Original version

BBC Four

BBC 4

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

Janet Fraser-Crook

Serena Cross

Songwriters' Circle: Series 2: Episode 3: Donovan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Roger Cook

Donovan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Roger Cook

Episode 3

Episode 3: Donovan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Roger Cook

Series 2

BBC Four - Songwriters' Circle, Series 2, Donovan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Roger CookClose menu

Donovan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Roger Cook perform their classics and chat about their work.

Filmed at London's Porchester Hall, singer-songwriters Donovan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Roger Cook perform their classics, chat about their work and collaborate musically.

The third show in this stripped-back acoustic series reunites three influential songwriters hailing from the 1960s, and the result suggests their songs will endure for many decades to come. 

There's a strong camaraderie and sense of mutual respect between Donovan, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Roger Cook as they share the stage in the impressive surroundings of London's Porchester Hall. 

Donovan, with his trademark green guitar and quirky musings, gives confident renditions from his rich back catalogue, with classics like Mellow Yellow, Sunshine Superman and Catch the Wind, and the others join him in a singalong of Colours. 

Buffy Sainte-Marie is hypnotic, whether performing Until It's Time for You to Go, covered most notably by Elvis, or protest song Universal Soldier, a hit for Donovan, or indeed the original version of monster power ballad Up Where We Belong, which achieved such fame when sung by Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker as the theme for the film An Officer and a Gentleman. 

Ukulele-wielding Roger Cook is a revelation. Bristol-bred and Nashville-settled, his name may be unfamiliar to much of the British audience, but he co-wrote such monster hits as I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Crystal Gayle's Talking In Your Sleep and Gene Pitney's Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart. 

A nostalgic treat.

Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Songwriters' Circle

Series 2

Episode 3: Donovan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Roger Cook

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC Four

About BBC Four