Pop Britannia - Season 1

This edition charts Britain's journey from the austere post-war years, when popular music meant 'light entertainment' and was dominated by the conservative tastes of the establishment, to the early 1960s when British pop ruled the world. Contributors include Cliff Richard, Marty Wilde, Ray Gosling, Bruce Welch and Helen Shapiro.

In the 60s Britain went pop mad. The architects were a group of artists and entrepreneurs who would prise pop out of the grasp of showbiz interests to create a truly authentic British sound of the Beatles, Stones and Who and at the same time prepared the way for a new, more corporate pop business. With Pete Townsend, Sir George Martin, Bryan Ferry, Sandie Shaw and Lulu.

This last part looks at the constant struggle between the forces of art and commerce. In the early 80s, punk-inspired art students such as The Human League and ABC took British pop to the top of the world's charts, but from the late 80s onwards, dynasties of star-makers such as Stock Aitken and Waterman have tried to mould British pop into a highly-profitable production line.