Programme Information

Zane Lowe Show

Monday 6 September

7.00-9.00pm BBC RADIO 1 (Schedule addition 26 August)

Zane Lowe presents a live performance from The Killers front man Brandon Flowers.

The live session features previously unheard material from his new solo album, Flamingo, and some classics from The Killers.

Presenter/Zane Lowe, Producer/Kat Wong for BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 Publicity

Ken Bruce's special guest this week is Sheryl Crow on Tracks Of My Years. Sheryl picks 10 of her favourite tracks over the week – Monday to Friday – and reveals the reasons behind her selection, which includes a classic by Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin's (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and songs by Ike and Tina Turner and Wilson Pickett.

There's also a new Album and Record Of The Week and another round of Popmaster, which fans can play on the BBC Radio 2 website at bbc.co.uk/radio2.

Presenter/Ken Bruce, Producer/Gary Bones for the BBC

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, also known as OMD, join Simon Mayo live on Drivetime to talk about their new album, History Of Modern. Their first album since 1996, it features the classic four-piece line-up which hasn't recorded together since 1986. There's also a chance to catch up with the day's big sport stories, while Pauline McCole brings the money updates and Sally Boazman keeps an eye on the roads.

Presenter/Simon Mayo, Producer/Andy Warrell

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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The Musical Ep 1/8

Monday 6 September

10.00-11.00pm BBC RADIO 2

Nowadays the musical is a global entertainment form but, even though many of the exact same shows can be experienced in the theatre districts of the major capitals in the world, for many it's still associated with the place where it was born: Broadway.

Tonight is the first in a special season of documentaries celebrating this unique and hugely successful form of theatrical entertainment. Each is presented by a leading name from the world of musical theatre and in tonight's programme, actress Sian Philips looks at the stories contained within the musical. Whatever the subject matter, in order for a musical to be good, it needs a good story, or "book".

Sian asks why, if "the book" is so important, there are so few musicals that have an original story rather than being adapted from some other medium. She explores the music and book of The Boy Friend, A Chorus Line, Chess, Starlight Express and Sunday In The Park With George, with contributions from Stephen Sondheim, Patti Lupone, Arlene Phillips, Maury Yeston, John Barrowman, Elaine Stritch, Maria Friedman, Sandy Wilson, Victor Spinetti, Ruthie Henshall, Don Black, Tim Rice, Gillian Lynne, Elaine Paige, Richard Stilgoe, Michael Grandage and Bobby Lopez.

Tonight's programme is written by Brian Sibley.

Presenter/Sian Philips, Producer/Malcolm Prince

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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BBC PROMS 2010
Performance On 3 – Prom 69

Monday 6 September

7.00-9.15pm BBC RADIO 3

• www.bbc.co.uk/proms
• Press pack

Pianist Paul Lewis rounds off his cycle of Beethoven's five piano concertos

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra and its French-born music director, Stéphane Denève, join Paul Lewis as he rounds off his cycle of the five Beethoven piano concertos with the last and most proudly majestic of them all – No. 5 in E flat major, Op 73: Emperor.

Taking up this afternoon's Italian theme, they play spectacular orchestral showpieces by Berlioz (Roman Carnival) and Respighi (Pines Of Rome), inspired respectively by Rome's lively street life and its imperial past; while, cementing Celtic connections, they introduce a recent symphonic suite drawn from Scottish composer James MacMillan's opera The Sacrifice, inspired by the medieval folk tales of The Mabinogion and premièred to great acclaim by Welsh National Opera in 2007.

Presenter/Katie Derham, Producer/Anthony Sellors

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Book Of The Week –
Storyteller: The Life Of Roald Dahl Ep 1/5

Monday 6 to Friday 10 September

9.45-10.00am BBC RADIO 4

Julian Rhind-Tutt reads Donald Sturrock's biography celebrating the life of ever-popular children's writer Roald Dahl, with Ian McDiarmid as the voice of Dahl.

Sturrock once made a film about the writer and so knew the man and his family very well. His book charts Dahl's rich and varied life as a fighter pilot, intelligence operative, and the adult writer who wrote for children in such an impactful way that he still remains hugely popular with today's young readers. He was on their wavelength and spoke to them through books such as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The BFG and Danny, Champion Of The World.

Sturrock investigates Dahl's eternal popularity as a writer and, of course, the man behind the books.

In the first of five episodes, abridged by Alison Joseph, the biographer sits at the Dahl dinner table and recounts a memorable visit to the writer's hut, where certain treasures are unearthed.

In Tuesday's episode listeners hear that, according to Dahl, it was a dramatic wartime plane crash that steered him towards being a writer.

Wednesday's episode hears how living in New York gave the author a premonition of a family disaster, which was vividly realised all too soon.

On Thursday, it's suddenly all change for Dahl at the age of 56 – and then there is his manifesto for entertaining children.

In the final episode, Sturrock tells how even close to death Dahl was in mischievous mood, and how his appeal to children will never fade.

Reader/Julian Rhind-Tutt, Producer/Duncan Minshull for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Peter Sissons is in his home town of Liverpool, where he explores a unique account of the Blitz on Merseyside, in the second of a series of programmes telling stories of the Blitz from around the UK.

Peter begins by exploring the "secret diary" kept by one of Liverpool's newspaper journalists during the city's Blitz. Arthur Johnson was the Blitz correspondent for Liverpool's Daily Post and Echo newspapers. Throughout the bombing he reported for the papers but, once he got home, he would also type up his own detailed accounts of the bombing and the deaths and damage caused. At a time when all newspaper reports had to be censored, this was his own personal record which told exactly what was happening during the Blitz.

Johnson died towards the end of the war, but Peter meets his son – also Arthur Johnson – who takes him through some of the diary entries and tells him more about his father and how he gathered this remarkable account.

Peter moves on to the offices of the Liverpool Post and Echo, where he examines the archive from that time to find out how the entries in Arthur's personal account differ from the official versions which were published at the time.

Liverpool's importance as a port made it an obvious target for the Luftwaffe, but it was also home to the command centre for the Battle of the Atlantic. Local historian Ken Pye takes Peter to see the underground complex where that crucial campaign was co-ordinated

Peter also talks to some of the men and women who lived through Merseyside's May Blitz in 1941, including Sophie Griffiths, whose home was destroyed by the bombers on her 21st birthday.

This programme is part of a season of special programmes on BBC Radio 4 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Blitz.

Presenter/Peter Sissons, Producer/Louise Adamson for Juniper Productions

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Two worlds collide in a dark and lyrical drama set in the heart of Soho's gay scene, written by Rob Evans.

Michael is a teenager who feels like his life is about to begin. He's travelling from Leeds to London for a date with a guy he has met online.

David is a 40-year-old man who feels like he might be over the hill. When his partner announces he's leaving, David's life finally caves in.

Michael and David's worlds are about to collide as each wanders Soho on a quest that will change them for ever.

The cast stars James Anthony Pearson as Michael, Liam Brennan as David and Paul Thomas Hickey as Greg.

Producer/Kirsty Williams for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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James And The Giant Tree House Ep 1/5

Monday 6 to Friday 10 September

3.45-4.00pm BBC RADIO 4

James Aldred experiences adventures high up in the rainforest canopy as he searches for a suitable tree in Gabon in which to build a giant tree house.

Like many small boys James loved climbing trees. Today, he stills loves it – but as a professional, helping scientists and wildlife filming crews into the canopy to study and film the wildlife there. He also loves building tree houses and, when he isn't climbing trees, he's dreaming about them and scribbling designs for treetop structures on scraps of paper or the backs of cereal boxes.

So when he received a phone call inviting him to build a tree house which would be large enough to accommodate at least four people for over a month while they filmed Red-capped Mangabey monkeys in the forests of Gabon in Central West Africa, he didn't hesitate in accepting the challenge.

This is the story of what happened – a "Boy's Own" Adventure high above the ground in the forest canopy.

Presenter/James Aldred, Producer/BBC Natural History Unit

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Book At Bedtime – Alex y Robert Ep 1/10

Monday 6 to Friday 10 September

10.45-11.00pm BBC RADIO 4

In the summer that Catalonia became the first region in mainland Spain to ban bullfighting, Wena Poon's new book, Alex y Robert, is a vibrant, colourful story about a female matador.

In contemporary Spain bullfighting is in decline, squeezed by recession and overshadowed by the threat of being banned. It's not the best time for anyone to want to become a matador, let alone a girl – and an American girl at that. Unfortunately, Alejandra "Alex" Herrera has wanted to do little else since she was a child.

She seeks the help of Roberto de la Torre, a young and famous matador. Among the things they have in common, their grandfathers were friends and matadors who both perished in the bullring in 1959.

Alex y Robert is abridged by Jeremy Osborne.

Reader/Lorelei King, Producer/Karen Rose for Sweet Talk Productions

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

Mark Chapman is joined by special guests for The Monday Night Club at 7pm with football debate and banter ahead of the second round of international matches this week.

From 9.30pm Mark is joined by Dave Vitty for Football Express, a quick-fire comic look at the weekend's action.

At 10pm former West Brom and Coventry striker Cyrille Regis joins Mark to discuss the release of his new book, My Story – The Autobiography Of The First Black Icon Of British Football.

Presenter/Mark Chapman, Producer/Danny Garlick

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Tennis

Monday 6 September

4.00pm-12.00midnight BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Tennis fans can hear uninterrupted commentary from the second week of the US Open, live from Flushing Meadows, New York.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sport Extra Publicity

William Orbit is an electronic pioneer and dance music innovator who has produced the likes of Blur and Madonna. His album Pieces In A Modern Style Two has breathed fresh life into the most familiar and loved classical music tracks, including Elgar's Nimrod. He talks about his producing career and his latest album with Nemone on the lunchtime show.

Presenter/Nemone, Producer/Jax Coombes

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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Gideon Coe plays live concert tracks from The Bees from 2002 and the Edgar Broughton Band at the Paris Theatre in 1972. Session archive includes Nineties Riot Grrls Bratmobile and Chesterfield's Electric Sound Of Joy playing in 1997.

Presenter/Gideon Coe, Producer/Mark Sheldon

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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BBC 6 Music takes a look at the Mercury nominated album xx. The xx are Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith. Their debut album, xx, was released in August 2009 and recorded at XL Recording in-house studio. The album, which has already gone gold, features the singles Crystalised, VCR, Basic Space and Islands.

Presenter and Producer/Julie Cullen

BBC 6 Music Publicity

English may be the most widely spoken language in the world but is it time to put greater emphasis and value on speaking Asian languages, especially in British Asian households? This BBC Asian Network Reports Special challenges the belief that European languages are often valued more than Asian ones.

British Asian children are not only more bilingual compared to 20 years ago, but they are also excelling at languages such as French, Spanish and German. Research from both Birmingham University and SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) concludes that children who are able to speak a number of languages perform better academically than those that do not.

The documentary investigates these findings and asks whether, even though Asian households' mother-tongue may be English and the traditional way languages are spoken is changing, it is time to bring Asian languages back into the home.

BBC Asian Network Publicity