Harry Shearer Sits In (2/2)

2016-09-11: More eclectic music choices from the multi-talented Harry Shearer, including jazz, reggae and new music from Brazil. 

Harry Shearer Sits In (1/2)

2016-09-04: Harry Shearer, star of The Simpsons and Spinal Tap, takes us on a tour of two great American music capitals: first to LA and its legendary recording studios; then to New Orleans, home of funky Mardi Gras carnival music like dixie, cajun and bounce.

KATHY BURKE

For April Fool's Day, we hear the classic 1957 Panorama report about spaghetti farming.  Jarvis talks about the Teenage Cancer Trust gig he played last night, which has left him a bit sleepy; and the listeners are invited to suggest funny songs.  Terry Jones reports on penguins migrating to the tropical sunshine.  Actor, director and writer Kathy Burke drops in: she discusses the TV series she's written, Walking and Talking, a comedy drama about her memories of being 14 and passionate about punk.  She also describes the time Morrissey followed her to the pub to ask her to be in his music video, and shares some songs that make her smile.  Jarvis finishes with a surprising announcement.  Birthdays: William Harvey, Milan Kundera, Ali MacGraw, Annie Nightingale, Sergei Rachmaninov, Carol White, Gil Scott Heron (on his early experiences of music) and Ronnie Lane (with the story behind the song Lazy Sunday).

John Hurt

Today is the Spring Equinox, when light and darkness are perfectly balanced. On This Day, Einstein published the Theory of Relativity, the Moondog Ball was held, Alcatraz closed, JR was shot and a hot air balloon first went round the world; it's also Harmony Day in Australia. Vivian Stanshall performs a shaggy Bonzo Dog story. And for World Poetry Day, Jarvis reads Portrait of the Artist as a Prematurely Old Man by Ogden Nash. Then he is joined by actor John Hurt. John discusses how attitudes to drinking have changed since the 1960s. Jarvis asks about his youth at art school, and John reveals how to avoid becoming 'an old fogey'. He also discusses how attitudes to sexuality have revolutionised since The Naked Civil Servant, and there's a clip of Quentin Crisp himself speaking. Birthdays: JS Bach, Son House, Brian Clough, Gary Oldman, Russ Meyer, Guy Chadwick and Vivian Stanshall.