Eleanor Rigby

What’s Paul McCartney, a Liverpudlian, doing writing about the Soviet Union in 1968? Turns out McCartney was doing a little Chuck Berry, a bit of The Beach Boys, some pastiche and a lot of subversion. Opening “The White Album”, “Back in the U.S.S.R.” raised some eyebrows. And bec ...  Show more

Paul McCartney’s mother Mary passed away in 1956, when Paul was only 14 years old. Over a decade later, she appeared to him in a dream, lending a few immortal words of wisdom: “Let it be.” These words arrived in time to help see Paul through the difficult days after The Beatles’ ...  Show more

Countless decisions, large and small, aided The Beatles’ ascent to the top of popular culture. The release of their debut single, “Love Me Do,” in the UK in the fall of 1962 was one of those decisions. Their debut on American television was another. In this first episode of seaso ...  Show more

This programme was first broadcast in 2008. Soft Cell hitmaker Dave Ball has died aged 66.

Originally a Motown song written by Ed Cobb and recorded by Gloria Jones, Tainted Love became famous on the UK's Northern Soul scene in the late 1970s.

It was heard by Marc ...

"Glass Onion" is a song by the Beatles from their 1968 double-album The Beatles (also known as the "White Album") primarily written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. This is the first track on the album to feature Ringo Starr on drums. Starr briefly left the group ...  Show more

Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.Dido's Lament is a popular name for a famous aria, 'When I am laid in earth', from the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, with the libretto by Nahum Tate. Mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly talks about why she find ...  Show more