Eras

In a few hectic years, the Spice Girls had surpassed their wildest dreams. But it hadn’t come easy. By the turn of the Millennium, they’d given everything they had.

Featuring BBC Archive from the Girls themselves, alongside new interviews with a star-studded cast of superfans, including Jade Thirlwall, Self Esteem, Delta Goodrem, Brandi Carlile, and Rylan Clark, you’ll discover why the Spice Girls still mean so much.

A Cup and Nuzzle Production.

After parting ways with manager Simon Fuller, the Girls are doing it for themselves. But storm clouds are gathering over Spice World.

In Episode Three, Rosie Ramsey follows the Spice Girls as they enter an uncertain new era. Tabloids abound, a backlash brews, and five become four. Friendship never ends. Or does it?

It’s a story told in the Girls’ own words from the BBC Archive, and featuring new interviews from the people who watched it all unfold - including PR legend Alan Edwards.

A Cup and Nuzzle Production.

In 1996, the world met The Spice Girls. It didn’t know what hit it.

In Episode 2, Rosie Ramsey takes you inside the all-conquering whirlwind that was Spice Mania.

Under the watchful eye of music biz supremo Simon Fuller, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton and Victoria Adams bring Girl Power to the masses. It’s a dream come true - but is it all too much?

You’ll hear it from the Girls themselves through rare BBC Archive, and in new interviews from the people who were there - including Peter Loraine, Jayne Middlemiss, Sara Cox, photographer Harry Borden and costume designers Kate Carin and Eleanor Baker. Superfans Delta Goodrem, Olly Alexander, Fearne Cotton and Clara Amfo weigh in on a generational obsession.

A Cup and Nuzzle Production.

Five girls. One era-defining phenomenon.

Meet the Spice Girls.

In Episode One, Rosie Ramsey follows the Girls as they take their first steps on the path to superstardom. It’s a time for sisterhood, a little subterfuge, and a total refusal to do anything but win.

Told in the Spice Girls own words from the BBC archive, and featuring brand new interviews with friends, fans and collaborators - including manager Chris Herbert, vocal coach Pepi Lemer, and journalist Miranda Sawyer.

A Cup and Nuzzle Production.

In celebration of what would’ve been his 100th birthday, we’re excited to share a clip from the latest series of the Legend podcast, The Miles Davis Story.

In the series, acclaimed actor and longtime fan Clarke Peters (The Wire, Treme, Da 5 Bloods) explores the life and legacy of a visionary artist whose relentless pursuit of the "new" often scorched his own life and the lives of those around him.

Across the series, Clarke charts Miles’s ever-evolving artform, starting with this first great transformation of a legend - when the young Miles chose to step into the unknown, seize control of his own creative destiny, and begin his journey as a leader.

Blending archival recordings and legendary tracks with fresh perspectives from a range of creators, the series reveals how Miles’ influence ripples far beyond the world of jazz. We discover how his attitude and aesthetic fearlessness impacted on the likes of Oscar-winning filmmakers, celebrated designers and music icons like Prince, Joni Mitchell, Sting and even bands like Radiohead, as well as generations of now also legendary jazz musicians that he championed early in their careers - John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Keith Jarrett and Marcus Miller, to name a few.

This is episode one of the series - if you like what you hear, you can listen to every episode only on BBC Sounds. Just search for ‘Legend’.

Miles Davis Interview: From Jazz Talking by Ben Sidran, 1986.

Featured tracks (in order of appearance)

Presenter: Clarke Peters

This is episode one of the series - if you like what you hear, you can listen to every episode only on BBC Sounds. Just search for ‘Legend’.

In the final part of Eras: Phil Collins, Zoe Ball sits down with the man himself for a new and exclusive conversation, encompassing everything from Phil’s earliest aspirations as a kid with a drum set to his poignant reflections at the other end of an incredible career.

In the 1990s, Phil Collins’ status as rock and roll’s resident nice guy is thrown into question after the collapse of his second marriage, the leak of a certain fax, and a subsequent tabloid frenzy. Bruised by the experience, Phil begins a gradual retreat from the industry – moving to Switzerland, then quitting Genesis, and ultimately announcing his own ‘Final Farewell Tour’ in 2004.

But retirement is easier said than done. Zoe Ball follows Phil Collins through an epic and emotional final act, as struggles with ill health leave him unable to play the drums. But all the while that he’s away, Phil’s music is finding its way to a new generation, and soon the cries for one final farewell get too loud to ignore…

A Cup and Nuzzle Production for BBC Sounds

In 1985, after a couple of massive singles and an Oscar nomination, Phil Collins stands on the precipice of global megastardom. Then comes No Jacket Required, Live Aid, a red hot hit streak with Genesis – and he’s hurled over the edge.

From time zone defying Concorde operatics to soundtracking – and starring in – Miami Vice, Zoe Ball charts Phil’s imperial era. The critics might be giving him a hard time, but in stadiums all over the world legions of fans sing every word to his constantly expanding stable of mega hits.

But as the demands on his time and attention multiply… it’s only a matter of time before there’s a personal cost to so much success.

A Cup and Nuzzle Production for BBC Sounds

It’s the dawn of the 1980s, and Phil’s life has been thrown into turmoil by the breakdown of his marriage – but amidst the heartbreak, he finds a new drive to create.

Zoe Ball follows Phil Collins as he steps away from Genesis and makes his first, unforgettable statement as a solo artist. The album – and a certain drum fill in its opening track – propel Phil to the status of Britain’s most unassuming popstar. With it comes his first taste of both the highs and lows of so much exposure. Opportunities to work with his heroes, Eric Clapton and Robert Plant, come knocking – but then so do the bad reviews…

Will the madness get to Mr. Everyman’s head?

A Cup and Nuzzle Production for BBC Sounds

Who’s that cherubic lad, beaming out from the cover of a 9 penny knitting pattern?

Meet young Philip Collins – a boy born with two distinct paths laid out before him. Follow his dad into the world of office work and suburban domesticity? Or listen to that voice that tells him to climb onto stage, any stage, and perform?

In episode one of Eras: Phil Collins – Zoe follows Phil as he receives his first toy drum, age three, and discovers a lifelong obsession. One that will ultimately lead him to his destiny, as he stumbles into an audition with a little-known prog rock group called Genesis.

A Cup and Nuzzle Production for BBC Sounds