Happy Mondays, Manic Street Preachers and Erasure. The collection may also raise eyebrows with some songs thought written by the acts whose versions became better known than the originals, with examples including Blondie's Denis, Natalie Imbruglia's Torn and Tina Turner's The Best.

A celebration of male pop groups, who are sometimes not taken seriously, despite some seriously catchy songs, but who have always played a vital role in pop's dominance of modern music. With archive performances by Take That, One Direction, JLS, BTS, Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, East 17 and Westlife.

Marking 40 years since the release of festive classic Last Christmas, guitarist Andrew Ridgeley and backing singers Pepsi Demacque-Crockett and Shirlie Kemp present a selection of the duo's biggest and best performances from the BBC archives. Featuring Young Guns (Go for It), Club Tropicana and The Edge of Heaven, these are the hits that made Wham! one of the hottest pop groups of the 1980s, and first introduced the world to the unique songwriting talents of George Michael.

Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox's synthpop group were one of the biggest British acts of the 1980s, being bold, innovative, stylish and always highly unpredictable. The pair first tasted chart success in the Tourists before breaking away and achieving international stardom with songs like Love Is a Stranger and Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves, and their evolving look and sound are captured here in a collection of best moments from the BBC's music archives.

A selection of the singer-songwriter's finest performances plucked from the BBC archives, celebrating the solo side of her accomplishments, which started in earnest with the release of her hugely acclaimed debut solo album Diva in 1992. Since then she has shown time and time again exactly why she remains one of the nation's most popular and critically praised artists, and here we share the evidence once again, with a selection of her finest performances plucked from the BBC archives.

Celia Imrie narrates a celebration of the life, work and TV appearances made over the years by one of Britain's greatest and best-loved actresses, Maggie Smith. Alongside new memories of Maggie from longstanding friends like Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi are a rich selection of classic clips from the 1960s to the 2020s, all demonstrating her wit, wisdom and famously sharp tongue.