The channel BBC Four has announced the upcoming broadcast of four programmes devoted to reggae and its cultural impact in the United Kingdom. A reggae season in two parts, shown on Fridays 11 and 18 February 2011, made up of two documentaries, a concert and a selection of video clips from the BBC archives.
On 11 February, the documentary Reggae Britannia will look at this musical and cultural impact in the United Kingdom from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, with contributors such as Chris Blackwell, Dennis Bovell, The Specials, UB40, Dennis Alcapone…
Straight afterwards, the channel will broadcast the concert "Reggae Britannia at the Barbican", held a week earlier in London, which traces the history of reggae from ska to today. With Dennis Bovell as musical director, and a fine line-up of artists: Dennis Alcapone and Winston Reedy, Dave Barker, Ken Boothe, Big Youth, Ali Campbell, Brinsley Forde…
On 18 February, the documentary "Toots and The Maytals - Reggae Got Soul", as its name suggests, paints a portrait of the man who coined the word "reggae". Right after, "Reggae At The BBC" will dig through the BBC archives for clips from the time (Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs…)