Classic Albums - Season 8

The Doors' eponymous debut album alone assures them a place in rock and roll history. Together with the voice and lyrics of Jim Morrison this mix of blues, rock and jazz has made it one of the greatest debuts ever. In less than a year after its release, the Doors would go from Los Angeles favourites to one of the biggest bands in the world.

With the use of interviews, musical demonstration, rare archive footage and live performances, the documentary tells the story behind the conception and recording of the album and the creation of their distinctive trademark sound, and charts the transition of Jim Morrison from reticent vocalist to one of the most electrifying and sexually-charged performers in rock music.

Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore, the surviving members of the Doors, share memories of the band's early days and the making of the album, and throw light on to living with the lyrical genius Jim Morrison.

Other contributors include manager Bill Siddons, beat poet Michael McClure, record company guru Jac Holzman, musicians Henry Rollins and Perry Farrell and Los Angeles DJ Jim Ladd, who add insight to the Doors as musicians, composers and leaders of a generation.

Bruce Botnick, the engineer on every Doors album, examines the original multi-track tapes and gives a guide through the recording process of such classic songs as Break on Through, Light My Fire, End of the Night, Alabama Song, The Crystal Ship, Back Door Man, Soul Kitchen and The End.

Series looking at the creation of classic albums documents the making of John Lennon's 1970 first post-Beatles solo album. Regarded as a classic, it is a fierce, raw, emotionally painful yet beautiful album. It contains some of the most personal and cathartic songs John ever wrote including Mother, Love, Working Class Hero , Isolation and God.

Drawing from his painful and difficult early life, the songs address the basic issues of death, isolation, anger, religion, class, fear and love. Most of them were written while John and Yoko were undergoing primal therapy with Dr Arthur Janov at his centre in California to deal with the root causes of their pain and neuroses.

In 1981, Duran Duran leapt into the limelight with two hit singles and their first album, but it was the follow-up, Rio, which catapulted the band to global success.

Against a backdrop of Thatcher's Britain, with riots, record unemployment and the Falklands conflict, Duran Duran released this optimistic, celebratory and uniquely visual album. Rio would go on to become one of the most successful albums of the 1980s and paved the way for Duran Duran to become one of the world's biggest bands.

The programme tells the story behind the writing, recording and subsequent success of Rio through interviews, musical demonstrations and archive footage. Original band members Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor are interviewed along with director Russell Mulcahy, former manager Paul Berrow, journalist Beverley Glick, designer Anthony Price and Bob Geldof amongst others.

Rio captures Duran Duran at the height of their powers, with wall-to-wall hits and great videos.