Mythical Beatles song confirmed

I missed this on Sunday but it turns out that Carnival of light, the until now mythical 14 minute avant garde track by the Beatles does exist. Influenced by Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage, it was considered too far out even by the Beatles' creative yard-stick. Paul McCartney was interviewed BBC Radio 4's Front Row, which will be broadcast on Thursday 20 November at 1915 GMT.

Read the BBC article

Cigarette on the Waveney - Roger Deakin

I was reminded the other day of an idea I had a long time ago after hearing a documentary about the river Waveney. The idea was a bit of a non starter at the time, so it was shelved as most of my ideas are. Great swathes of them gathering dust in notebooks, on scraps of paper in shoeboxes or down the back of the metaphorical sofa in my head, frankly where most of them should stay. I remembered recording the program and so set about searching for it on my Mac. Alas, no recording was to be found unfortunately. After a quick search on Google I discovered that the file was still available on the BBC science listen again service. 

The program is inspired by the Robert Louis Stevenson's journey along the rivers of Northern France and Belgium in his canoe, the Cigarette. Roger Deakin's evocative descriptions of the wildlife and atmosphere along the river - from its source in Redgrave to the Geldeston Locks on the Norfolk/Suffolk border -  bring the program to life. 

Listen to Cigarette on the Waveney

Beatles' creative juices flow

"For 44 years a canister of film had been stored in a damp garage in South London; unopened, unloved and almost thrown away.”

This is the story of a previously unseen interview with popular British beat combo The Beatles. The 9 minute interview is being broadcast on Radio 4 today at 13.30, and will be repeated on Saturday. 

It was originally recorded in April 1964, in a Scottish television studio and features John and Paul discussing their song writing technique. "Normally we sit down and try and bash one out" says Paul.

All part of the creative process I suppose.

For more information visit BBC News  or go to the Radio 4 website

A tribute to Humph

Stephen Fry presents a programme on Radio 4 this weekend to celebrate the life of the late (and irreplaceable) Humphrey Lyttleton. Best known on Radio 4 as the presenter of the antidote to panel games for 36 years, and amongst music lovers for his contributions to jazz, with his band and on Radio 2.

This program will preceded by Humph on Desert Island discs in 2006 and followed by King of the Swingers, Lyttleton's profile of musician Louis Prima.

Chairman Humph: A Tribute

Sunday 15 June 2008 12:00-12:57 (Radio 4 FM
The King of the Swingers
Sunday 15 June 2008 13:30-14:00 (Radio 4 FM)