The Joy of Easy Listening/ The Prince and the Composer, BBC Four | reviews, news & interviews
The Joy of Easy Listening/ The Prince and the Composer, BBC Four
The Joy of Easy Listening/ The Prince and the Composer, BBC Four
From rock to schlock, and a musical turn from HRH
Friday, 27 May 2011
James Last in the heyday of easy listening - don't worry, they don't make them like this any more
Once upon a time, "easy listening" was a term of abuse and contempt, intended to evoke everything uncool, unhip and musically middle-aged. It meant pipe, cardigan, golf and Bing Crosby, and it was the last thing you'd hear before you were felled by your thickened arteries and under-exercised heart.
Once upon a time, "easy listening" was a term of abuse and contempt, intended to evoke everything uncool, unhip and musically middle-aged. It meant pipe, cardigan, golf and Bing Crosby, and it was the last thing you'd hear before you were felled by your thickened arteries and under-exercised heart.
Richard Carpenter looked like a haggard Special Forces veteran, which goes to show there's nothing easy about easy listening
Explore topics
Share this article
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more TV
Vietnam: The War That Changed America, Apple TV+ review - painful and poignant stories from a terrible conflict
Fifty years later, the wounds still haven't healed
Paradise, Disney+ review - enigmatic drama with an unknown destination
Dan Fogelman's new series has an excellent cast but a recycled premise
Brian and Maggie, Channel 4 review - Thatcherism's date with TV destiny
James Graham's dramatisation of Brian Walden's fateful 1989 interview
Prime Target, Apple TV+ review - the appliance of science
Boffins and baddies collide in Steve Thompson's complicated thriller
Out There, ITV1 review - drugs and thugs disfigure the Welsh landscape
Martin Clunes stars in Ed Whitmore's smartly-written drama
What's the Matter with Tony Slattery?, BBC Two review - absorbing but troubling search for answers
RIP TONY SLATTERY How mental illness cut short a brilliant showbusiness career
American Primeval, Netflix review - nightmare on the Wild Frontier
Peter Berg's Western drama is grim but gripping
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, Sky Atlantic review - Colin Firth stars in gruelling dramatisation of the 1988 terror attack
Will we ever hear the full story of what happened to Pan Am Flight 103?
SAS Rogue Heroes, Series 2, BBC One review - Paddy Mayne's renegade warriors invade Italy
Second helping of Steven Knight's hard-rockin' World War Two drama
The Split: Barcelona, BBC One review - a soapy special with seasonally adjusted sentimentality
Abi Morgan's fine legal drama loses its sting on foreign soil
Best of 2024: TV
Stars of stage and big screen all want to be on the telly
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale, BBC One review - hilarious high five to an indelible cast of characters
In Nessa, Ruth Jones has left behind a unique comic creation
Add comment