At a time when the world and his wife are complaining about the BBC, it’s worth noting a project which illustrates the real value that the Corporation is able to provide from its unique historical archive.
The latest collection from the BBC Archives is a celebration of the unique place that Liverpool, City of Culture 2008, has in the UK’s musical heritage. Featuring TV and radio programmes and excerpts, the collection illustrates that there is far more to its cultural contribution than just the Beatles — though, of course, they’re represented here.
The key programme in the collection is the 1965 documentary, The Singing City, which looks at how the port’s Welsh and Irish roots contributed to its vibrant musical tradition. But modernisation was an encroaching threat:
In 1965, Liverpool council displaced thousands of families from the city centre, rehousing them in the suburbs. This documentary looks at the immediate effects of this migration, and at different aspects of Liverpool’s cultural makeup, from Catholic and Protestant rituals to football terraces, comedians like Ken Dodd and a deep-rooted folk music tradition.
Included in the rest of the collection are contributions from Gerry Marsden, Brian Epstein, Holly Johnson, Pete Wylie and Roger McGough.
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