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The 80s - Music’s Greatest Decade?

Series 1

True Originals

Duration: 58 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two HDLatest broadcast: on BBC Four

Available for years

Dylan Jones has written books about many musical eras - their shining stars and defining moments - but the time that fascinates him most is the 1980s. It was an exciting, explosive super-decade, in which a dazzling array of new genres emerged while video really did kill the radio star.

It was also an age of innovators and icons, of style and substance. Here, Dylan celebrates some of the stars who created the timeless legacy of the 1980s. From stellar BBC archive performances from the likes of Madonna, Depeche Mode, Sade, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys and Tina Turner to iconic MTV-era gems from Billy Idol, Eurythmics, U2, Janet Jackson, Prince and many more.

It also features rarely seen archive television footage from the BBC vaults, including Terry Wogan interviewing Grace Jones, Bruce Springsteen on the Old Grey Whistle Test and Adam Ant performing his own stunts in a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Prince Charming video. Show less

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