Programme Information

New Year's Eve Essential Mix Live

New Year's Eve Thursday 31 December

12.00midnight-5.00am BBC RADIO 1

BBC Radio 1 welcomes in the New Year in style, live from the 02 with an Essential Mix special featuring Deadmau5, Eric Prydz, Justice and The Plump DJs.

Producers/Rachel Barton and Becci Abbott

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BBC Radio 2 Saturday morning presenter Zoe Ball and Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm, aka Mel C, look at the Great British Songbook Of The Nineties, as the series continues.

Over three hours, Zoe and Melanie take a trip down memory lane as they play the best British songs from the Nineties, including suggestions from Radio 2 listeners. The playlist includes Oasis, Take That, Blur and, of course, the Spice Girls. They reflect the work of some of Britain's greatest songwriters and share their own memories from the decade.

This is the fourth in a series of programmes where British artists and DJs reflect on the Great British Songbook of each decade from the Sixties to the Noughties. The Great British Songbook is Radio 2's celebration of the work of British songwriters.

Presenters/Zoe Ball and Melanie Chisholm, Producer/Bequi Sheehan

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Paul Gambaccini concludes the two-part series in which artists and record producers talk about the legacy of The Beatles.

The entire catalogue of The Beatles was recorded more than 40 years ago, yet in both artistic and commercial terms its power shows no sign of fading. Paul looks at how the band's music was captured on record with the help of innovative arrangements and adventurous production by George Martin.

Musicians Dave Grohl, Bob Seger, Slash, Susan Werner, Ann and Nancy Wilson (from Heart) and Brian Wilson discuss the enduring influence of albums such as Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (The White Album) and Abbey Road.

Presenter/Paul Gambaccini, Producer/Kevin Howlett

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Mika, the singer-songwriter behind hits such as Grace Kelly and We Are Golden, makes his BBC Radio 2 presenting debut, hosting the build up to New Year's Eve on BBC Radio 2

Mika selects the finest party tracks to help listeners build up to the New Year. Music featured includes tracks by Dolly Parton, Michael Jackson, Barry Manilow, The Bee Gees, Beyonce, Blondie and other party classics.

Presenter/Mika, Producer/Adam Uytman

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Dave Pearce presents a selection of uplifting dance music to see in the new decade.

He speaks to BBC Radio 2 listeners at parties across the UK to find out how they're spending their last night of 2009, and asks them to pick their favourite tunes from the world of house, disco, funk and soul music. Some showbiz guests also share their New Year memories and classic party tunes, including Pet Shop Boys and Zoe Ball.

Presenter/Dave Pearce, Producer/Rowan Collinson

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BBC Radio 3 presenter Rob Cowan

Rob Cowan launches a special day dedicated to BBC Radio 3's Composers Of The Year: Purcell, Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn. For breakfast listening, Rob includes a Haydn Symphony; Mendelssohn's Hear My Prayer including the popular O For The Wings Of A Dove; Purcell's Bell Anthem in a Radio 3 recording with Clare College Cambridge; and he announces the winner of Breakfast's "Handelbars" where listeners requested their favourite Handel aria.

There are contributions from a wide variety of people who love the music of these four composers – including Sting and Roy Strong on Purcell; Jon Snow and Julia Neuberger on Handel; Patricia Routledge and Armando Iannucci on Haydn; and Henry Goodman and Sue MacGregor on Mendelssohn.

Presenter/Rob Cowan, Producer/Mark Lowther

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Sarah Walker shares some of BBC Radio 3's broadcast highlights from Composers Of The Year. These include special recordings from two venues with close connections to the composer – The Handel House Museum, in Brook Street, Handel's London home; and the Foundling Museum, originally the Foundling Hospital, where Handel was a governor and benefactor, and where annual performances of Messiah provided a vital source of income.

The Ebene Quartet (currently Radio 3 New Generation Artists) perform Haydn's Lark Quartet. Other highlights include a rare Mendelssohn violin sonata (discovered by Yehudi Menuhin in the early Fifties) and a virtuosic performance by the Mendelssohn enthusiast and violinist Daniel Hope in a special Radio 3 broadcast from the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Presenter/Sarah Walker, Producer/David Papp

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Andrew McGregor introduces an afternoon of broadcast highlights of BBC Radio 3's Composers Of The Year: Purcell, Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn. The highly acclaimed production of Purcell's Dido And Aeneas from the Royal Opera House, starring Sarah Connolly as Dido, begins proceedings.

There's also a chance to hear a special recording for Radio 3 of one of Handel's charming Italian cantatas, Apollo e Dafne, made at the Foundling Museum (originally the Foundling Hospital, where Handel was a governor and benefactor).

And, at 4.40pm, Richard Briers stars as Joseph Haydn in a short play commissioned as part of Radio 3's season of programmes marking the 200th anniversary of the composer's death.

Presenter/Andrew McGregor, Producer/David Papp

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COMPOSERS OF THE YEAR 2009
Composer Of The Year? You Choose!

New Year's Eve Thursday 31 December

6.30-7.45pm BBC RADIO 3

• www.bbc.co.uk/composers
• Press pack

Petroc Trelawny chairs a live debate where listeners can vote for their favourite Composer Of The Year from a choice of Purcell, Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn.

Editor of the Guardian Alan Rusbridger, a keen amateur pianist, champions Handel; poet Jo Shapcott, often influenced by music in her work, has chosen Purcell; and actor John Sessions takes up Mendelssohn's cause. Each champion can "phone-a-musician" to support their case.

Louise Fryer oversees the voting and hears from listeners on why they are voting for a particular composer.

Presenter/Petroc Trelawny, Producer/David Papp

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Once the votes are counted, Petroc Trelawny and Louise Fryer reveal who, out of Purcell, Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn, listeners have decided should be BBC Radio 3's Composer Of The Year.

The winning composer is honoured with an hour and a half dedicated to their music.

Presenters/Petroc Trelawny and Louise Fryer, Producer/David Papp

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Richard Cork explores the mind of artist Vincent Van Gogh through his correspondence, which forms a vital part of an exhibition which opens at the Royal Academy Of Arts in London in January 2010.

Richard discusses the erudite, eloquent and emotional Van Gogh with: artist Tom Phillips; writer Martin Davidson; critic and author of The Yellow House Martin Gayford; and curator and writer Ann Dumas.

Van Gogh conveyed his genius through his painting, but less well known is his writing. A keen and expressive correspondent, who regaled acquaintances with his views on love, religion and sex, he put pen to paper with the same creative vigour as he put paintbrush to canvas.

By the time he walked into a field in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise and shot himself in the chest, the 37-year-old Van Gogh had left behind a rich literary legacy that would, like his painting, outlive his short and tortured life.

Presenter/Richard Cork, Producer/Kate Bland

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In Paul Mendelson's new comedy drama, Pete, a jobbing TV scriptwriter who's jobbing less and less, goes on holiday to get away from the downward spiral of his career and breathe some fresh life into his marriage.

Finding himself booked into the same hotel as a cult Hollywood director, who's on holiday to get away from movies and writers, Peter tries to pitch his cherished movie idea.

Knowing any director would run a mile from a struggling TV writer brandishing a dog-eared movie script, Pete hits on a ruse to "sell" his script – he'll intrigue the guy by pretending his fiction is the true story of how he and Julie met.

Farcical misunderstandings ensue as Julie is forced to pass herself off as the script's main character – a fiery Venezuelan ex-soap star – with Pete masquerading as her psychoanalyst. And, as Julie gets into playing the role, she begins to re-write the script on the hoof giving the character a third split in her personality.

Fireworks At The Villa Lucia is set in the Bay of Naples and stars Samantha Bond as Julie and Philip Whitchurch as Pete.

Producer/David Ian Neville

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Peter Allen and Anita Anand look back at some of the big stories from 2009, including the faltering economy, the MPs' expenses row and the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

Presenters/Peter Allen and Anita Anand, Producer/John Cary

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Former stockbroker Max Keiser predicts the major economic trends for 2010. Max is joined by comedian Andy Zaltzman, economist Professor Steve Keen and politicians and financial experts to take a look back at the extraordinary events of the last year and make predictions about what could happen in the next 12 months.

Presenter/Max Keiser, Producer/Adam Cumiskey

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Sony Award-nominated podcasters and web obsessives Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann present the cream of "weblebrity" from the last 12 months.

Helen and Olly celebrate the greatest, funniest, most influential and cringe-worthy online events of 2009 in news, sport and entertainment.

The pair dish out awards to those who made the web headlines this year. Who has the internet made a star and who has fallen foul of the web? Who is this year's internet villain and what is Twitter all about? Helen and Olly provide an indispensible guide to the highs and lows of the world wide web in 2009.

Presenters/Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann, Producer/Nicky Birch

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Lauren Laverne looks back at the sounds of 2009, featuring interviews with the year's major players, and finds out which acts lived up to the hype. Was it really the year of the ladies – with the likes of Florence And The Machine, La Roux and Little Boots claiming the year for themselves?

Lauren also dives into BBC 6 Music's own Best Tracks of 2009 poll and looks back on the Mercury Music Prize.

Presenter/Lauren Laverne, Producer/Gary Bales

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BBC 6 Music listeners have voted for their favourite tracks of 2009 and today Steve Lamacq presents their Top 40 songs of the year.

Presenter/Steve Lamacq, Producer/Paul Sheehan

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Craig Charles gets the New Year's Eve party started with a mix of the best funk and soul classics.

Presenter/Craig Charles, Producer/Hermeet Chadha

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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Legendary DJ Andrew Weatherall hosts a special edition of the 6 Mix for New Year's Eve.

Andrew, who remixed Manic Street Preachers, Doves and The Horrors in 2009, will be stepping up to the turntables for an hour-long mix of eclectic tunes, exclusive dub-plates and the cream of floor-filling techno.

After that, Ministry Of Sound resident and George Lamb sidekick Marc Hughes takes over for 60 minutes of classic disco tunes from the Seventies and Eighties, alongside old skool house tunes from Todd Terry and Masters At Work.

Finally, after midnight, Mystery Jets producer, remix extraordinaire and 2ManyDJs touring buddy Erol Alkan will be on the ones and twos, playing an hour of jump-up electro, party bangers and future club classics to start 2010 with a bang.

Presenter/Andrew Weatherall, Producer/Rowan Collinson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

It's New Year's Eve and Jodie wants to go to the pub despite Sway's concerns, as the drama continues. Jodie persuades him but Zak spots them going in.

In the pub, a tipsy Deepika is handing out leaflets. She later finds her posters are back up all over Silver Street but who returned them?

Zak turns up and throws a box of Sway's belongings at him, proclaiming exactly why Nadia ended up in hospital recently...

Jodie is played by Vineeta Rishi, Sway by Nicholas Bailey, Zak by Jetinder Summan, Deepika by Babita Pohoomull, Nadia by Sohm Kapila, Mary by Carole Nimmons and Imran by Narinder Samra.

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