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EMI: The Inside Story

Documentary about the record company that brought The Beatles to the world and which has been instrumental in producing some of Britain's most celebrated and enduring music.

One record company has been a constant presence in popular music throughout our lives.

EMI brought The Beatles to the world and in every decade since has been instrumental in producing some of Britain's most celebrated and enduring music.

But behind the success lay a very British institution often at odds with the music it released. It had to come to terms with psychedelia, face punk head-on and find huge sums of money to feed the excesses of the 1980s.

Interviews with EMI artists including members of Queen, Pink Floyd, The Sex Pistols and Pet Shop Boys reveal how their demands for more and more control ultimately led to drastic changes at EMI. Former EMI employees share the gossip and goings-on in an industry infamous for its extravagance.

The British music industry is world-renowned. It has produced decades of memorable music that have reached all corners of the globe. EMI has always been at the forefront and has left an indelible mark on our culture forever.

1 hour

Last on

Sat 6 Apr 2019 23:25
BBC Four

Music Played

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

  • 00:05

    John Barry

    Starfire

  • 00:05

    Radiohead

    Just

  • 00:06

    They Might Be Giants

    Man, It's So Loud In Here

  • 00:09

    Helen Shapiro

    Walking Back To Happiness

  • 00:14

    Pink Floyd

    Interstellar Overdrive

  • 00:15

    The Dandy Warhols

    Easy

  • 00:21

    The RAH Band

    The Crunch

  • 00:29

    Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

    Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)

  • 00:32

    David Paton

    Magic

  • 00:33

    Queen

    Bohemian Rhapsody

  • 00:35

    Sex Pistols

    Pretty Vacant

  • 00:40

    Kate Bush

    Wuthering Heights

  • 00:46

    Duran Duran

    Rio

  • 00:48

    Duran Duran

    Rio

  • 00:50

    Pet Shop Boys

    Opportunities

  • 00:53

    Pet Shop Boys

    It's A Sin

  • 00:54

    Jesus Jones

    Right Here Right Now

  • 00:56

    Blur

    There's No Other Way

  • 00:57

    Blur

    For Tomorrow

  • 00:58

    Blur

    Parklife

  • 00:58

    Bastille

    Pompeii

Credits

Producer Min Clough
Director Todd Austin
Participant Neil Tennant
Participant Glen Matlock
Participant Roger Taylor
Participant Nick Mason
Production Company Bohemia Films

Broadcasts

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