Catch up TV
Fela Kuti: Father of Afrobeat
In 1997, over one million people gathered in Lagos for the funeral of Fela Kuti, Africa’s biggest artist, who gave the world Afrobeat, yet was also a thorn in the side of Nigeria’s military regimes - a revolutionary who fought injustice with his music and a libertine who married 27 wives in one ceremony. When he died from a disease that carried huge stigma in Africa, there was fear his legacy would die with him. Exclusive testimony reveals the multifaceted man behind the maverick performer.
Source: BBC 4
Most recent episodes of Arena
Arena
Agatha Christie - Unfinished Portrait
Profile celebrating the centenary of the famous author Agatha Christie’s birth. Looking at her life, her character and the key moments in her childhood that influenced her ...
21-08-2024
BBC 4
Arena
I Am Not Your Negro
Narrated entirely in the words of James Baldwin, through both personal appearances and the text of his final unfinished book project, this film touches on the lives and assassin ...
11-08-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Dennis Potter
1987 edition in which Alan Yentob interviews TV dramatist Dennis Potter about his work through the years, touching on subjects such as why and how he started writing, his sense ...
02-06-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Tosca's Kiss
Casa Verdi is a rambling mansion in the city of Milan, inhabited by an extraordinary and captivating group of people. It once belonged to the composer Guiseppe Verdi, now it has ...
16-05-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Rudies Come Back: The Rise And Rise Of 2 Tone
In this Arena film from 1980, Adrian Thrills investigates 2 Tone, an exhilarating new musical blend that was taking the country by storm.\n\nOriginating in Coventry in 1979, 2 T ...
29-03-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Oooh Er Missus! The Frankie Howerd Story
Documentary about the life of Frankie Howerd, with help from friends and colleagues and including highlights from his TV and film career.
26-03-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Peggy Sue: Tales Of Rock And Roll
Peggy Sue Gerron Rackham, the inspiration behind Buddy Holly's famous song, is taken back by Arena to Lubbock, Texas, where she went to the same high school as Holly and where h ...
09-02-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Buddy Holly
Documentary looking at the short but brilliant career of legendary rock'n'roll star Buddy Holly. Features interviews with contemporaries and fans including backing band The Cric ...
09-02-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Byrne About Byrne
In this diverse and inventive autobiography, painter and author John Byrne travels from his youth, through his art school years to the period of his stage and TV plays, and on t ...
29-01-2024
BBC 4
Most popular episodes of Arena
Arena
The Vasulka Effect
An exploration of the life and work of video art pioneers Steina and Woody Vasulka. The film examines the artistic processes of the pair and their profound effect on the 1960s N ...
28-11-2021
BBC 4
Arena
Cindy Sherman #untitled
Cindy Sherman is one of the world’s leading contemporary artists. She is also notoriously elusive. So, it is a coup for Arena to get this in-depth and revealing audio inte ...
12-09-2021
BBC 4
Arena
Philip Hoare's Guide To Whales: 1. Baleen
Acclaimed author and whale-watcher Philip Hoare takes us into the world of baleen whales, the largest animals ever to have lived. \n\nWith plates of bristly baleen instead of te ...
05-08-2019
BBC 4
Arena
Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues
Hank Williams was the greatest singer-songwriter country music has ever known. He died on a journey half-way across America to a gig he would never make, at the age of just 29. ...
22-09-2023
BBC 4
Arena
Stanley And His Daughters
'Children of geniuses tend to have a rather hard time of it. If you're a genius you have to be a bit tough', says Unity Spencer, daughter of Stanley Spencer, one of the most imp ...
04-08-2019
BBC 4
Arena
Jerry Lee Lewis: Live In Bristol 1984
Arena presents a concert by the legend of rock 'n' roll himself. Jerry Lee Lewis doesn't sound like anybody else - the voice, the piano and the on-stage antics make an unforgett ...
10-12-2022
BBC 4
Arena
Remember The Secret Policeman's Ball?
A celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Secret Policeman's Ball in aid of Amnesty International. Many of Britain's finest comedians, including John Cleese, Sir Bob Geldof, ...
30-07-2022
BBC 4
Arena
Make Me Up!
A satirical look at the contradictory pressures faced by women today. It examines how television and social media can help us explore identity, at the same time encouraging wome ...
21-07-2020
BBC 4