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Pauline Black

Zoe Jewell

Steve Condie

7 Wonder Productions

The People's History of Pop: Episode 3: 1976-1985 Tribal Gatherings

Documentaries

1976-1985 Tribal Gatherings

Episode 3

Episode 3: 1976-1985 Tribal Gatherings

The People's History of Pop

BBC Four - The People's History of Pop, 1976-1985 Tribal Gatherings

A look at 1976-1985, when punk hit Britain and rival tribes exploded onto the high street.

The story of pop music through fans' memories and memorabilia from 1976-1985, when punk hit Britain and rival tribes exploded onto the high street.

Pauline Black, lead singer of Two Tone band The Selecter, looks at the years 1976-1985, when she first picked up a guitar and when music got involved in passionate protest and the high street filled with colourful factions of music lovers. 
 
After a lot of big hair and big rock stars, punks brought pop back down to earth and, out of that, music lovers shattered into an array of pop tribes who posed with passion. 

We hear from a man who loved listening to pop hits on Radio 1 and who recorded his own 'Record for the Day' in his incredible picture diary every day. And one former student at a college in Surrey tells how a ball at his graduation was saved by a favourite rock star when the headline act pulled out - neighbour Elton John popped over and played an intimate set on the college's grand piano. 
 
We speak to fans whose lives were changed forever by punk, and the members of an Asian punk band who were inspired by the music to shout for what they believed in at Rock Against Racism gigs and marches. Mods, a Numanoid and a fan of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal explain why they chose their tribes, while Two Tone was the music that tried to unite the kids and just get them dancing. The reverend of Kerry parish shares her unstoppable love of Duran Duran, much to the regret of her punk fiancé. And pop fans were brought together by the experience of Live Aid, when music changed the world outside of us.
 
Unearthed pop treasures include a tambourine punched through by Sid Vicious, played by a Sex Pistols fan as he sang with the band on the Great Rock n Roll Swindle album. A former music promoter shares some rare items from the Sex Pistols' ill-fated Anarchy in the UK tour, and the son of artist Ray Lowry shows Pauline the drawings his dad did of The Clash's summer American tour in 1979, when Ray was taken as their 'war artist'. We feature some precious material that gives us an insight into the thinking of The Clash's lead singer, Joe Strummer.

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Episode 3: 1976-1985 Tribal Gatherings

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