This programme contains some strong language
APPLAUSE
Welcome to a brand-new series,
a room with amazing guests.
Let's begin with a band glowing with their number-one triumph.
It is Elbow!
APPLAUSE
# Now I lay me down to sleep
# Take me up to Lovers' Leap
# Throw my body off the side
# There to meet my
# Waiting bride
# Shake
# Spray our names
# Where we land
# In your arms for evermore
# Take my hand
# Now I lay me down to sleep
# Take me up to Lovers' Leap
# Throw my body off the side
# There to meet my
# Waiting bride
# Shake
# Spray our names
# Where we land
# In your arms for evermore
# Take my hand
# Shake Na-na-na, na-na-na
# Na-na-na, na-na-na Shake
# Na-na-na, na-na-na
Shake
# Na-na-na, na-na-na
Shake
# Na-na-na, na-na-na
Shake
# Na-na-na Shake
# Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na Shake, shake, shake, shake
# Shake
# Spray our names
# Where we land
# In your arms for evermore
# Take my hand
# They can name the crater we make after you
# And sell
# Little statues of us
# Though there isn't an artist alive
# Who could get your eyes
# Oh-oh. #
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Thank you, Elbow.
I'll be speaking to Guy Garvey later.
In this brand-new series,
we have a fantastic selection of guests in this room.
Shall we meet them?
CHEERING
Yes.
From Baskin, Louisiana, it's Lainey Wilson,
the wonderful country star. Lainey, let's hear it for her.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
From Luton, we're going to welcome the wonderful Myles Smith.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
From Nottingham, by way of London, the fabulous Sam Morton.
APPLAUSE
But now, from Bristol, we welcome back to the show Idles.
APPLAUSE
# Hiy
# Sinew exploding from chrome hooves
# Where we're going, we don't need glue
# Can he run in a tutu?
# He looks a little long in the gold tooth
# Watch-watch my-my steed-steed go-go far-far
# Watch my steed go far
# Woo!
# Look at him go Look at him go
# Woo!
# Look at him go
# My steed sees how dreams are made
# He's my dream like I just got paid
# No joyride fee, it's free today
# We don't care what the people say
# Cos he moves like a generator
# He puts the foot down and see you later
# Somebody call up the undertaker
# Handing out passes to meet your maker
# See-see my-my steed-steed go-go far-far
# See my steed go far
# Woo!
# Look at him go Look at him go
# Look at him go
# Woo!
# Look at him go
# My baby, she-she's so raw
# She gives me love, I give her more
# Ask us to kneel and bow to the floor
# She said, "No," and she asked, "What for?"
# My baby, she-she's so strong
# She talks me straight when I'm doing wrong
# Ask us to sing your empire songs
# She laughs, tells you where I'm from
# My baby, she-she's so great
# I wake up grateful every day
# My baby is beautiful
# All is love and love is all
# Fuck the King
# He ain't the King, she's the King
# Woo!
# Go
# Look at him go Look at him go
# Look at him go
# Woo!
# Oh, look at him go Look at him go
# Look at him go. #
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Thanks, Idles.
A thrill to have them back in this room.
That's Gift Horse, from their album,
their fifth album, Tangk. We're delighted to have them here.
We'll be hearing more from them later.
But now, film and music legends who have collaborated are here.
They are Samantha Morton and Richard Russell.
Welcome to you both.
APPLAUSE
I'll come to you first. Thank you.
It's lovely to see you both. Marvellous to have you here.
It's very great that you can come and join us.
And it's quite a remarkable sort of project you've done.
First of all, congratulations, you've made your first record -
Daffodils & Dirt - with Richard.
So, how did it come about?
Erm, well, I did Desert Island Discs,
and I played a Molly Drake song
which Richard responded to, and then...
Do you want to say the next bit?
I heard a song on her...when Sam was on the radio that really moved me,
and what she was saying really moved me as well,
and I ended up sampling this song for another project I was doing.
And then I wanted to play it to Sam, and then we got talking,
and we got to making music together.
You're a great producer and collaborator,
and you wrote together, how did that work? Who did what?
Well, originally... It wasn't even a plan.
Like, I sat down and Richard said,
"Could I sample your voice from Desert Island Discs?"
I was like, "Yeah, you can have it."
I was just so chuffed to be in that space with Richard.
And then... And then we were like, after talking for about two hours,
he's like, "I think we could do some stuff."
So Richard sent me some music, and then I did this thing where...
I've always written poetry, I've always... I write scripts, whatever,
I write as a muscle every single day.
So I started writing words to the music.
And then I started plinky-plonking at home on the piano,
or in the woods, like, going singing in the woods, whatever,
and with my phone, and then sending him voice recordings from my phone.
And then it just built,
and then somehow, then found myself in the studio
with a blank piece of paper, going,
"Right, we're going to do a song today,"
and that was absolutely life-changing.
And then we wrote... Like, some days, it was, like, two songs,
wasn't it? We were like, "Oh, my God, we've..." Yeah.
Is that very different to the way the process of making a film
would be? Oh, well, writing a film is quite a lonely experience,
unless you're writing with somebody else, and can take
an incredibly long time, with the momentum.
And I always use music, actually, to write with. Erm...
Yeah, it was very different, yeah.
This is better.
Is it more fun, easier? Is it more direct, more quick? It's not easier,
it's terrifying, because it's my heart and soul that...
It's everything. It's so raw and vulnerable.
I've got a totally new-found respect for every single musician
on the planet when you go into that space,
because as an actor or a director or a writer,
you're creating another world, I suppose,
but it's not, I suppose, as personal...
Yes. ..because you're outside of it.
Whereas this was like, nowhere to hide with the lyrics or any of this.
Now, you've got many awards, Sam.
Huge Bafta Fellowship recently.
But in your acceptance speech, you said,
"The stories that we tell have the power to change lives."
Do you think it's the same as music?
Completely. Healing or prophet...
I mean, you think about Bob Marley as a prophet. Like, there's no...
Music is like...
It's birdsong, it's breath, it's life.
It's like water, we can't survive without it,
and it absolutely changes lives.
Absolutely. Yeah.
Some actors have made brilliant records,
and some musicians have done quite a good job of acting.
Yeah. But, Richard, could you ever consider taking up acting,
what do you think, or try acting?
Do you know what? Sam dragged me into it for one of the videos,
and I said, "This won't..."
SAMANTHA LAUGHS
She was like, "Well, you've been cast. We're doing it."
And my role was driving, and I can drive, so I thought...
That's good, yeah. No acting there, then.
..that would be all right. But then when we got there,
it was on a low-loader. So you're actually pretending to drive...
Like this. ..which is very difficult. Yeah. Very hard to do.
And I got cut out.
Oh. Well, in the end... We both got cut out, actually. ..we both got
cut out because we didn't use the video. I couldn't direct myself.
I didn't want to be in the thing.
Now, you're going to perform Let's Walk In the Night in a moment.
What was the inspiration for that song?
Oh, my gosh. A lot of this album is autobiographical,
I've got to say, about little Sam growing up in care,
in Nottingham, in the early '90s,
and it's a combination of both our pasts as well,
and it's about rebirth and forgiveness and new beginnings.
In a way, it's like looking...being that little Sam,
forgiving little Sam. You know? Looking forward to hearing it
very much. Thank you. Thank you very much,
Sam Morton and Richard Russell, for joining us here today.
Thank you. Thank you. A delight.
APPLAUSE
Next,
a Grammy-winning country artist who is literally wowing the world
with her wonderful songs. Please welcome Lainey Wilson.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Woo!
# I was born in boots on humble ground
# These kind of roots, yeah, they sure don't grow out
# Even in a guitar town
# My crooked drawl, the way I sung
# My mama's genes sure stuck out like a thumb
# In a metro city crowd
# Oh, me, oh, my, how things have changed
# And I can't believe my eyes these days
# Everybody wanna be a cowboy
# Drive a jon boat, whip a John Deere
# Everybody want a backwards front porch
# With a tub full of iced-down beer
# Must be something in the water flowing out of the holler
# Blue collar must've caught a new wind
# Doggone, dadgum it, didn't see that coming
# Country's cool again
# Once you get a taste, you'll lick the spoon
# Learn every word to The Dance and Neon Moon
# And next thing you know
# You'll hang a swing on a piece of land
# Start saying things like, hell naw, hot damn!
# Yeah, and if you dip your toe
# You'll get bit by the bug and wanna wait in line
# And that's the kind of trend, oh, that I could get behind
# Everybody wanna be a cowboy
# Drive a jon boat, whip a John Deere
# Everybody want a backwards front porch
# With a tub full of iced-down beer
# Must be something in the water flowing out of the holler
# Blue collar must've caught a new wind
# Doggone, dadgum it, didn't see that coming
# Country's cool again... #
Turn it up! Woo!
# ..I said, cool, cool, cool, cool
# Country's cool again
# Cool, cool, cool, cool
# Country's cool again
# Cool, cool, cool, cool
# Country's cool again
# Cool, cool, cool, cool
# Country's cool again
# Everybody wanna be a cowboy
# Drive a jon boat, whip a John Deere
# Everybody want a backwards front porch
# With a tub full of iced-down beer
# Must be something in the water flowing out of the holler
# Blue collar must've caught a new wind
# Y'all hop in the back, how 'bout that?
# Country's cool again
# Ain't that some shit? I found a few hits
# Cos country's cool again
# So cool
# Again. #
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
# All the faces and the changes
# She can take it all the places
# Careful where to tread
# Needles lose the thread
# Fear and dust, the dirt, the rust, the voices in her head
# Poplar trees, cartwheels, scuffed knees
# She walked for miles Ooh-ooh
# The bells chime Ooh-ooh
# Telling her the time
# Dreaming, wondering, who will say, "Will you be mine?"
# Dreaming, wanting you to say, "Will you be mine?"
# Walk in the night Let's walk in the night
# Walk in the night Stop under the light
# Walk in the night Lips red and wet and breath paused
# Walk in the night Kiss with all our might
# Walk in the night Let's walk in the night
# Walk in the night Stood under the lights
# Walk in the night
# And kiss while branches silhouette the evening sky
# Hair like tar
# Oily rainbows
# We're the stars
# It's our movie
# Don't spit
# I wouldn't lie
# Not to you
# Forever mine
# Poplar trees, cartwheels, scuffed knees
# She walked for miles
# The bells chime
# Telling her the time
# Dreaming, wondering, who will say, "Will you be mine?"
# Dreaming, wanting you to say, "Will you be mine?"
# Walk in the night Let's walk in the night
# Walk in the night Stop under the light
# Walk in the night Lips red and wet and breath paused
# Walk in the night Kiss with all our might
# Walk in the night Let's walk in the night
# Walk in the night Stood under the lights
# Walk in the night
# We kiss while branches silhouette the evening sky
# Let's walk in the night
# Stood under the lights
# We kiss while branches silhouette the evening sky. #
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Sam Morton.
The wonderful Sam Morton.
And now I'm delighted to welcome at the piano
my dear friend Guy Garvey for piano-side chats.
APPLAUSE
Guy, lovely to see you.
Thank you, sir.
Now, welcome back to the show
and congratulations on your number-one album,
your fourth number-one album.
I mean, it's been a wonderful catalogue of successes you have,
but Audio Vertigo - great title -
is there any particular inspirations
that have been prevalent on this record?
Well, it's the first album where Al Reeves, our drummer,
has been in on the writing from the ground floor.
And he's got a few years on us - not that many years on us,
but a bit of youthful energy to spice up the marriage. Yes.
And also, fun. We decided to have fun.
You've been together 30 years now? Yeah.
It must be enormously different to how it was back in the '90s.
Because Craig learnt how to produce records,
we've still got the luxury of having somebody there
that furthers and deepens the music we're making
in the way that producers
traditionally were given the time to do.
I agree, we...
Parr Street Studios has gone.
Real World, thankfully, is still there,
but these cathedrals to the making of music
where, as soon as you walk in,
what you're doing is the most important thing to everybody there,
you know, it's a shame that some of that is going by the wayside.
Erm, there's never been a more exciting time for music,
in some ways, but I think that sitting with somebody
for a couple of months with a record to really get the best out of
the songs is something we're still allowed to have, I think.
And in 2008, when I gave you a Mercury Prize,
and I said to you, "What are you going to be spending the money on?"
And you said, "Well, we're going to be adding
"to our collection of vintage radios." Yeah.
Are you still a vintage radio man?
Yeah. I tend to give them away, as well.
So currently, I've got about 80 little transistor radios
that are the first ones... Not valves?
No, the little pocket ones.
They're mostly American and then Japanese.
But they signal the beginning of rock and roll. Yeah.
Because it's the first time you could listen to something
other than what your parents were listening to. And it was portable.
They're like little Cadillacs, they're beautiful. Yeah, lovely.
And do you wear anything special when you're listening to them?
I wear a full hazmat suit. Yes! Yeah. I don't want to disturb
the room, yeah. Now, finally, what are you going to be playing for us
at the end of the show? We're going to play Balu. It's a song...
I sort of rolled up four or five of my big,
hairiest poet bloke friends into one character,
and so it's a story made of lots of stories down the years.
And Balu is my nephew Edward's nickname,
on account of his ursine demeanour.
I thought I'd nick it for this character.
And musically, it's something that Craig and Al came up with together.
It was a lovely thing to be given to put words to. Yeah.
Well, it's wonderful to have you all back,
the whole of Elbow back in this room...
Thanks for having us. ..with a wonderful record,
so thank you very much. Guy Garvey!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Nice to see you. Thanks so much.
Was that... Was any of that true?
No. Exactly.
So the band said there wasn't a word of truth in any of that.
Thank you very much. Next, we welcome a brand-new excellent artist
who, next week, will be performing on BBC Introducing Stage
at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in his home town of Luton.
But now, for the first time, here he is on British television.
Please welcome Myles Smith.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
# You promised a lifetime, but left in a moment
# I wonder if you even think about me
# Throw me a lifeline cos I'm barely floating
# Stranded and broken
# You know you got me lost in the dark
# Is it too late?
# Is it too late for us?
# You know you got me lost in my heart
# Is it too late?
# Is it too late for us?
# Oh, why'd you get me so high
# To leave me so low
# To leave me solo
# Oh, I was wasting my time
# Hoping you'd call
# But damn, you're so cold
# Oh, why'd you make me feel safe
# Just to walk away
# Just to let me go
# Oh, why'd you get me so high
# To leave me so low
# To leave me solo
# You look like an angel
# Thought I was in heaven
# But now I'm just falling without you with me
# I thought I was able to learn from my lessons
# Was trying my best
# But you know you got me lost in the dark
# Is it too late?
# Is it too late for us?
# You know you got me lost in my heart
# Is it too late?
# Is it too late for us?
# Oh, why'd you get me so high
# To leave me so low
# To leave me solo
# Oh, I was wasting my time
# Hoping you'd call
# But damn, you're so cold
# Oh, why'd you make me feel safe
# Just to walk away
# Just to let me go
# Oh, why'd you get me so high
# To leave me so low
# To leave me solo
# And, oh, I'll never love again
# I'll never love
# Oh, why'd you get me so high
# To leave me so low
# To leave me solo
# Oh, I was wasting my time
# Hoping you'd call
# But damn, you're so cold. #
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Thank you. Myles Smith.
Excellent.
Now I welcome for my next lovely chat at the piano
an incredibly talented woman.
Just won a Grammy, she's one of the great country artists of today.
We welcome Lainey Wilson. Thank you.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Lovely to see you.
So, first of all, I mean, congratulations on your Grammy.
First woman to win a Grammy for being Country Artist of the Year
for ten years. Can you believe that?
Yeah, exactly. It's about time, huh?
Exactly, it is about time. That's right.
Hurray! Yes! Yeah.
APPLAUSE
Now, let's go back to the beginning.
Where are you originally from, born and raised?
Originally, north-east Louisiana,
I'm from a little town of about 200 people. Mm-hm.
Pretty much everybody in the town is my family.
Um, 200 just good, hard-working, blue-collar folks.
Um, I am who I am because of the people and place that raised me,
a little town called Baskin. Yeah. And were you... Was there music?
Did you hear music there when you were growing up? 100%, yes.
My daddy played guitar by ear
and played around on the piano just a little bit.
But, I mean, country music where I grew up
was truly just the soundtrack of our lives.
Like, I didn't even realise that it was a genre of music,
I was just living out those songs.
So, yeah, I was surrounded by it, for sure.
Is it right that you ran away from all that when you were 19 years old
to go to Nashville, cos you thought, "This is what I've got to do"?
Yeah, you know, at 19 years old, I figured, you know,
if I'm going to do this, I might as well just pack it up.
So I bought a camper trailer, which I think y'all call those caravans.
Yeah. And I hauled it to Nashville,
and I lived in it for the first three years I was there.
And I've been there, called Nashville home for 13 years.
Now, you've got a great new song, of course, Country's Cool Again.
Do you feel as though it had gone out of fashion? I mean, to me,
it's one of the great genres of amazing music, but do you think
it had gone through a rough patch? No, you know, when I was writing
Country's Cool Again, I was thinking more about the country lifestyle.
Like, the way that I grew up.
I mean, my parents had me on the back of a horse
before I could even walk. So I was more thinking about...
You know, you get on TikTok and you see all the kids,
they're wearing their cowboy hats, and they're riding horses,
and they're wearing their Wrangler jeans.
And it's cool to see people embrace the way that I grew up
and find it cool. But I will say country music
is definitely having a moment right now.
Yeah, Beyonce's just done a country record. Yes.
Yes, it's awesome. I mean, it's...
I think what it is, is - at least, for me -
country music makes me feel at home,
and I think that's probably why a lot of folks
are kind of, you know, perking their ears up a little bit.
And, I mean, you recently collaborated with
the wonderful Dolly Parton. Yes, I did.
How was that? That must have been fantastic.
I mean, Dolly Parton, she can do no wrong, right? Yeah.
They say, don't meet your heroes, but she did not count.
Have you gotten to spend any time with Dolly? No. I love her music,
I love her, but no. I cannot wait for you to meet her
because she truly is better than I thought.
And you wrote a great song about her. Tell us about that song.
It is a great song. What Would Dolly Do?
Exactly. What Would Dolly Do? Is that your mantra?
It is - W-W, double D. Y'all see
what I did with the double Ds?
Nice!
LAUGHTER
She... And she heard she song, and she loves it, and she approves,
but that is what I live by.
When I think about the kind of career that I want to have,
I think about people like Dolly Parton,
about how no matter what... I mean, she kept the songwriting
and the music number one, but she wasn't scared to step outside of
her comfort zone. And she gives back, and I think she's just...
She's awesome. If we were all a little bit more like her,
the world would be a much better place.
Now, earlier, we were talking about one of the great
fathers of country music, which is Hank Williams. Yep.
And I wouldn't say he's written out of history,
but I think people forget how amazing he was.
He only lived to the age of 29, and wrote these songs that are... Yep.
So many perfect songs, and they're all short pieces of
incredibly strong poetry.
Were you very into Hank Williams?
100%. I actually got to play at the Ryman,
I guess it was probably about a year ago now,
but I got to sing Lost Highway and play his guitar.
What, you actually played Hank's actual guitar? I played his guitar.
Wow! And you could just feel the energy in that guitar,
and you could feel the songs that came from it,
and then the songs that really never made it out, and, um...
Well, if the spirit of Hank is here, should we do a Hank song?
I think we might as well.
Maybe we should do the Lost Highway,
which you did on his guitar. I'm down. Let's do it.
Shall we do this?
CHEERING
OK, all right.
# I'm a rollin' stone
# All alone and lost
# For a life of sin
# I've paid the cost
# When I pass by
# All the people say
# Just another guy on a lost highway
# Just a deck of cards
# And a jug of wine
# And a woman's lies
# Make a life like mine
# Oh, the day we met
# I went astray
# I started rollin' down
# That lost highway
# I was just a lad, nearly 22
# Neither good nor bad
# Just a kid like you
# And now I'm lost
# Too late to pray
# Lord, I paid the cost on a lost highway
# Now, boys, don't start
# Your ramblin' round
# On this road of sin
# You're sorrow-bound
# Take my advice
# Or you'll curse the day
# You started rollin' down a lost highway
# You started rollin'
# Down that lost highway. #
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Hank's in the room!
Thank you so much. I loved that.
What fun! I've got the best job in the world.
Thank you, Lainey Wilson. Thank you.
What a great room full of amazing people tonight.
And at this end, it is - welcoming back - Idles!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
# Lay me down on the floor
# I'll take the news better
# I'm already torn
# In the shadow of your home
# I can hear it in your tone
# Delete my number
# I'm no more
# Ignore my eyes, babe
# They're just sore
# In the shadow of your home
# I can hear it in your tone
# I wore your sweater
# You didn't laugh
# I guess your girl was right
# We weren't meant to last
# I know you better
# I'm your half
# Just tell me, darling
# And I'll be your past
# You stole my Northy
# I didn't laugh
# I guess my girl was right
# We weren't meant to last
# I know you better
# I'm your half
# Just tell me, darling
# And I'll be your past. #
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
What a remarkable piece of music.
Thank you, Idles.
And they will be headlining at the Other Stage at Glastonbury
next month, so you can go and see them there,
or watch them on the BBC as they broadcast it.
Thank you, Idles, that was quite a piece. Thank you.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
So, thank you to all my wonderful guests this evening
for a marvellous show. Thank you to you for watching.
Thank you to the technicians. Thank you to the audience.
Thank you to everybody. And now thank you to Elbow!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
# Oh, my big Balu
# With my wine, I pine for you
# My days are shapeless now
# I'm something of a sacred cow
# But sunrise on those gumballs
# Bouncing around Manhattan
# Saw the Magi sleep on a Subway train
# And the start of an elegant pattern
# You carried me over the threshold
# You were the B of the bang of the binge
# Till I split for a tryst with a rust belt girl
# With a Plantagenet fringe
# And, oh, do I miss you Balu with your bookmark heart
# And your Bible of Sign o' the Times
# I'll dig you back up when they kill you
# And hollow your skull for my wine
# Balu, Balu, Balu
# Balu, Balu, Balu, Balu
# Oh, my big Balu, I saw you walking on the moon
# I didn't wind my window down
# But forever, old man, we're children of the Pan
# Drones just won't understand
# There's nothing amiss that cannae be fixed
# By a bottle of fire and a band
# I'll never be whole without you
# But I'll never grow in your shadow
# Meccano, Mikado, m'laddo
# If you can't reach for the next branch up
# I'll sing to you about the view
# I'll sing to you, Balu
# Balu, Balu, Balu, Balu
# Ooh
# Balu, Balu, Balu, Balu
# I'll sing to you about the view, Balu
# Balu, Balu
# Ooh
# Balu, Balu, Balu, Balu
# Ooh
# Balu, Balu, Balu, Balu. #
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
# Must be something in the water flowing out of the holler
# Blue collar must've caught a new wind
# Y'all hop in the back, how 'bout that?
# Country's cool again
# Ain't that some shit? I found a few hits
# Cos country's cool again
# So cool. #