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1997-2010 Closer Than Close

Episode 5 of 5

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.

1 hour

Last on

Fri 14 Jun 2019 23:00
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Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:00

    Blur

    Song 2

  • 00:03

    Roni Size / Reprazent

    Brown Paper Bag

  • 00:03

    Radiohead

    Paranoid Android

  • 00:04

    Radiohead

    Airbag

  • 00:04

    Radiohead

    Exit Music (For A Film)

  • 00:05

    Radiohead

    No Surprises

  • 00:06

    Radiohead

    Let Down

  • 00:07

    Supergrass

    Sun Hits The Sky

  • 00:07

    Radiohead

    Karma Police

  • 00:09

    Travis

    Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

  • 00:11

    Travis

    U16 Girls

  • 00:13

    S Club

    S Club Party

  • 00:14

    Eternal

    Stay

  • 00:14

    Eternal

    Power Of A Woman

  • 00:15

    Eternal, Bebe Winans

    Papa Smurf's Party (Let Me Be The Only One)

  • 00:15

    Robbie Williams

    Let Me Entertain You

  • 00:16

    Bewitched

    C'est La Vie

  • 00:17

    Faithless

    God Is A DJ

  • 00:18

    Art of Trance

    Madagascar (Ferry Corsten Mix)

  • 00:19

    Olive

    You’re Not Alone

  • 00:19

    Zombie Nation

    Zombie Nation

  • 00:20

    Coco Star vs Fragma

    Toca's Miracle

  • 00:21

    Scott Garcia

    A London Thing (London Mix)

  • 00:22

    187 Lockdown

    Gunman

  • 00:23

    MJ Cole

    Sincere

  • 00:23

    DJ Pied Piper & The Masters of Ceremonies

    Do You Really Like It

  • 00:23

    Rob Dougan

    Clubbed To Death (Kurayamino Variation)

  • 00:24

    Shanks & Bigfoot

    Sweet Like Chocolate

  • 00:24

    Original Dodger

    Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta) (feat. Craig David)

  • 00:24

    Craig David

    Fill Me In (Artful Bootleg Mix)

    Remix Artist: Artful.
  • 00:25

    Sweet Female Attitude

    Flowers

  • 00:26

    Feeder

    Just A Day

  • 00:28

    Spice Girls

    Who Do You Think You Are

  • 00:29

    Basement Jaxx

    Do Your Thing

  • 00:31

    Will Young

    Leave Right Now

  • 00:32

    The Libertines

    Up The Bracket

  • 00:35

    The Libertines

    Don't Look Back Into the Sun

  • 00:37

    Amy Winehouse

    Stronger Than Me

  • 00:37

    Amy Winehouse

    F**k Me Pumps

  • 00:39

    Amy Winehouse

    Take The Box

  • 00:40

    Del Shannon

    Runaway

  • 00:42

    Amy Winehouse

    Love Is A Losing Game

  • 00:42

    Amy Winehouse

    Back To Black

  • 00:44

    Arctic Monkeys

    Fake Tales Of San Francisco

  • 00:48

    Dizzee Rascal

    Fix Up, Look Sharp

  • 00:48

    Wiley

    Wot Do U Call It?

  • 00:49

    Jammer

    Murkle Man

  • 00:49

    Wretch 32

    Traktor (Proms 2015)

    Performer: Wretch 32. Performer: MistaJam. Performer: Sian Anderson. Orchestra: Metropole Orkest. Conductor: Jules Buckley.
  • 00:50

    Onyx

    Last Dayz

  • 00:51

    Dizzee Rascal

    Jus' A Rascal

  • 00:51

    Adele

    Someone Like You

  • 00:53

    Adele

    Rumour Has It

  • 00:57

    Adele

    Turning Tables

  • 00:58

    Florence + The Machine

    You've Got The Love

Credits

Presenter Sara Cox
Producer Tamsin Curry
Director Tamsin Curry
Series Producer Zoe Jewell
Executive Producer Steve Condie
Production Company 7 Wonder Productions

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