They arrive in early December like a heavy snowfall of nostalgia. Some of them set your teeth on edge with a surfeit of sleighbells, others melt all resistance and deliver just the right kind of sentimental glow. Now ITV asks the vital question: which of these festive hits do we love the most? As they count down through the likes of Greg Lake’s I Believe in Father Christmas and Chris Rea’s Driving Home for Christmas, we get to marvel at how well Bing Crosby and David Bowie dovetailed on Little Drummer Boy, while some Spice Girls, Cliff Richard and, naturally, Noddy Holder reminisce.
This 90-minute special tells the story behind the 20 greatest songs ever recorded by Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and reveals The Nation’s Favourite Elvis Song. Elvis Presley changed the music world forever and was one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. He holds the record for Most Hit Singles on the US Chart and Most Hit Albums on the UK Chart, and his legacy continues to influence generations. Mixing rich archive footage and home videos with new interviews, the documentary paints a picture of the man behind the music, telling the story of how these timeless songs came about and what impact they had on the world. The show features different generations of international pop stars and musicians influenced by Elvis including Michael Bublé, Sir Cliff Richard, Suzi Quatro, Michael Ball, Englebert Humperdink and Cerys Matthews. Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s ex-wife and mother to their daughter Lisa Marie Presley, is also featured exclusively in the documentary, giving a rare interview about the King and his music. Priscilla says: “When Elvis sang a song that he loved, he’d get lost. He’d forget people were around. You’re witnessing a moment, you almost feel like you’re invading his privacy.” Sir Cliff Richard admits: “It wasn’t just that I wanted to be like Elvis, I wanted to wake up and find I was Elvis.” Global superstar Michael Bublé said: “God kissed his throat, truly.” Musical theatre star Michael Ball said: “No one makes a party rock like Elvis.” The programme also hears from those who worked with Elvis, from songwriters to backing singers and session musicians. The documentary ventures into Elvis’ former home in Memphis, Graceland, following in the footsteps of nearly 20 million visitors, to see how popular the King remains to this day. The countdown, narrated by Zoe Ball, includes: - Heartbreak Hotel, the song that John Lennon, Sir Cliff Richard, and
Everyone from The Supremes' Mary Wilson, to Tito Jackson and former Radio One DJ Tony Blackburn have been interviewed for the show that will delve into the history of Motwon and explore Britain's love affair with the genre. Motown megastars including singers Smokey Robinson and Martha Reeves, and members of key groups like the The Jackson 5, The Temptations, The Supremes, and the Four Tops will all also feature
Having racked up nearly fifty top 30 hits, Queen are a national treasure whose music has rocked the planet for forty years. The Nation’s Favourite Queen Song uncovers the origins of their best-loved tunes and tells the stories behind the band’s bold and inventive music videos. Featuring interviews with celebrity fans and Queen friends including Katy Perry, Tony Hadley, Mel C, Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Al Murray, Noddy Holder, Dame Zandra Rhodes, McFly’s Tom Fletcher, and Arlene Phillips, this 90 minute special counts down Britain's 20 favourite Queen songs. As rock’s ultimate showmen, the band formed an irresistible combination with Brian May on guitar, Roger Taylor on drums, John Deacon on bass and Freddie Mercury commanding audiences up front. The programme features brand new interviews with band members Brian and Roger, plus archive interviews with Freddie Mercury. The Nation’s Favourite Queen Song hears from Freddie Mercury’s friends and band members about the singer’s decline in health towards the end of his life. When discussing their 1989 hit I Want It All, Brian May says: “The first time we played it live was at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and I played it with Tony Iommi and Roger Daltrey. I just wish Freddie had been there to enjoy it because that song was made for him, he would have made such a good job of it live.” Arlene Phillips, a friend of Freddie’s, discusses the poignancy of The Show Must Go On, released six weeks before Freddie’s death in 1991. She says: “My favourite song is The Show Must Go On, because ‘The Show’ means life. I think because of what was happening to Freddie, with all of that knowledge there’s an emotion in it you can never take away.” Brian reveals what this song meant to him, saying: “I heard the lyric ‘My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies’. To me, it expressed all that I felt about Freddie and that, unbelievably, we might be losing him.
Following on from other Nation's Favourites on the likes of Queen and Elvis, this time the popular ITV brand turns its spotlight on that most magical era in musical history, the 1970s – a decade when pop was at its most glamorous. Featuring interviews with hit makers including Art Garfunkel, Blondie, Abba, Freda Payne, George McCrae, Kiki Dee, The Four Seasons and Gloria Gaynor - this is a 90-minute countdown of the 20 greatest musical moments from a time when everyone knew every week just what was number one. Narrated by Zoe Ball, the show tells the stories behind those irresistibly evocative hits that still hold a special place in our hearts four decades later - from Blockbuster to Bridge Over Troubled Water, Dancing Queen to Hot Love, I Will Survive to Heart of Glass. So, expect disco classics, glam stompers and heartfelt ballads - as we reveal the results exclusive ITV poll to find out which Seventies number one Britain loves the most.
ITV spins us right round baby, right round, with a headrush-inducing carousel of 1980s hits. At one point in the run-down, former Smash Hits editor Mark Ellen observes that Dexys Midnight Runners’ Come on Eileen is a song you can put on at a wedding reception and get all ages flooding the dance floor. The same could be said for most songs in this lovingly assembled chart, based on a public vote: Human League’s Don’t You Want Me (we meet that heavy-fringed waitress in a cocktail bar today); Madness’s House of Fun (all about buying condoms, we’re told); True (we see home video of the recording in Nassau). And whenever the music pauses there’s another 80s star looking 30 years older but recognisably the same person as in the video we fondly remember. And Pete Burns, too.
Surprises abound in this goosebumpy hit of nostalgia, a countdown of dream themes curated by the ITV and voted for by the public. Hear the Swedish lyrics sung to Emmerdale! Find out how much Yorkshireman Ronnie Hunt was paid for playing that trumpet line on Corrie! Meet the woman who danced saucily over the Tales of the Unexpected credits! Some entries couldn’t be more deserving: big, brassy numbers that made you thrilled to be tuning in, like Don Harper’s two themes in one for World of Sport, for instance, or Barry Gray’s inextinguishable Thunderbirds. Others, you feel, are only here because they belong to world-conquering series rather than being memorable compositions. And there are the kind of gaspy omissions that make such programmes ideal watercooler fodder (where are The Persuaders! and Black Beauty? And Stingray? And…). The occasion couldn’t pass without “feem toon” specialist Dennis Waterman, who had serious aspirations beyond wearing silk shirts on Top of the Pops: “I wanted to be the next Dylan!”
The Beatles were a musical sensation like no other. Since exploding onto the music scene in the early 60s, the band has had an unparalleled musical and cultural impact on Britain and the world for over fifty years. The Nation’s Favourite Beatles Number One tells the stories behind some of the greatest Beatles songs ever. With interviews from Beatles’ insiders including musicians, friends, fellow performers and celebrity fans, we’ll hear about the stories behind the Fab Four’s best-loved hits. These are the stories behind the 27 songs that reached number one here and in the U.S – from She Loves You to Paperback Writer, Hey Jude to Let it Be – as the show hears from the people who were there to witness in person the extraordinary rise and rise of The Beatles. Some of the celebrity fans featured in the show include Michael Palin, Sandie Shaw, David Tennant, Twiggy, Bjorn Ulvaeus, George Ezra, Jake Bugg and Sue Johnston, who was even a Cavern club regular herself. Across 120 minutes, this prime-time celebration of the biggest and most influential band the world has ever seen uses extraordinary footage from a number of sources, including ITV's own archives and rare and exclusive footage from the Beatles’ company Apple Corps – from the only surviving clips of the band playing in Liverpool’s iconic Cavern club in 1962, to the band’s final, public performance on the roof of the Apple building seven years later. We'll hear how, in between, the Fab Four created a catalogue of classics which is unlikely ever to be equalled.
For over 50 years, the James Bond films have provided us with some of the most memorable and exciting songs in movie history. This 90 minute special tells the stories behind 20 of the very best as it counts down to The Nation’s Favourite Bond Song - which has come out on top in an exclusive ITV poll of viewers. Along the way, the documentary celebrates some of the most popular Bond themes from across the decades – from early classics like From Russia With Love and Goldfinger, to more recent chart smash hits including A View To A Kill and Die Another Day. The programme features interviews with those who have written songs for a whole host of Bond films - including Sir Paul McCartney & Wings, Duran Duran and a-ha as well as lyricists like Leslie Bricusse (You Only Live Twice, Goldfinger) and Don Black (Diamonds Are Forever, Thunderball), as the show reveals how these famous 007 anthems propelled their way onto the big screen. Plus, with contributions from Sam Smith and Spectre producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, the programme hears how - after more than 50 years - Bond only recently got its first ever UK number one record with Smith’s Writing’s On The Wall. There’s stories from inside the studio from those involved in the recording of these Bond classics, such as Vic Flick (guitarist on the famous James Bond theme), and Paul Epworth (co-writer and producer of Adele’s Oscar-winning hit, Skyfall). And a whole host of stars reveal their own personal favourite Bond songs - from Jonathan Ross, Piers Morgan, Moby and Jools Holland - to some of Bond’s biggest stars, including Sir Roger Moore, Honor Blackman, Joanna Lumley, Britt Ekland, and Naomie Harris.
Disney movies have provided us with a whole host of memorable songs down the decades. So this Christmas on ITV, The Nation’s Favourite Disney Song celebrates – and tells the fascinating stories behind – some of the most popular songs from some of the best-loved films in movie history. Narrated by Stephen Mulhern, this hour-long show pays tribute to the classic tracks from the very best of Disney, including family favourites like The Jungle Book, Frozen, Mary Poppins and The Lion King. The programme hears from songwriters, including Sir Tim Rice – lyricist behind Aladdin’s A Whole New World and The Lion King’s Circle of Life – who reminisces about collaborating with Sir Elton John. We hear from those involved in some classic movie soundtracks, including Marge Champion, now 96 years old, who created the movements for Snow White’s Whistle While You Work in Walt Disney’s first ever full-length animated feature film. Also featuring on-screen stars behind the songs, like Karen Dotrice – who played Mary Poppins’ Jane Banks – recalling the magic on set when recording A Spoonful of Sugar, and Bruce Reitherman, who voiced Mowgli in The Jungle Book, who reminisces about starring in the last ever movie Walt Disney was involved in himself. The Nation’s Favourite Disney Song also features interviews with Disney fans from across the generations like Tom Fletcher and Harry Judd from McFly, Lorraine Kelly and her daughter Rosie, Little Ant & Dec and Arlene Phillips and her daughter Alana.
Richard Carpenter, at the piano, leads us through this 90 minute documentary special, celebrating the best-loved songs of the biggest-selling sister and brother act in music history. Together the Carpenters crafted a unique songbook; from Top Of The World to We’ve Only Just Begun, Please Mr Postman to (They Long To Be) Close To You, Rainy Days And Mondays to Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft. It’s a story which charts the extraordinary journey of the band - from the highs of multi million-selling number one singles to devastating personal lows culminating with the tragic loss of Karen Carpenter, aged just 32. The programme also reveals the results of an exclusive ITV poll to find out which song from Richard and Karen Carpenter’s 13 year chart reign has been voted the Nation’s Favourite. Alongside Richard, the programme also hears from those who knew the Carpenters best, from friends and collaborators such as Burt Bacharach and Petula Clark, to famous fans including Nicole Scherzinger, The Corrs and Myleene Klass.
Elton John talks to David Walliams about an extraordinary career. Elton reveals how his classic songs came about in a top 20 countdown, which culminates with the song that ITV viewers have voted the nation's favourite Elton John song.
Countdown show of the pop singer's greatest hits.