"Discovering Bryan Ferry" is a new part of an established series of profiles which try to cram an appreciation of 40+ years into just over 20 mins (i.e. a half hour including commercial breaks).

I've been disappointed with some of the earlier shows (e.g. Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart etc.), as the "talking heads" were far too young to remember the early careers and therefore concentrated too much on the artists' later work. But, hey, the advance blurb mentions Virginia Plain, so maybe they've pitched this one right...

http://www.locatetv.com/tv/discovering- ... ry/8461846

It broadcasts first at 20.30 on Sat 1st Feb and is followed by an evening full of BF: the Lyon concert; then the Dylanesque sessions; then More Than This (the Roxy story).

The whole raft of four programmes is repeated in the same sequence from both 02.10 and 07.30 on Sun 2nd Feb, before finally (minus the Lyon gig) at 18.00 on Tues 4th Feb.

Enjoy!

Cher Monsieur Smudge,
Bravo and a très grande mercy for bringing this to our attention.
Despite my deep mistrust of all things Murdochian, Mrs.Windswept obliged us to take Sky prior to Christmas so I'll be able to catch it but you are correct, twenty minutes will hardly be able to encapsulate forty years of innovation.
I'd love to see the BBC do a full profile on our hero and I do find Alan Yentob quite good at moderating these things.
Meanwhile I wonder what is happening with his biography?
Regards,
Windswept

Meanwhile I wonder what is happening with his biography?

I'm pretty sure the answer is "nothing", Windswept2, as I don't think such a tome is planned. Perhaps I've misunderstood, but I think the proposed book is more of a pictorial or visual history; mind you, it'll spruce up any coffee table (although I might have to sell the table to afford the book... ).

So, not much "discovering" in the Sky Arts documentary then, although some nice clips to reminisce over.

Once again the "talking heads" were a bit irritating (with the exception of Mr Aizlewood from the Evening Standard); all full of received wisdom because they weren't alive when Roxy hit the big time!

No new info that I noticed, but a few bloopers ranging from the minor (e.g. the suggestion that Jerry Hall was already BF's girlfriend at the time of the Siren shoot) to the major (e.g. the statement that all five original members played together on Olympia).

Worse still was the repeated mispronunciation of Andy's surname: first one of the "experts" rhymed the last part with day, rather than die; then the voiceover referred to him as Mackie (i.e. rhymed with tacky...)! Unforgivably, the narrator was also the producer, so he, of all people, could have arranged some judicious editing!

I'm coming to the conclusion that the only credentials required as a rock journalist are a love of the sound of your own voice and a willingness to talk about your older brother or sister's record collection! Grrr.....

I had a similar opinion of the show Smudge and agree there was nothing new to see or hear. I was astonished that they couldn't get the pronunciation of Andy's surname correct. I have to say that I think that is the first time in 40 odd years I have heard it pronounced incorrectly.

You would have thought that someone going by the name of Hamish MacBain would know how to say Mackay properly!!

You would have thought that someone going by the name of Hamish MacBain would know how to say Mackay properly!!

Indeed, Roxy; it's not just Andy he's let down, but a whole nation!

I winced at the first mispronunciation and positively cringed at the second. That and 'Siren' being described as the '4th RM album' (if I heard correctly). How can anyone get this wrong when the band used to so helpfully tell you how many albums they'd made to date?

Fellow Dilettantes of All Persuasions,
Quel bordel!
What have we got to do for a decent profile of our hero?
Last night's Sky Art's programme was a travesty.
It was poorly constructed, animated by ne'er do wells who, Aizlewood excluded, had a thin grasp of the facts and had little of interest to add. Furthermore, as reported by Monsieur Smudge, it was riddled with historic inaccuracies and the mispronunciation of Andy Mackay's name was just irritating. To add insult to injury it also looked like it had been edited by an unpaid intern.
I continue to scratch my well groomed bonce and wonder exactly what we have to do to get a quality, in-depth profile made about modern music's most prolific talent?
Alan Yentob could be the man for the job, I'd waive my normal research fee for expenses and 5% of worldwide sales. Let's get it done!
Regards,
Windswept.