Barry Humphries returns to Radio 2 with more vintage music...

Barry Humphries is delighted to be back on the wireless with his personal selection of culturally thrilling songs from the first half of the 20th century.

"I’m delighted to be back on the wireless with my new four-part series. Of all the things I do, this is my favourite," he confesses.

And Barry's turntable time machine spins at a rate of 78 r.p.m. and in this the fifth series of his critically acclaimed show, he aims to transport listeners back to a time of royal scandal, global pandemics, panic buying, racial tension, hung parliaments and European hostility. “Thank goodness we live in less turbulent times,” says Barry.

So what can listeners expect from the fifth series of Barry's Forgotten Musical

Masterpieces, starting on BBC Radio at 9pm on Sunday, 11th July 2021?

Programme 1 - 11th July at 9pm on BBC Radio 2 (and then here on BBC Sounds).

In this episode, Barry is yacht-sitting for Dame Edna. The Ocean Widow is moored, just off the coast of Skye. Aboard, his rigged up a kind of alternative ‘Radio Caroline’. Yet, instead of broadcasting the sound of the future, Barry's ‘Radio Phyllis’ plays reassuring songs from the past. The Abdication Crisis of 1936 (and other early 20th century scandals) provide the spine of this new four-part series. You may recall, 1936, was the year in which a member of the Royal Family said ‘Goodbye to All That’ and then ran off to live abroad with an American divorcee. This sent shock waves through the British Establishment. Featured artists include in this episode include: Marion Harris (‘Jazz Baby’), Isham Jones (‘Life Begins When You’re in Love’), Van Philips (‘Goodbye to All That’), Elsie Carlisle (‘Little White Lies’), and Douglas Byng (‘Mexican Minnie’)… Barry says: “I’ve only be granted the use of Dame Edna’s yacht - The Ocean Widow - because she’s in South America, plumping up her little Mexican Love Nest. I understand that my vintage music series is now actually considered rather ‘edgy’, in comparison to mainstream shows. Personally, I suspect that this may have something to do with the needles involved."

Programme 2 - 18th July on Radio 2 at 9pm and then here on BBC Sounds

In this episode, Barry Humphries once again draws inspiration from the affair of Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson. The song ‘Edward VIII’ by Lord Caresser, was the first to make reference to the 1936 scandal. Barry recalls how his grandparents sailed back to Britain, from Australia, to partake in the festivities surrounding the Coronation. When they started their journey, Edward VIII was due to be crowned. However, by the time they arrived in Britain, he had abdicated and it had been announced that his brother would become King George VI instead. The abdication of Edward VIII, in 1936, was supposedly the royal scandal to end all royal scandals. Featured artists in this episode include: Jack Hylton ('Why Don’t Somebody Tell Me These Things'), Elsie Carlise ('Little White Lies'), Arthur Hall ('The Flapper Wife'), Lord Caresser ('Edward VIII'), Florie Forde ('Girls, Study Your Cookbook')... The early 20th century was full of sandal. It seems that, despite the strict standards of the era, under the surface, practically everyone was at it in one way or another! Barry says: “I recall that when my paternal grandparents sailed back to Britain, from Australia, for a special trip to be part of the festivities surrounding the Coronation in 1937, their journey involved spending months on a ship. That’s months! Not days or hours. When they started their journey, the Coronation was due to be that of Edward VIII, however, by the time they arrived in Britain, he had abdicated and his brother Bertie, was to be crowned as King George VI instead. They did manage to purchase, at a discount, a beautiful Edward VIII Coronation Souvenir Mug.” Programme 3 - 25th July on Radio 2 at 9pm and then here on BBC Sounds Barry Humphries brings listeners more ear-catching, thought provoking, entertaining and neglected songs from the first half of the 20th century. In this series, Barry’s musical selections are inspired by various early 20th century scandals. For instance, Barry recalls how the Nazis destroyed Magnus Hirshfeld’s ground-breaking ‘Institut fur Sexualwissenschaft’ in Berlin when they came to power. He also celebrates the recordings of African-American jazz musician, Freddy Johnson, who initially found greater freedom in Europe than America until the Nazis came after him. There's an intriguing insight into the life of the beautiful young Australian who captured the heart of a future King, until his parents got in the way. Plus, he remembers 'The Battle of the Saxes', when male dance bandleaders became very jealous of Ivy Benson's success on the radio in the 1940s... Featured artists in this episode include: Marlene Dietrich ('Wo Ist Der Mann'), Ivy Benson's All Girl Band ('Jealousy'), Freddy Johnson ('Harlem Bound'), The Comedian Harmonists ('The Way with Every Sailor'), Jack Hylton ('That's My Weakness Now'), Ivy Benson's All Girl Band ('Jealousy'), Marion Harris ('They Go Wild Simply Wild Over Me'), Ted Weems ('She's Got It'), Al Bowlly ('Put Your Little Arms Around Me')... Programme 4 listen on BBC Sounds via this link Barry Humphries takes listeners on a trip back in time to early Hollywood. Barry Humphries spins his Turntable Time Machine for perhaps the very last time, as he takes listeners back to the era of Mack Sennett, Jessie Matthews and William Desmond Taylor. In this episode, Barry takes musical inspiration from early 20th century Hollywood scandals, including the murder of the actor/director William Desmond Taylor, the love affair of Jessie Matthews and Sonny Hale and the tragic love life of American singer Ruth Etting...

Now you know, missing any of the episodes in this exciting new series would be almost as scandalous as the abdication crisis of 1936!