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Johnnie Walker's Long Players: Series 10: Dare and A Walk Across The Rooftops

Dare and A Walk Across The Rooftops

Series 10

BBC Radio 2 - Johnnie Walker's Long Players, Series 10, Dare and A Walk Across The Rooftops

Fortunes change for The Human League and The Blue Nile create perfection.

Fortunes change for Sheffield's electronic pioneers The Human League in 1980 and Glasgow's The Blue Nile make an album often used to demonstrate the best HiFi systems in 1984.

Johnnie and David Hepworth conclude this final series of Long Players series with a look at two more classic albums. 

One from 1980 changed the fortunes of a Sheffield electronic band and gave us some of the most played tracks in the world (more than 89 million Spotify streams for Don’t You Want Me alone). 

The other, the much respected debut, was often used to demonstrate the highest quality HiFi systems, from Scottish perfectionists The Blue Nile, who have only released four albums since 1984.

Johnnie and David listen to archive interview clips from Phil Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley of The Human League and there is a brand new rare interview recorded with Paul Buchanan of The Blue Nile in Glasgow. 

David remembers that as editor of Smash Hits at the time, he often fell out with the biggest band of the day, but he was impressed that The Human League had a great story about discovering Joanne and Susan. Strange haircuts and cinematic videos are of course remembered. 

David also talks about the people he knows who describe The Blue Nile as the finest band in the world and how he himself enjoys listening to them and feeling a little bit sad at the close of the day. Johnnie describes A Walk Across The Rooftops as something which should be heard in its entirety with your full attention, despite the fact that this was the start of the era of taking music with you on the move.

Johnnie Walker's Long Players: Series 10

Amazing music. Played by an amazing line up.

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Series 10

Dare and A Walk Across The Rooftops

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