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42 albums · 1987–2026

Albums of the BBC's radio sessions and concerts, 1987–2026

· 1 min read · by 1001 Albums

For decades the BBC could play only a few hours of records a day on the radio, so artists came into its studios to record songs for programmes such as Saturday Club and Top Gear. Others played concerts for broadcast, many of them at the Paris Theatre in London. The tapes that were kept have come out on record since the late eighties.

The Beatles had a programme of their own in 1963, Pop Go the Beatles, and Live at the BBC gathers songs from it and other shows; On Air followed in 2013. Bowie at the Beeb covers 1968 to 1972, and Led Zeppelin's sessions, here in their complete edition of 2016, run from 1969 to 1971. Jimi Hendrix, Dusty Springfield, Amy Winehouse, the Selecter and the cellist Jacqueline du Pré are here too.

The list has 42 records from 1987 to 2026. Left out are the albums of John Peel's sessions, which have a list of their own, single sessions on EPs and albums Deezer does not have, among them Fleetwood Mac's Live at the BBC. About 84 hours of music, 4 days of a few records each.

By genre

Rock 66%Pop 8%Punk & New Wave 4%Other 22%
  • Rock 66%
  • Pop 8%
  • Punk & New Wave 4%
  • Other 22%

The genres named most: rock, blues rock, hard rock, pop, alternative rock, classic rock.

The colours of the covers

A stripe for each cover, in the colour Tidal picks from it, sorted by hue; the greys at the end.

Where the music comes from

Music from 5 countries: United Kingdom 32, United States 6, Ireland 2, Italy 1, New Zealand 1. The deeper the colour, the more albums: one, two to four, five to nine, ten and more.

The 1980s

The 1990s

The 2000s

The 2010s

The 2020s

More lists

Lists of Sessions and festivals first, then others; all of them on the blog. The blog.

304 albums · 2014

What the Tomorrowland 2014 lineup released that year

· 6 min read

The headliners and stage hosts of Tomorrowland 2014, in Boom in July, released a lot that year: Avicii's True, Tiësto's A Town Called Paradise, Skrillex's Recess, Martin Garrix's Gold Skies and hundreds of singles, EPs and mixes.

Electronic 96%Folk & Country 1%Pop 1%Other 2%
  • Electronic 96%
  • Folk & Country 1%
  • Pop 1%
  • Other 2%

Read and see the list

47 albums · 1991–2020

The albums of MTV Unplugged, 1991–2020

· 1 min read

From 1989 MTV sat musicians down with acoustic instruments in front of a small audience, and the best of the sessions came out on record: Eric Clapton's Layla slowed down, Nirvana in New York a few months before the end, Lauryn Hill alone with a guitar, and the Latin American series with Soda Stereo, Maná, Shakira and Café Tacvba.

Rock 57%Pop 12%Latin 8%Other 23%
  • Rock 57%
  • Pop 12%
  • Latin 8%
  • Other 23%

Read and see the list