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BBC Four

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Songwriters' Circle

Performances & Events

Music: Classic Pop & Rock

Singer-songwriters get together to perform their own classics, chat and collaborate

Singer-songwriters get together in intimate venues to perform their own classics, chat about their work and collaborate musically

Songwriters' Circle: Series 2

John Grant

Janet Fraser-Crook

Serena Cross

Songwriters' Circle: Series 2: Episode 1: Allen Toussaint, James Dean Bradfield, John Grant

Allen Toussaint, James Dean Bradfield, John Grant

Episode 1

Episode 1: Allen Toussaint, James Dean Bradfield, John Grant

Series 2

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The singer-songwriters perform their classics, chat about their work and collaborate.

Filmed at London's Bush Hall, singer-songwriters Allen Toussaint, James Dean Bradfield and John Grant perform their classics, chat about their work and collaborate musically.

The new series of the songwriters' showcase gets off to a flying start with an intriguingly diverse trio of artists. 

Legendary American soul songwriter Allen Toussaint shares the stage at London's Bush Hall with Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield and the critically hailed ex-Czars frontman John Grant. 

Allen Toussaint has written for and been covered by countless artists, from Glen Campbell to The Grateful Dead, Irma Thomas to The Yardbirds. Here, accompanying himself with his elegant New Orleans-style piano playing, he performs classic songs like 'Working In a Coalmine', 'Get Out of My Life, Woman' and for the first time ever, 'It's Raining'. 

Mr Toussaint is clearly enthralled by the rich baritone and lovelorn confessional songs of John Grant on the piano opposite. Grant's solo debut 'Queen of Denmark" was Mojo's Album of the Year and this live performance shows why, with songs from the reference-laden 'Sigourney Weaver', to the sublime epic, 'Where Dreams Go to Die' .

Sandwiched between the two baby grands, James Dean Bradfield on guitar more than holds his own. The stripped back acoustic format reveals the unadorned strength of powerhouse band hits like 'If You Tolerate This' and 'Design for Life', as well as suiting gentler (musically, if not lyrically) songs like 'Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky'. 

An inspiring musical journey of discovery for artists and audience alike.

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Episode 1: Allen Toussaint, James Dean Bradfield, John Grant

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