Carmichael further explained: “They met doing charity work and Ronnie told Hugh how much they loved Downton. Apparently they were stopping rehearsals on Sunday nights in time to get back to watch it.”

Carmichael went on to pull Mick Jagger into the telly guilty pleasure mix telling The Sun recently: “It seems Mick Jagger even managed to drop a spoiler on his band mate. When Sybil passed away, Mick said to Ronnie, ‘Sad to hear about the girl’. Ronnie replied, ‘I haven’t seen it yet – I recorded it’”.

I always wondered what the inspiration was for Wild Horses. Ok, I know it was done in 1971, it’s possible…
 

 
Ok, maybe not. Sorry for that. Couldn’t resist.

Hugh Laurie: Didn’t it Rain, the follow-up to his 2011 collection of blues standards, ‘Let Them Talk’, follows a similar format of blues and jazz arrangements with numerous high caliber guest musicians, including Taj Mahal, who have lent their talents to support Laurie’s blues piano.
 

After listening to both ‘Let Them Talk’ and ‘Didn’t it Rain’, which will be released on Monday, it’s crystal clear that Laurie isn’t anywhere near that long line of television or movie stars who, for whatever reason, believe they have an birthright entitlement to record a CD and tour regardless of talent. Laurie has been a student of music history for much of his life. At a recent Queen Mary party to celebrate the release of his upcoming CD, Laurie explained that in 1975 a personal hero, the late New Orleans singer and pianist Professor Longhair, played in the very room he was performing in at a party thrown by Paul McCartney and Wings. The resulting album, ‘Live on the Queen Mary’, had a profound impact on the 19-year-old Laurie. “…It changed everything for me“, Laurie said.

Laurie’s first exposure to the blues came when he was aged 11 or 12. According to Laurie, Willie Dixon’s I Can’t Quit You Baby ‘made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up’. The first album he bought was Muddy Waters’s Live At Mr Kelly’s. He was hooked. With ‘Let Them Talk’ and now Didn’t it Rain’, it’s clear that Laurie is dedicated to making music that is alive and that could stand on its own.
 

 
Didn’t It Rain will be released on Warner Music on Monday, 6 May. Hugh Laurie and the Copper Bottom Band will tour throughout the UK beginning 13 June. Let’s hope he finds his way to this side of the pond in the not-too-distant future.

Filmed at 54 Below, the legendary Studio 54′s secret VIP room in New York, actor and comedian Colin Andrew Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) is brilliant as Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, who explains his decision to create a Downton musical in between cuts of songs that would fit perfectly into Edwardian England.
 

 
Clear a space on the shelf, this has ‘Tony’ written all over it. After all, Carson sings about tea, Mrs. Hughes tries to get him to embrace a newfangled way of making his favorite drink and Mary and Tom sing sad songs while they hold their babies. if that’s not award worthy, Mary Stout, who portrays Mrs. Patmore, reveals it’s been a lifelong dream of hers to play Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd. FYI, Mrs. Hughes is Randy Graff, who won a Tony Award for her performance in City of Angels.

Photo by Hattie Miles for Clive Conway.

‘Facing the Music’ will feature Routledge in conversation with writer and broadcaster Edward Seckerson, talking about this very special part of her career. The night will also include some rare and treasured recordings. Sounds like a night not to be missed whether you are a Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet) or Patricia Routledge fan.

Following their appearance on Rutland Weekend Television, interest in The Rutles began to skyrocket. In 1976, Eric Idle appeared on Saturday Night Live in the U.S. gaining the attention of producer Lorne Michaels who placed the world at The Rutles’ feet with the suggestion of a long-form mocumentary film, All You Need Is Cash. It was at that point in 1978, three years after that fortuitous RTW appearance and subsequent later meeting with Michaels that The Rutles achieved overnight success. The album from the film was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Comedy Recording of the Year in 1978 and later became the inspiration for Rob Reiner’s comedy film, This Is Spinal Tap, in 1984.
 

 
All You Need Is Cash, which featured 19 songs written by Innes, illustrated The Rutles story from start to finish. Also featured in the film was Dan Aykroyd as the man who turned down The Rutles, John Belushi as Ron Decline, Bill Murray as Bill Murray The K, Gilda Radner as a reluctant street interviewee, George Harrison as a TV interviewer, Michael Palin as a member of Rutle Corps, Ron Wood as a biker, Lorne Michaels as a man who wants to merchandise The Rutles, Al Franken and Tom Davis as Ron Decline employees and both Mick Jagger and Paul Simon as themselves. If you haven’t seen this it’s a must see, even though it’s been 35 years since it was filmed.

Early Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band appearance on Do Not Adjust Your Set

I think I have a new favorite band. I wonder what a Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band created station on Pandora would sound like….
 

 

Following the Archbishop clip are some amazingly brilliant sketches which highlighted the 2013 Red Nose Day broadcast including the cast of Call the Midwife, which also attracted a fair share of complaints, the return of the Dibley Town Council in The Vicar of Dibley, the always uncomfortable David Brent back in The Office some 10 years removed from Wernham Hogg Paper Company and, finally, the boys from One Direction and a cover of Blondie’s ‘One Way or Another’.

Rowan Atkinson as The Archbishop of Canterbury
 

 
Call the Midwife meets Doctor Who with a touch of Downton Abbey
 

 
Vicar of Dibley gets the band back together for Red Nose Day 2013
 

 
Brent is back!
 

 
One Direction sings ‘One Way or Another’ and introduced by Miss Piggy
 

In this clip from series six episode, ‘The Wedding of River Song’, you can see the end result of the annual BBC Showcase as Doctor Who has been sold to over 200 countries.
 

http://youtu.be/NJlQxrAPBRk

 
Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular

As part of this years Showcase, attendees were treated to a special performance from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ben Foster, with Mark Williams (Brian Williams, Rory’s Dad) doing the song introductions for the evening. With a special intro by current Doctor, Matt Smith, the evening also featured a number of monsters/enemies including the Daleks, Cybermen, the Oods, the Silence and a coule of Silurian warriors. Thankfully, no Weeping Angels were to be found.
 

 
Video coming soon. Stay tuned….

One Direction, comprised of Niall Horan, Zayne Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, made history when they became the first U.K. group to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2011 with ‘Up All Night’. ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ was the lead single from the album. If you’re already going through Downton Abbey withdrawal after Sunday’s season finale, this is the perfect pick-me up. Check out Mr. Carson!
 

 
The video was made for Richard Sandling’s Perfect Movie, a monthly live comedy show at The Leicester Square Theatre, and featured on his website. Great editing and great mash-up.

 
Reporting on the day, Chloe Glover, in an excellent piece for The Guardian, writes how she turned organic and everyday material into some of the earliest modern British electronic compositions. Even though her work was played in the majority of British homes and minds for decades, sadly, she never became the true household name that she rightfully deserved to be.
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8NPJ6GMXM3E

 
Derbyshire, who was once told that, “…the recording studio is no place for a woman“, defied this incredibly archaic logic of the 1960′s by using voices, white noise, and everyday sounds picked up from microphones and musical instruments to make her soundscapes. She cut, mixed and spliced analog tapes used to record her efforts and employed studio equipment to loop and distort them as well as experimenting with square wave oscillators to help build intricately-timed rhythms to form the base of her pieces. It’s no wonder she not only found herself unknowingly inspiring numerous musicians throughout the year but also a favorite with the likes of Pink Floyd for sampling her music.

Her extensive archives are on permanent loan to the NOVARS institute at Manchester University for research from BBC Radiophonic Workshop archivist Mark Ayres. Incredibly, the tapes of her recordings were delivered to the university in unlabelled cereal boxes in 2007 after being found in her house following her death in 2001.

As the planet continues to steamroll towards the November 2013 50th anniversary celebration of Doctor Who, we celebrate the brilliance of Delia Derbyshire along with all those associated with the series for the past 50 years.

As we’ve mentioned more often than the law allows recently, 2013 is already becoming a banner year for television drama and we are barely a week into the new year. UK drama enthusiasts should be on the lookout for what’s up next in the BBC drama arsenal this month. Dancing on the Edge is set in the early 1930′s and follows a black jazz band as they achieve fame by entertaining London’s upper-class society while encountering racism, class prejudice and nationalism. Until, that is, a suspected murder becomes the subject of an investigation by a music journalist.
 

 
According to press reports, the upcoming five-part drama was inspired by true historical accounts that black musicians were championed by royalty led by the Prince of Wales — later King Edward VIII — despite the rising tide of racism and fascism in the period. The series was written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff (The Lost Prince; Shooting the Past) with Philippa Lowthorpe (Call the Midwife) as co-director.

A side note from a cast standpoint, Jacqueline Bisset returns to British television drama for the first time since her 1974 role in Murder on the Orient Express and, for Doctor Who fans, the series will also feature Jenna-Louise Coleman. And, yes, that is John Goodman.
 

 
Like Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge, Call the Midwife, The Hour and Ripper Street, let’s hope Dancing on the Edge makes it to the U.S. as soon as possible. Now, about that classic Martha Levinson/Dowager Countess encounter last night…