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BBC Four

Sara Cox

Tamsin Curry

Zoe Jewell

Steve Condie

7 Wonder Productions

The People's History of Pop: Episode 5: 1997-2010 Closer Than Close

1997-2010 Closer Than Close

Episode 5

Episode 5: 1997-2010 Closer Than Close

The People's History of Pop

BBC Four - The People's History of Pop, 1997-2010 Closer Than Close

Looking at the era when technology ripped up the rule book for fans forever.

The story of pop music through fans' memories and memorabilia. The last episode looks at an era when technology ripped up the rule book for fans forever.

Sara Cox looks at the time when the internet opened up new worlds for music fans and brought them closer to their musical heroes than ever before.

It starts in the years leading up to the year 2000 - a time when information overload and uncertainty about new technologies was creating an anxiety about the future.

We hear from fans who loved a band that were tackling this millennial angst head-on with a new album - Radiohead with their 1997 album OK Computer. 

As this new technology enters our lives, we meet people who are starting to change the relationship between fans and bands - a fan who saves his favourite band Travis from the bad press reviews of their second album with a letter written to Melody Maker in 1999 and a chart pop fan who manages to meet his favourite pop heroes with an ingenious, homemade piece of memorabilia.

From the same period, we get an insight into the new clubbing trends - from the outfits, photos and magazine articles saved by a pioneer of a new, fan-powered tribe on the dancefloor - the Crasher Kids  - who become the identity of Sheffield club Gatecrasher, to a fan whose flyers chart the rise of grassroots sound UK garage, which went from the airwaves of pirate radio and Sunday night clubs scene in London to the top of the charts.

In the 2000s, fans could now decide who their pop stars were going to be and we meet a mother and daughter whose lives were changed by Will Young, who in turn change his life by voting for him in Pop Idol.
 
With the arrival of file sharing in the early 2000s, a fan recounts how the unconventional rise of The Arctic Monkeys was all thanks to fans sharing music on online forums and Myspace. And as technology develops, we see how a fan's canny use of YouTube opened up the grime scene of east London to the world.

Along the way we hear the remarkable stories behind photos and signed set-lists from Amy Winehouse, the one-off fan club magazine from The Libertines and footage of a gig in Pete Doherty's flat, and footage of the moment when Adele gave her stage over to two very surprised fans.

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Episode 5: 1997-2010 Closer Than Close

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