Favourite Singers With Nick Heyward: NOW 80s: Monday 27th December: 12pm
Mr Favourite Shirts is back on NOW 80s – this time he selects his Favourite Singers! Including some who influenced him the most such as David Byrne & XTC’s Andy Partridge.
Carol Decker’s 30 Rock Chicks!: NOW 80s: Thursday 30th December: 9am
T’Pau’s Carol Decker brings a bit of Heart and Soul to a countdown of ’80s ladies who like to rock! With Joan Jett, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar. (as well as Toyah via the Thunder In The Mountains video)
50 Wild Women Of The 80s!: NOW 80s: Christmas Eve: 9am
Brilliant songs, big voices, blazing hair & bags of attitude – the ladies of the 80s had the lot! From Toyah to Tina & Joan Jett to Janet Jackson.
80s Stars – Then & Now!: NOW 80s: Christmas Eve: 4am
Where are they now? Classic hits, followed by some recent songs – Including Pet Shop Boys, Kylie, Toyah, The Stones, Gary Numan, The Pretenders, New Order, Rick Astley & T’Pau!
The 100 Greatest Musicals: More4: Christmas Day: 12pm
Part One, 100 – 51. Denise Van Outen presents the first in a two-part rundown of the 100 best musicals as voted for by viewers, featuring 42nd Street, 8 Mile and The Sound of Music. The first show counts down from 100 to 51 and features memorable clips from film, stage and TV, interspersed with interviews given by performers, directors, writers and choreographers.
The 100 Greatest Musicals: More4: Boxing Day: 10.55am
Part Two, 50 – 1. Denise Van Outen concludes the rundown of viewers’ favourite musicals, counting down from 50 to number one.
Janice Long’s Ladies With Attitude: NOW 80s: Tuesday 14th December: 1am
The 25 greatest women in rock and pop from across the decade, whose attitude and strength were never in doubt! Hosted by Radio 1 legend Janice Long.
Big Fat Quiz Of The 80s: 4Music: Christmas Day: 1am
Jimmy Carr is joined by three teams of top celebrities for another fiendishly difficult pub quiz about news, music, telly and fashions of the 80s. Playing the quiz are David Mitchell, Phill Jupitus, Alan Carr, Sarah Greene, Jack Dee and Jason Donovan. And, as ever, Jimmy is helped by a host of famous question-setters, including Jim Bowen, Kim Wilde, Tony Robinson and Toyah Willcox. (NB. This originally aired in September 2013).
The Lee Mack Show: BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Christmas Day: 10pm
Toyah Willcox. Series 1, episode 6. Comedy sketches and music, with regulars Angela McHale and Steve Brown and guest Toyah Willcox. First aired in 2005 (This show includes Toyah performing a stonkingly good version of Guns ‘N Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine).
80s Stars – Then & Now!: NOW 80s: Thursday 16th December: 4pm
Where are they now? Classic hits, followed by some recent songs – Including Pet Shop Boys, Kylie, Toyah, The Stones, Gary Numan, The Pretenders, New Order, Rick Astley & T’Pau!
80s Stars – Then & Now!: NOW 80s: Sunday 12th December: 12pm
Where are they now? Classic hits, followed by some recent songs – Including Pet Shop Boys, Kylie, Toyah, The Stones, Gary Numan, The Pretenders, New Order, Rick Astley & T’Pau!
Quatermass: Talking Pictures TV: Fri 17th Dec: 8pm
Chapter Four: An Endangered Species. Quatermass showing signs of his recent narrow escape emerges from the car park to find the stadium empty. An estimated 70,000 people died there. So many have now been harvested that the particles of dust in the air have turned the sky green. Kapp attempts to repair his equipment in order to contact the alien presence, but the Planet People destroy his efforts. They try to persuade him to join them but he refuses, convinced now that his family are dead. Quatermass, aided by Gurov, who has travelled to London from Moscow, assembles a team of scientists to find a solution. He deliberately selects old people for the task as they are immune to the call of the alien force. Quatermass decides to set a trap. He plans to fake the presence of a gathering of a million young people at Kapp’s observatory and, when the force comes, to detonate a 35 kiloton nuclear weapon. It is a focused charge where most of the force will go upwards, causing little damage in the area. Quatermass does not believe this will be sufficient to destroy the alien machine but he hopes that it will shock it enough to make it go away. Kapp volunteers to stay behind with Quatermass to help detonate the bomb. The pair set up the trap and wait in darkness. Suddenly, Kickalong appears with a group of Planet People, including Quatermass’ granddaughter, Hettie. Kapp tries to warn them away but is shot and killed by Kickalong.
The light appears, indicating that the alien force beam has arrived, but the shock of seeing his granddaughter among the Planet People causes Quatermass to suffer a heart attack. She has recognised him too and struggling to reach the detonator button, Quatermass is aided by Hettie and together they detonate the bomb. Later in a world that is recovering from the recent fall of civilization, Gurov tells us: “The message was taken. It has not come again. We pray it will never come again”.
This episode originally aired on 14th November 1979 on the ITV network and was watched by 11.2m viewers in the UK. The 1979, four-part, mini series Quatermass (also known as The Quatermass Conclusion or Quatermass IV) is airing weekly from Tuesday 19th May. Stars John Mills, Simon McCorkindale, Barbara Kellerman, Ralph Arliss, Rebecca Saire, Toyah Willcox, David Yip, Alison Dowling.
• Talking Pictures TV is An Archive Film & TV Channel. Available on the following platforms/channels: Freeview 81, YouView 81, Freesat 306, Sky 328 and Virgin 445.
Favourite Singers With Nick Heyward: NOW 80s: Friday 10th December: 0.00am
Mr Favourite Shirts is back on NOW 80s – this time he selects his Favourite Singers! Including some who influenced him the most such as David Byrne & XTC’s Andy Partridge.
Carol Decker’s 30 Rock Chicks!: NOW 80s: Monday 6th December: 1am
T’Pau’s Carol Decker brings a bit of Heart and Soul to a countdown of ’80s ladies who like to rock! With Joan Jett, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar. (as well as Toyah via the Thunder In The Mountains video)
80s Stars – Then & Now!: NOW 80s: Monday 6th December: 1pm
Where are they now? Classic hits, followed by some recent songs – Including Pet Shop Boys, Kylie, Toyah, The Stones, Gary Numan, The Pretenders, New Order, Rick Astley & T’Pau!
Quatermass: Talking Pictures TV: Fri 10th Dec: 8pm
Chapter Three: What Lies Beneath. Quatermass is rescued by a group of elderly people living in a scrap yard who doctor his injuries. At the hospital, the doctors are shocked when Isabel levitates off her bed and explodes in a cloud of dust. Elsewhere, the devastated Kapp is left alone in the ruins of his cottage and observatory. More and more young people are joining the Planet People, including the gangs that have been terrorising the cities and the soldiers assigned to keep them away from the Megalithic sites. Contact is restored with Chuck Marshall and with the Russians in the form of Gurov (Brewster Mason). Quatermass theorises that this is not the first time this has happened; megalithic sites such as prehistoric stone circles are in fact markers where beacons have been left by the people living then as a sign that something terrible happened there, and that there are some kind of alien markers buried underground at these sites. Quatermass believes there is a sphere of energy surrounding the Earth. The Russians and the Americans send a space shuttle, commanded by Marshall, to make contact with the force. Quatermass is sceptical; he believes they are dealing not with an intelligence but with a machine constructed to harvest human protein. The space shuttle reports a giant beam of light stretching from somewhere in deep space to the Earth, just missing them. A second beam just afterwards destroys them.
Meanwhile, the Planet People are gathering at Wembley Stadium in the tens of thousands. Annie and Quatermass travel to the stadium but are powerless to prevent the Planet People from gathering. When they are attacked, Annie drives their car into the underground car park beneath the stadium where she crashes the vehicle and is killed. The lightning strikes the stadium and Quatermass underground, huddles against the wall to try and survive.
This episode originally aired on 7th November 1979 on the ITV network and was watched by 10.5m viewers in the UK. The 1979, four-part, mini series Quatermass (also known as The Quatermass Conclusion or Quatermass IV) is airing weekly from Tuesday 19th May. Stars John Mills, Simon McCorkindale, Barbara Kellerman, Ralph Arliss, Rebecca Saire, Toyah Willcox, David Yip, Alison Dowling.
• Talking Pictures TV is An Archive Film & TV Channel. Available on the following platforms/channels: Freeview 81, YouView 81, Freesat 306, Sky 328 and Virgin 445. (Photos © ITV)
Quadrophenia – Our Generation: Sky Arts: Thursday 2nd December: 9pm
Quadrophenia – Our Generation: Sky Arts: Sunday 5th December: 4am
Quadrophenia – Our Generation: Sky Arts: Thursday 9th December: 2.45am
Celebrity fans and cast members come together to shed light on the making of Quadrophenia and explore the legacy that the cult film has left behind, 40 years after its release. (Photo © Sky Arts)
80s Stars – Then & Now!: NOW 80s: Sunday 28th November: 4pm
80s Stars – Then & Now!: NOW 80s: Wednesday 1st December: 9am
Where are they now? Classic hits, followed by some recent songs – Including Pet Shop Boys, Kylie, Toyah, The Stones, Gary Numan, The Pretenders, New Order, Rick Astley & T’Pau!
Toyah’s Sack The Stylist?! Top 30: NOW 80s: Tuesday 30th November: 4pm
Pop legend Toyah brings 30 memorable videos featuring a cavalcade of clothing calamities from superstars including Visage, Five Star, Divine, Cher, The Jam, Bananarama, Dead Or Alive, Bucks Fizz, ABC, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Madonna, Adam & The Ants, A Flock Of Seagulls, Roxy Music, Kajagoogoo, Duran Duran, Grace Jones, Su Pollard, Toyah herself and more in this crazy countdown!
Who Won Wot? 1980 – 1989: NOW 80s: Friday 3rd December: 9am
From Smash Hits “Most Unwanted Person of 1980” to the Brits “Best Group” of 1989 – Mark Goodier’s 10 hour marathon of 80s award winners lasts nearly as long as the Oscars. (The first artist played from 1981 is Toyah, with the Thunder In The Mountains video. Mark said: “We begin 1981 with a 4ft 11 pop star who had the biggest hair of the entire decade, here’s the Most Fanciable (as voted by Smash Hits magazine readers) Toyah Willcox with Thunder In The Mountains“).
Backstage Tales : BBC Radio Four Extra
Mon 6th/Tues 7th December : 2.30pm/2.30am
Midge Ure reveals the bizarre world of musicians on tour
He spills the beans on ‘the rider’, tour catering, tricky artists and overprotective managers and the most eye-watering examples of rock ‘n’ roll excess, and frugality, backstage. Getting a rock tour on the road is a massive undertaking, particularly if the star has a large entourage. Just feeding the crew is a military operation.
Having spent nearly 30 years on the road, Midge is perfectly placed to reveal the reality of musicians on tour. Fascinated by this bizarre backstage world, Midge goes on a mission to track down music promoters, tour managers, caterers, roadies, record company employees and the stars themselves to gather together the most intriguing and amusing backstage tales. The programme also hears from Jason Donovan, Boy George, Kim Wilde, Toyah Willcox and Martin Kemp.
• Listen at the BBC Radio 4 Extra website. (This originally aired in November 2011)
Who Won Wot? 1980 – 1989: NOW 80s: Friday 26th November: 9am
From Smash Hits “Most Unwanted Person of 1980” to the Brits “Best Group” of 1989 – Mark Goodier’s 10 hour marathon of 80s award winners lasts nearly as long as the Oscars. (The first artist played from 1981 is Toyah, with the Thunder In The Mountains video. Mark said: “We begin 1981 with a 4ft 11 pop star who had the biggest hair of the entire decade, here’s the Most Fanciable (as voted by Smash Hits magazine readers) Toyah Willcox with Thunder In The Mountains“).
