Joni Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend. In the first episode, we hear how young Joni loves to watch the trains go by from the window of her house in a Saskatchewan prairie town. Even as a child, there is a desire to see what's around the next bend. She's a tomboy and an athlete, until polio forces her into a period of convalescence; she's no longer picked...

In a special edition of Mastertapes, guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer, Richard Hawley welcomes John Wilson to the Crucible in his home town of Sheffield. Throughout his 33 (and a third?) year career as a musician (he first recorded a John Peel session at the age of 19, with his band, Treebound Story), Sheffield has always played an influential part in Richard Hawley's song-writing. His 2001 album, Late Night Final, was named after the cry of vendors selling the Sheffield Star...

John Wilson returns with another run of the series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition has John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then the audience puts the questions. American Pie by Don McLean Twenty-four year old Don McLean's debut album was rejected by 72 labels before it was released by Mediarts. It...

John Wilson returns with another run of the series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Modern day super-group, DAMON ALBARN, PAUL SIMONON, TONY ALLEN and SIMON TONG talk to John Wilson about their acclaimed debut album "The Good, The Bad & The Queen." Released in 2007, the album brought together Blur's front-man, the bassist from the Clash,...

John Wilson returns with another run of the series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Lily Allen talks to John Wilson about her fourth and most personal album, "No Shame" Always conversational in tone and infused with a dark sense of humour, Lily Allen's lyrics never shies away from the personal - and her most recent album, released in July 2018,...

In a special edition of Mastertapes to celebrate National Album Day, Elvis Costello, the consummate album artist talks to John Wilson and plays his way back through a career that has spanned five decades, premiers exclusive tracks from his new album and takes questions from the audience. From his critically acclaimed debut album, My Aim Is True, released in 1977 to his newly released Look Now, his first new album in five years, Elvis Costello has been widely recognised as one of Britain's...

John Wilson concludes the seventh series of Mastertapes, the programme in which he talks to leading artists about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios, each edition includes John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, the audience asks the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances. Cult singer-songwriter and artist Benjamin Clementine talks to John Wilson about...

Jimmy Webb talks to John Wilson about his song writing career

John Wilson continues with another recording for the series in which leading artists discuss the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios, each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience asks the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances. Singer-songwriter David Gray talks to John Wilson about the album that...

John Wilson returns with another edition of Mastertapes the programme in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé takes us back to her debut album "Our...

With six Grammys, three Emmys and two Oscars (from 20 Academy Award nominations) - to say nothing of his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and membership of both the Songwriters and the Rock & Roll Halls of Fame - means that Randy Newman has one of the most crowded mantelpieces in the world of popular entertainment. In this special edition of MASTERTAPES the legendary singer-songwriter and composer talks to John Wilson about 'Sail Away' – the album that Rolling Stone magazine...

John Wilson continues with the series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. The legendary TOM JONES talks to John Wilson about `Praise and Blame' - the first of a trilogy of albums that would take him back to his musical roots. Described as a musical "shape shifter" who could "slide from soulful rasp to pop croon, with a voice as husky as it...

John Wilson continues with the series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. CRAIG DAVID talks and plays his way back to 2000 and his debut album, "Born To Do It", which went on to sell 8 million copies world-wide. Recorded and released when Craig David was only 18 years old, the album includes the hits, Fill Me In, Walking Away, Rendezvous and 7...

John Wilson returns with another edition of Mastertapes, the series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. "Love, Death and the Lady" with Shirley Collins. Released in 1970 on the Harvest label (also home to Deep Purple, Kevin Ayers and Pink Floyd), Love Death & the Lady exuded a darkness that reflected Shirley's own personal loneliness at...

John Wilson returns with another edition of Mastertapes, in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then the audience puts the questions. Graham Nash has twice been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame - once with The Hollies and then with Crosby, Stills and Nash. In May 1971...

John Wilson returns with another edition of Mastertapes, the programme in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then the audience puts the questions. This time John talks to Laura Marling about her 2013 album 'Once I was An Eagle.' Laura Marling was only 18 when she released...

On the eve of the sixth series of Mastertapes (which features the likes of Laura Marling, Graham Nash and Shirley Collins) there is another chance to hear the Mastertapes special, in which Paul McCartney joins John Wilson. Recorded in the iconic BBC Maida Vale studios, they discuss songwriting, Paul's solo career in the years immediately after The Beatles, his recent collaborations with Kanye West, and working with the likes of George Martin, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and - obviously -...

Following on from the A-side of this two-part programme, the audience ask Nigel Kennedy questions about his record-breaking 1989 recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. Series in which leading performers and songwriters talk about the album that made them or changed them. With John Wilson at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios in London. Nigel also performs exclusive excerpts from his classical and jazz repertoire. Producers: Paul Kobrak and John Goudie. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4...

Nigel Kennedy talks about his record breaking 1989 recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. Series in which leading performers and songwriters talk about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios, each edition includes two episodes - the A-side and B-side. In the A-side, Nigel Kennedy. talks to John Wilson about the best-selling classical work of all time. Having trained at both the Yehudi Menuhin School of...

John Wilson continues with his fifth series of Mastertapes, in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Programme 10 (B-side): Having discussed the making of 'Hedonism' (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 18th January and available online), Bellowhead respond to questions from the audience and performs exclusive live acoustic versions of...

John Wilson continues with his new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Programme 9. 'Hedonism' by Bellowhead, released in 2010 and still the best selling independent folk album of all time. The idea for Bellowhead came to John Spiers and Jon Boden when they were caught in a traffic jam on tour. The longer they were stuck in the car, the...

John Wilson continues with his fifth series of Mastertapes, in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Programme 6 (B-side): Having discussed the making of 'Sunshine Superman' (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 11th January and available online), Donovan responds to questions from the audience and performs exclusive live acoustic...

John Wilson continues with the fifth series of Mastertapes, the programme in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Programme 7. DONOVAN talks to John Wilson about 'Sunshine Superman', which according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "ignited the psychedelic revolution virtually single-handedly" when it was released in the summer of 1966. 'Sunshine...

John Wilson continues with his fifth series of Mastertapes, in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Programme 6 (B-side): Having discussed the making of 'Handsworth Revolution' (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 4th January and available online), David Hind and Selwyn Brown respond to questions from the audience and perform exclusive...