1997-2010 Closer Than Close The People's History of Pop


1997-2010 Closer Than Close

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Transcript


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Pete Doherty is by far the most important man of our generation,

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the most talented writer and poet, because he can teach us that,

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you know, life can be a mess, but you have to appreciate those times,

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because if you don't appreciate those times, how are you going to appreciate it when something's

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glorious or something magical's happening?

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MUSIC: Song 2 by Blur

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Pop music has chronicled our lives and brought us closer together.

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This is its story, told by those who love it the most.

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The fans.

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SCREAMING

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Over the last year,

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fans from all over the country have been digging out and sharing with us

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some of their most treasured, rare and personal memorabilia.

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A home-made tribute.

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A special snapshot.

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A cheeky biro.

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All precious and all with a wonderful story.

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We've underlined all the words

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that really meant something to us at the time!

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They probably don't mean anything now, do they, though?

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The rave scene brought people together and gave us smiley culture!

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This is my first album, Catch A Fire.

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Sister took me down to Woolworths to buy this one.

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So, whether you're a fan of grime or indie, synthpop or jazz,

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girl bands, prog, or if, like me, you're fond of a bit of dance and hip-hop,

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this is about us, the people at the very heart of this thing called pop.

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SCREAMING

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Tonight we begin in 1997.

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As we crossed into the next century, eclecticism ruled and the lines

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between all the different musical tribes began to blur.

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Technology was ripping up the rule book for us fans, cos the way

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we began to interact with our favourite bands changed forever.

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SCREAMING

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Up until now, us fans have loved bands from afar,

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but in this era the gap between fan and band began to close.

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It felt like everyone in the same gang.

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They just welcomed everyone in and let them all be part of their world, really.

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Amy, you could have moaned to her about your boyfriend or

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about the guy that you'd got off with that hadn't called you and

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she'd be there with you.

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We were all really just in awe of her.

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-She's incredible.

-I mean, as a live musician, I haven't seen anyone better, to be honest.

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-She puts out her hands for a hug. It's like, "God, I'm hugging Adele!"

-HE LAUGHS

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It's the time I went from music fan to spreading the word about

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the latest new bands on Radio 1 and Top Of The Pops.

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So, let's talk about...

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..how the internet shook up our record collections.

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How we called the shots.

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How we got closer to our heroes.

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In the late '90s, the internet has truly arrived,

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opening up extraordinary horizons of information.

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I think we're actually on the cusp of something exhilarating and terrifying.

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But this new world was threatened by a calamitous computer

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apocalypse that loomed at the end of the century.

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Call 0845 601 2000 for your free action pack.

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MUSIC: Paranoid Android by Radiohead

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The digital age had us thrilled, scared and overloaded in equal measure.

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But one band and its devoted fans seemed more attuned to the millennial anxiety,

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and one record would capture our deepest fears and feelings.

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In 1997, 15-year-old Emily couldn't wait for the UK release of

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Radiohead's OK Computer.

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Literally couldn't wait.

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Really unglamorous peas box.

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I've got a CD from Japan.

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That's the Japanese one.

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I pre-ordered it from HMV and it was, like, something ridiculous

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like 30 quid, cos Japanese imports back then were so expensive.

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But it just meant I got it a bit earlier.

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It hit you. You know, Airbag smacked you in the face.

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It was like, "Wow, what's that?"

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-Exit Music is, "Oh, my God."

-SHE LAUGHS

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# You can laugh... #

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I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard it.

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I was in a shopping arcade in the middle of Nottingham and I just,

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like, had to just lean on the wall.

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It sounds really over the top, but it's true!

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The crescendo where it builds and his voice just comes up,

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it's incredible.

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# Now we are one... #

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I was a very messed-up teenager.

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I stopped going to school.

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Then my dad died, which just made everything worse.

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And Thom had...you know, there was a depressive slant to his lyrics, without being too overt.

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And it was just Thom's portrayal of being an outsider as well

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which appealed to me.

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With bands like Radiohead, they sort of...you know,

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they bring you in and accept you.

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# They don't

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# They don't speak for us... #

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Student Lucy also wanted to be in Radiohead's gang and got her

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copy of OK Computer early from Japan too.

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But Lucy wanted to pick the right moment to hear it,

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which was just after computing class.

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I remember sitting listening to it on a sunny day,

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having just come out of HTML class at uni, which was ironic,

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and it just opening out and there being

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a lot of songs I'd heard already that now sounded finished.

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And things like Let Down that I'd never heard before,

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and The Tourist, and just...

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It just opening out and being, "This is their sound now.

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"They don't sound like anybody else."

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# Let down and hanging around... #

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OK Computer in its final glory.

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Then of course it starts getting all these amazing reviews, like,

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out-of-sight crazy reviews everywhere.

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Ten out of ten in the NME,

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Uncut, five-star in Q.

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Only four in the Guardian, but...

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She later says, "In 2017 your grandchildren will still be analysing this,"

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or something like that, which is scary.

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'Scarily accurate, I would say.

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'After OK Computer blew our minds,

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'Radiohead were announced as Glastonbury headliners.'

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Glastonbury was when they kind of go supernova,

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and it's never quite the same after that.

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Lucy didn't get tickets to Glastonbury, but young Emily did.

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Glastonbury.

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It's just the little guide that you got.

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Got in. Pretty overwhelmed from the start, like,

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"Whoa, there's so many people," and, "This is really terrifying."

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# I know a place where the sun hits the sky... #

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We just went down on the Saturday morning first thing,

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to go and stand on the barrier.

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And that's where we stayed all day.

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Andy, can you turn on the lights so we can see the people,

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-cos we haven't seen them yet.

-CHEERING

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Thank you.

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Hello.

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I was so glad they were finally on,

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and Thom was there and he looked beautiful.

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And the lighting was really intense and very orange.

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# Karma police, arrest this girl... #

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I was literally yelling, "Thom!"

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Which is on the footage.

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CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

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But I remember we were quite dehydrated.

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We hadn't eaten, we hadn't moved.

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I just went. I just fainted.

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Gone, you know.

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Obviously they dragged me out.

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Then the next thing I remember is waking up lying on a haystack,

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with a nurse offering me a Kit Kat, and I could hear Street Spirit

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but I couldn't see it.

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# Fade out again... #

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After Glastonbury, I decided I wanted to see them more.

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It was a fantastic experience doing all that.

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Travelling the country, getting to see all these exciting cities, meeting all these cool people.

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Just to be around people who get it. It was amazing.

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CHEERING

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Thank you.

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After Radiohead,

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waves of indie bands appeared each week in the NME and Melody Maker.

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The likes of Stereophonics, Embrace and Travis.

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The music mags had always told us who and what to like,

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but some of us weren't having it any more.

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I've seen Travis play live a few times now,

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they are a fantastic festival band,

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but I was lucky to get to see them at all.

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Their second album was roundly trounced by the critics,

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and the lads took those harsh words to heart.

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They almost considered calling it a day.

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That was until 16-year-old superfan Moray Swan got involved.

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In 1999, 16-year-old Moray wrote to the music press to express his opinion.

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This is a remarkable tale of a fan saving his favourite band.

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-So, here we go.

-Here we have the letter.

-SARA GASPS

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"The review of the Travis gig, Melody Maker, March 6th

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-"pissed me off immensely."

-Yes, Moray!

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"Its criticism was based around the fact that Travis write music

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"from the heart and express themselves in their music.

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-"But I'm sorry. What's so wrong with that?"

-Oh, this is a killer line.

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"It's music that lasts, not the image.

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"Beethoven and Bach are not remembered for their funky hairstyles.

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-"Moray Swan, Aberdeenshire."

-Beautiful.

-So...

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SARA CLAPS

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I get the message I was trying to write.

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I don't think I'd write it the same way just now.

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# My inside is outside... #

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Travis were now experimenting with a new-fangled website,

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a place where lead singer Fran Healy was occasionally available for

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a chat, which meant Moray found himself in more direct

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contact than you could ever imagine.

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Back in 1999, the band actually had a very basic message board.

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I'd left a little note and Fran had responded to say,

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"Is that Moray that wrote the letter into Melody Maker?"

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I was like, "Oh, hi, Fran. Yeah, it is, it's me."

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So, he said...

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"As a way of saying thank you for what you've done,

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"for you taking the time to do that, we're playing Glasgow in October,

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"I'll put you down on the access-all-areas.

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"Please come along to the show. It would be lovely to meet you and say thanks in person."

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-Boom. OK.

-And I just kind of hit the floor.

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MUSIC: U16 Girls by Travis

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When I went up and introduced myself,

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I couldn't get out my name before he went, "Moray!"

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And he jumped up.

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I got a hug as if it was a long-lost friend.

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He was just saying, you know, what the letter had meant to him.

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And when he read that, he thought, "There's a chink of light.

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"Maybe it doesn't matter what the reviewers say.

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"If the people get it, then we'll be OK."

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And, yeah, by that point, the fans had got the music,

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the people had cottoned on and they just exploded over the summer.

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They played Glastonbury, the album had gone to number one.

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Yeah, it was huge.

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I mean, I was doing Radio 1 Breakfast at the time and we

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just played it nonstop.

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I mean, it was a massive album.

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# Why does it always rain on me?

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# Is it because I lied when I was 17? #

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-But that is not the end of the story, is it?

-No.

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15 years on from when the letter was written in 1999, myself and

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my beautiful wife-to-be Paula were getting married in Edinburgh.

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Little did I know in the background, Paula,

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on very much a long shot, had sent an e-mail into the dark to

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the band's management company at the time, saying,

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"Hello, I'm Paula. I'm getting married to Moray Swan. Fran knows him.

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"It would be lovely if you could play the first dance for us."

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I've got goose bumps, that's so nice!

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So, she did that about six weeks before the wedding.

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So, I was going to ask you what your reaction was,

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but you can show me, can't you, cos you've got some footage of it?

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Go on, let's see.

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CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

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-And there's Fran!

-There he goes.

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-Yeah.

-With his marvellous beard.

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The only problem that I had,

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it was our own personal show from our musical hero and

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everybody else got to watch him,

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and for at least half the time I'm spinning and looking the wrong way.

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# Out in the crowd, you are one in a million

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# And I love you so

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# Let's watch the flowers grow... #

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Moray, it's been nice hearing the whole story.

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-Will you let me know what the next instalment is, please?

-Sure. Yeah.

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CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

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A story that only happened thanks to Moray and Fran's love of music

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and the direct connection digital technology allowed.

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CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

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For our kid brothers and sisters, indie was far too serious.

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Much more fun was the glitzy chart pop on, well, Radio 1,

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and our growing fascination with celebrities.

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We wanted to know more and more details about,

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and get unprecedented access to, our pop stars' lives.

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13-year-old Malcolm was captivated with the stars he saw in magazines.

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All this kind of obsession of, like, actually going to see pop stars

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and things in the flesh started, because I was a massive Eternal fan.

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# Stay, stay... #

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And, yeah, these are, like, concert banners.

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That was, like, a Kelle from Eternal one.

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'When Malcolm's home-made banners weren't getting the attention of

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'his favourite member of Eternal, he wrote to her.

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'And one day the phone rang.'

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I was upstairs and my sister called me and she said,

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"Oh, my God, I think Kelle from Eternal's on the phone."

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And I was like, "Oh, my God, she got my letter!"

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And, yeah, I went downstairs and... yeah, and it was her.

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# Ah-h-h-h, do you, do you, do you, do you feel the power? #

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I had a chat with her for about, I don't know,

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20, 25 minutes or something and it was just, like,

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the most bizarre thing, cos that was my first-ever interaction

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with any pop star and I was absolutely besotted with Eternal.

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This kick-started Malcolm's mission to get closer to the bands

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he loved, and there was one perfect place to go.

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The Brit Awards was just, like, the ultimate thing growing up.

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Everyone watched it, whether they were kind of really into pop music

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or not, but no fans kind of at that time had access.

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So, Malcolm and his mates hatched an audacious plan - to go where

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no fan had gone before.

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One of my friends just starts sketching the pass that was,

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like, around this guy's neck.

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And we thought, "Why not just, like, give it a go and kind of

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"try and create one?"

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Went to my dad's office and we made these passes.

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-So, it was like...it was so basic!

-HE LAUGHS

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# I'm a burning effigy of everything I used to be... #

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And we went down to the arena and, yeah, we walked in.

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# Let me entertain you... #

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We watched the entire show and went to the aftershow party.

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Whitney Houston was there, the Eurythmics, Cher and, like,

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just all these enormous stars, and it was like, "What is going on?

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"This is... We're never, ever going to beat this."

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-And I was 15 at the time!

-HE LAUGHS

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It was just absolutely ridiculous!

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I don't know how we got away with doing that.

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Malcolm's escapades got him closer to, and later friendly with,

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the stars he idolised.

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I grew up in, like, real suburbia in Surrey and it was

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kind of escaping this world which I found really boring

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and plain and stuff,

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and just getting on the train and being part of this glitzy world

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of, like, showbiz and pop stars and we just wanted to be part of that.

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It was just my world, it was just our world.

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MUSIC: C'est La Vie by B*Witched.

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It wasn't just teenagers trying to escape.

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Those of us working nine to five also wanted to lose ourselves in another world.

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# God is a DJ... #

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Hordes of us were devouring music in the hours when pop fans were

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safely tucked up in bed.

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And the club nights had to get bigger to cater for us all.

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I had an absolute ball at some of these huge nights,

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from Bugged Out to Back To Basics.

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And as the clubs got bigger and bigger, they got branded.

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This is the era of the superclub.

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# This is my church... #

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Now these clubbing brands were our idols, it was the club nights we now

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worshipped, from Cream in Liverpool to Ministry of Sound in London.

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And to ensure we got in, we wore our best designer togs - Diesel,

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Red or Dead, Patrick Cox loafers - no relation.

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Leeds-born Rob was a devoted fan of Gatecrasher,

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a club night based in Sheffield.

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So much so he created his own Gatecrasher uniforms,

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adorned with the club's lion logo.

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Less designer store, more pet emporium.

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Signature look was the top that I was most renowned for.

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As you can see, it's had a bit of wear and tear over the years.

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But this is kind of sort of my trademark top that, you know,

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I custom-made.

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With a "risk of electric shock" warning sign that I pinched off

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the back of a drinks machine...

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This is the flashing collar that I used to wear with my outfit.

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It's actually a dog collar that I bought from a pet shop.

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Rob was devoted to Gatecrasher. It became his spiritual home.

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I'd gone through a few issues with regards to family moving away,

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sort of leaving me, persuading me not to move back to Leeds

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with them because I had a job.

0:18:350:18:37

I was working in a factory.

0:18:370:18:39

I was basically sofa-surfing.

0:18:390:18:41

Sometimes I even... I ended up,

0:18:410:18:43

you know, having to live out of my car for, you know, a week,

0:18:430:18:46

two weeks at a time.

0:18:460:18:47

Erm...

0:18:470:18:49

But, yeah, you know, it was all about living for the weekend and Gatecrasher.

0:18:490:18:52

# You're not alone... #

0:18:520:18:54

Rob loved Gatecrasher as much as any superfan loves their band,

0:18:540:18:58

and any memento of a great night out was treasured.

0:18:580:19:01

Here's a couple of lanyards from the Millennium.

0:19:020:19:07

And also from the Summer Sound System events that Gatecrasher held.

0:19:070:19:12

One of the projector slides.

0:19:120:19:13

This is the front of the cigarette machine.

0:19:130:19:17

MUSIC: Kernkraft 400 by Zombie Nation

0:19:170:19:19

We were all kind of sort of travelling the length and

0:19:200:19:22

breadth of Britain every Saturday, and going and supporting our club.

0:19:220:19:26

You think about the tribalism and the culture with football fans,

0:19:260:19:30

you know, and it was very much like that.

0:19:300:19:31

It was an identity, it was part of who we were.

0:19:310:19:33

Without the DJs offering much to mimic fashion-wise,

0:19:370:19:41

Rob and his friends with their home-made outfits were starting

0:19:410:19:43

a brand-new tribe on the dance floor - the Gatecrasher Kids.

0:19:430:19:47

The Gatecrasher Kids were someone that had a unique style.

0:19:470:19:51

If it was a lad that had spiked hair, colours in it,

0:19:510:19:54

we'd all congregate around the front of the stage and on the railings.

0:19:540:19:57

Really, it was kind of sort of the figurepoint of what almost became Gatecrasher's identity.

0:19:570:20:02

Rob and his friends noticed more and more clubbers joining their

0:20:050:20:08

Crasher Kid tribe, and so did the press.

0:20:080:20:11

For me the explosion really was myself and Lee appearing on

0:20:110:20:15

the cover of DJ Magazine.

0:20:150:20:17

At the time we were actually the first non-DJs to appear on

0:20:170:20:22

the front cover of the magazine

0:20:220:20:23

so it was an absolutely defining moment.

0:20:230:20:25

People were stopping asking for your photos.

0:20:250:20:28

We've had to sign front covers of DJ Magazines.

0:20:280:20:31

It almost became like a celebrity status.

0:20:310:20:33

It was just so weird.

0:20:330:20:35

We were just a group of people that went to a nightclub.

0:20:350:20:37

At the time, with regards to superclubs and things like that,

0:20:370:20:40

people, the crowd, go to see the DJs or the line-up.

0:20:400:20:44

People were coming to see us just as much as the DJs

0:20:440:20:47

and to experience the venue.

0:20:470:20:50

# I need a miracle, I need a miracle. #

0:20:520:20:56

It was the biggest influence I've had on my life.

0:20:560:20:59

When you look at the core group of friends that I've got,

0:20:590:21:03

they've all come from Gatecrasher.

0:21:030:21:05

I've got the tattoo on my arm - Gatecrasher's slogan in Spanish.

0:21:050:21:08

I definitely think it's defined me

0:21:080:21:10

and it's made me the person that I am today.

0:21:100:21:13

We played a lot of dance music on Radio 1 in the late '90s

0:21:130:21:16

but to get onto the playlist

0:21:160:21:17

songs usually had to have a mainstream record label behind them.

0:21:170:21:21

Fans of music that hadn't yet been picked up by the record industry

0:21:230:21:27

found it hard to hear new tracks.

0:21:270:21:30

Carl from Ipswich loved a new, very British sound called UK garage

0:21:300:21:35

that was struggling to be heard legally.

0:21:350:21:38

The only option was to tune in to pirate radio in his car.

0:21:380:21:42

At the time I was working as a chef.

0:21:420:21:45

Every two weeks I'd go down to London.

0:21:450:21:47

Coming straight in, you're fiddling with the stations.

0:21:470:21:50

Pirate radio was king.

0:21:500:21:52

You've got stations set up just for UK garage.

0:21:520:21:56

One of them would be London Underground.

0:21:560:21:58

You'd have ICE FM, you'd have Magic FM.

0:21:580:22:01

The music was something else.

0:22:010:22:02

They'd be playing all the latest dubs.

0:22:020:22:04

It got competitive as well.

0:22:040:22:06

Sometimes London Underground's not on and then you'd hear later on in

0:22:060:22:10

the week that someone from Deja Vu had gone over to London Underground

0:22:100:22:15

and so they're on and they're not on.

0:22:150:22:18

The pirates helped the music industry in this country.

0:22:180:22:21

Without that, we wouldn't have been where we are today.

0:22:210:22:24

The UK garage the pirates were playing was

0:22:260:22:28

a combination of the melodies of American house with the

0:22:280:22:31

basslines and fast tempo of jungle,

0:22:310:22:34

but the DJs would cherry-pick from any genre to keep everyone dancing.

0:22:340:22:39

UK garage, it spoke to me.

0:22:390:22:42

I loved the soulfulness.

0:22:420:22:44

I loved the soulfulness, the R&B tracks.

0:22:440:22:47

Some of the UK-garage DJs would listen to an R&B track and

0:22:470:22:51

completely sweep it around and you'd think, "Wow, that is good, man!"

0:22:510:22:58

# Be sincere

0:22:580:23:01

# I'm crazy

0:23:010:23:03

# Don't do it. #

0:23:030:23:05

As pirate radio was spreading the sound,

0:23:050:23:07

UK-garage club nights were popping up all over London

0:23:070:23:11

and Carl was at the heart of this new club scene.

0:23:110:23:14

This is the famous Twice As Nice.

0:23:140:23:16

This was one of the big clubs.

0:23:160:23:18

Eight o'clock to 3am in the morning.

0:23:180:23:20

I don't know how people got to work.

0:23:200:23:22

I don't know how I got to work.

0:23:220:23:24

Oh, my God, that was so good.

0:23:240:23:27

# Do you really like it? #

0:23:270:23:29

UK-garage clubbers dressed up. It was all about looking your best.

0:23:290:23:33

Everyone's dressed to the nines.

0:23:330:23:36

People wanted to feel good and look good and feel important.

0:23:360:23:39

Everything was up class.

0:23:390:23:41

If you were wearing trainers you couldn't get it.

0:23:410:23:43

Once you got in, you might see celebrities.

0:23:430:23:46

But I was down there for the music.

0:23:460:23:48

I was always looking at the tune, trying to get the latest tune.

0:23:480:23:52

All those times, I wish they could come back.

0:23:520:23:54

# Re-rewind, inter selecta. #

0:23:540:23:57

Fan power drove UK garage over into the mainstream.

0:23:570:24:01

With the sheer amount of people loving it,

0:24:010:24:03

it was only a matter of time before it got into the charts

0:24:030:24:06

and it was now debuting in the top ten.

0:24:060:24:09

Tracks like Artful Dodger's Re-Rewind...

0:24:090:24:12

# Making waves, yeah. #

0:24:120:24:14

..Shanks & Bigfoot's Sweet Like Chocolate...

0:24:140:24:17

# Sweet like chocolate, boy. #

0:24:170:24:20

..and Craig David's Fill Me In,

0:24:200:24:22

which went straight in at number one.

0:24:220:24:25

# All right. #

0:24:250:24:27

Craig David was one of the biggest names in UK garage.

0:24:310:24:35

He was the sort of figurehead.

0:24:350:24:36

If you turned on Top Of The Pops or whatever,

0:24:360:24:38

you saw Craig David doing a world tour.

0:24:380:24:40

You went, "Oh, my God, he's from Southampton."

0:24:400:24:43

# Can you fill me in?

0:24:430:24:45

# I think I'll sing it again, I think I'll sing it again. #

0:24:450:24:47

Carl felt UK garage was an important moment in black music history.

0:24:470:24:52

UK garage was the first time that... we could say that was ours.

0:24:520:24:56

Garage was multicultural.

0:24:560:24:58

It was a black movement but you had a lot of white players

0:24:580:25:01

in there as well, but the main thing was it was British.

0:25:010:25:04

# I said, can you fill me in? #

0:25:040:25:08

UK garage was a grassroots sound that had snuck up on

0:25:090:25:13

the music industry thanks to the sheer enthusiasm of the fans.

0:25:130:25:17

Slowly the industry was cottoning on to the power of what we could do

0:25:170:25:21

to spread the word about a sound or band.

0:25:210:25:24

In the glossy world of music videos, however,

0:25:240:25:27

fans were never seen on screen.

0:25:270:25:29

But that didn't stop our new-found fascination with filming ourselves,

0:25:290:25:33

inspired by Video Nation and our increased access to video cameras.

0:25:330:25:37

So, in this sideboard here is where I keep my original

0:25:410:25:45

Feeder Just A Day videotape.

0:25:450:25:47

TRACK BEGINS

0:25:520:25:54

And there I am just standing around in the middle of the video.

0:25:560:26:00

Welsh rock band Feeder understood the power of fans and for

0:26:050:26:08

the first time ever asked them to be in the video for their 2001 track

0:26:080:26:12

Just A Day.

0:26:120:26:14

14-year-old Feeder fan Mark heard about the video

0:26:140:26:17

in a band newsletter.

0:26:170:26:19

So they said, "We want you to put the song on in your bedroom

0:26:190:26:21

"and just film yourself just doing whatever."

0:26:210:26:26

# Waking up at 12 in my clothes again

0:26:260:26:28

# Feel my head explode from a night of gin. #

0:26:280:26:32

So one Saturday afternoon I took myself up to my bedroom,

0:26:320:26:35

set the video camera up in the corner, got the guitar out,

0:26:350:26:39

bounced around the room, sang into the camera.

0:26:390:26:42

Put all my details on the cassette, stuck it in a bag,

0:26:420:26:45

sent it in the post and didn't really think more of it.

0:26:450:26:47

I was off on my paper round one morning and then came back to

0:26:470:26:51

my phone and there was a text on there that said,

0:26:510:26:54

"I've just seen you on TV."

0:26:540:26:56

HE LAUGHS

0:26:580:26:59

That just makes me laugh when I see that one.

0:26:590:27:03

Just those moves are like...

0:27:030:27:05

I can see myself moving like that when I was that age.

0:27:050:27:08

Looking back I just think why didn't you move a bit more?

0:27:110:27:14

Why didn't you do this, that or the other?

0:27:140:27:17

The strange thing is, by watching it I feel like I know all these people,

0:27:170:27:20

having never met any of them.

0:27:200:27:23

# Your friend, I blame myself. #

0:27:230:27:26

When this came out I don't think anyone had done anything

0:27:260:27:29

quite like it, which seems like such a simple idea for a video.

0:27:290:27:32

2001, pre-YouTube, pre-Myspace, pre any of that.

0:27:320:27:36

That didn't exist.

0:27:360:27:38

I still feel something, you know, when I see it,

0:27:380:27:41

like I saw it for the first time, because it is a part of my history.

0:27:410:27:45

'Don't know where that came from.'

0:27:450:27:48

Appearing in pop stars' videos wasn't enough.

0:27:480:27:51

We now wanted to be part of their lives, their struggle for success,

0:27:510:27:54

even to judge who would make it,

0:27:540:27:56

and Saturday-night telly was feeding this desire.

0:27:560:28:00

For the first time in ages,

0:28:020:28:04

whole families were coming together to watch the same music on

0:28:040:28:07

a Saturday night, old-fashioned entertainment with a twist,

0:28:070:28:11

letting us decide who would win or lose.

0:28:110:28:14

It was huge. We all had an emotional stake in the outcome

0:28:140:28:17

and it mattered for all sorts of reasons.

0:28:170:28:21

Mother and daughter Zoe and Jane had never liked the same singer before

0:28:210:28:25

until they both found themselves glued to the screen.

0:28:250:28:29

Pop Idol was a new show and it came really for us at the right time,

0:28:290:28:34

because my husband had just recently passed away

0:28:340:28:37

and I wasn't in a good place at all.

0:28:370:28:40

Pop Idol gave me a purpose

0:28:400:28:43

whereby it was something to look forward to.

0:28:430:28:47

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:28:480:28:50

Will was their favourite from the beginning.

0:28:500:28:54

There was just something about him.

0:28:540:28:56

He didn't take any rubbish from anybody

0:28:560:29:00

and I knew that he had a good voice.

0:29:000:29:03

It made me want to pick up the phone to vote because I wanted him to win.

0:29:030:29:08

I'd never done anything like that before ever.

0:29:080:29:11

Will v Gareth was the ultimate talent contest, all decided by us,

0:29:130:29:17

so they campaigned election-style to secure our vote.

0:29:170:29:21

-NEWSREADER:

-They've got the screaming girls.

0:29:230:29:25

They've got their own merchandising.

0:29:250:29:27

They've even got their own buses.

0:29:270:29:29

Yes, it's Will versus Gareth in the final of Pop Idol,

0:29:290:29:31

and with the big day less than a week away,

0:29:310:29:34

the attention being focused on these wannabe superstars

0:29:340:29:36

is getting more and more intense.

0:29:360:29:39

Gareth Gates was initially the favourite to win but no-one

0:29:390:29:42

knew the result until nearly 13 million of us

0:29:420:29:45

were sat in front of our TVs for the live final.

0:29:450:29:49

The winner of Pop Idol...

0:29:490:29:53

I remember sitting there thinking,

0:29:530:29:54

"Oh, just get on with it. I can't stand this. Just get on!"

0:29:540:29:57

Then I just said, "Oh, Gareth's won. He's won. Gareth's won.

0:29:570:30:00

"Will's got no chance."

0:30:000:30:01

..Will!

0:30:010:30:03

SCREAMING AND APPLAUSE

0:30:030:30:05

-Really? Pardon?

-Will!

0:30:050:30:07

I remember actually shouting up, jumping up, "Yes, yes, yes!"

0:30:070:30:13

# I'm going to take this moment. #

0:30:170:30:20

After helping him win Pop Idol and buying his single Evergreen

0:30:200:30:24

to get him a Christmas number one,

0:30:240:30:26

Zoe and Jane then bought tickets to every Will Young gig they could.

0:30:260:30:30

We've been all over the place.

0:30:310:30:34

He's such a fantastic live vocalist.

0:30:340:30:38

It seems to us like he's singing to us.

0:30:380:30:41

That's how it makes you feel.

0:30:410:30:44

# I think I'd better leave right now

0:30:440:30:47

# Before I fall any deeper. #

0:30:470:30:49

After helping to create their star,

0:30:490:30:51

Zoe and Jane continue to support Will by buying all his merchandise.

0:30:510:30:55

Everywhere we've been to, we just buy everything.

0:30:550:30:59

T-shirts, programmes, mugs.

0:30:590:31:02

-Drink your tea with Will.

-Yeah.

0:31:020:31:05

Filling walls and shelves was not enough to sate their appetite,

0:31:050:31:09

so they signed up for the Will Weekenders,

0:31:090:31:12

mini-breaks with other Will fans.

0:31:120:31:14

These are the badges that we used to have.

0:31:140:31:17

-Reading was the first one...

-The first one.

0:31:170:31:19

..and that was just a mad weekend from beginning to end.

0:31:190:31:22

It was everything Will.

0:31:220:31:24

The music, quizzes.

0:31:240:31:27

-Karaoke.

-Karaoke.

0:31:270:31:29

-You name it.

-Raffles.

-Raffles, everything.

0:31:290:31:32

That's what we had to eat, look.

0:31:320:31:35

Melon, chicken, cheese and coffee with mints.

0:31:350:31:38

We have had some wonderful times.

0:31:380:31:40

We go everywhere. We really do.

0:31:400:31:43

Do everything together, within reason.

0:31:430:31:46

Will-wise.

0:31:460:31:49

Yes.

0:31:490:31:50

# I think I'd better leave right now... #

0:31:500:31:53

Without Will, personally, I don't know where I would have been.

0:31:530:31:57

I can't say. I just don't know.

0:31:570:32:00

I know that it was the best thing that happened to me...

0:32:000:32:03

..and I wish Will knew how much he enriches people's lives.

0:32:040:32:10

# I think I'd better leave right now. #

0:32:100:32:14

Whilst we pushed Will and the other pop idols up the charts in

0:32:190:32:22

the early 2000s, not everything at this point was so neatly packaged.

0:32:220:32:26

Some of it recalled the raw energy of punk.

0:32:260:32:30

# I saw two shadow men on the Vallance Road

0:32:300:32:33

# Said they'd pay me for your address

0:32:350:32:37

# Oh, I was so bold. #

0:32:370:32:40

It's 2002 and a brand-new band explodes onto the scene

0:32:400:32:44

that makes everyone at Radio 1 sit up and pay attention.

0:32:440:32:48

The buzz around The Libertines reverberated through us all.

0:32:480:32:52

They were raw, they were loud, they were sexy, they were cool.

0:32:520:32:55

And they prided themselves on being close to their fans

0:32:590:33:01

from the very beginning.

0:33:010:33:03

Lead singer Pete attracted an especially devoted following.

0:33:030:33:06

Yeah, his lyrics are like poetry,

0:33:060:33:08

like how he releases music on the internet. No-one else does that.

0:33:080:33:11

That's, like, a direct link between me and him,

0:33:110:33:13

that he's releasing his music on the internet.

0:33:130:33:15

That means so much to me and all the fans,

0:33:150:33:18

cos it's as if he's talking to you, straight to you.

0:33:180:33:21

No-one else has got that.

0:33:210:33:23

I'm on my way now to meet a fan who was there from the very beginning

0:33:230:33:26

and quickly found himself at the heart of the Libertines world.

0:33:260:33:29

This is their fanzine,

0:33:310:33:33

-the one and only fanzine that they released for the fan club...

-OK.

0:33:330:33:37

..a newsletter and my membership card as well.

0:33:370:33:40

What advantages were there to having this card?

0:33:400:33:43

Well, it was supposed to get us into a special fan-club gig, that

0:33:430:33:47

didn't happen cos they split up.

0:33:470:33:50

-So they managed to get out one fanzine before splitting up?

-Yeah.

0:33:500:33:53

So here we go, we've got the Chronicle, the magazine.

0:33:530:33:56

"Albion is our vessel.

0:33:560:33:57

"Arcadia is our destination and our starting point.

0:33:570:34:00

"We needn't have a Classical education or a British passport.

0:34:000:34:03

"Only an imagination."

0:34:030:34:05

This, when you're 18, it's really cool, isn't it?

0:34:050:34:08

-Were you just totally on that ship with them?

-Definitely, yeah.

0:34:080:34:12

We're here now in Camden.

0:34:200:34:22

It's now called The Assembly Rooms but it used to be The Barfly.

0:34:220:34:25

You saw them here, didn't you?

0:34:250:34:26

To hear The Libertines live was completely different to

0:34:260:34:30

pretty much any other gig I'd been to.

0:34:300:34:32

I'd read about gigs by The Clash,

0:34:320:34:34

so to see The Libertines live was almost like that.

0:34:340:34:38

It was just the four of them on stage,

0:34:380:34:40

just kind of banging through the songs.

0:34:400:34:42

-You got to know Pete pretty well, didn't you?

-Yeah.

0:34:470:34:49

The first time I met him we were sat in the pub and then

0:34:490:34:52

Pete Doherty just walks in.

0:34:520:34:54

There's literally us and no-one else and my friend went up to him.

0:34:540:34:58

She just said to him, "Are you and Carl going to fight tonight?"

0:34:580:35:01

What did he say?

0:35:010:35:02

He just turned around and said, like,

0:35:020:35:04

-"No, I'm going to fight him," and pointed at me.

-Beautiful.

0:35:040:35:07

-And this is where the relationship began, a beautiful friendship.

-Yeah.

0:35:070:35:10

Do you feel like he just felt like one of the guys, really?

0:35:100:35:14

Yeah, definitely.

0:35:140:35:15

I mean, that's the way I think he seemed to come across

0:35:150:35:18

all throughout. It was almost as if he felt

0:35:180:35:20

like one of the fans himself.

0:35:200:35:22

-He was a fan of the band...

-Yeah.

-..as much as everyone else.

0:35:220:35:25

# They'll never forgive you but they won't let you go... #

0:35:250:35:30

You went on to see The Libertines play at quite a...

0:35:300:35:32

-well, a more unusual venue, didn't you?

-Yeah.

0:35:320:35:35

Let's have a look.

0:35:350:35:37

OK, so...

0:35:370:35:38

-Oh, where's this?

-This is in Pete's flat in Whitechapel.

0:35:380:35:43

OK. Gosh.

0:35:430:35:44

GUITAR PLAYS

0:35:460:35:49

# I'll never say never

0:35:500:35:52

# I'll never say never again... #

0:35:520:35:54

Pete would go online and go on the message board and say,

0:35:540:35:57

"I'm playing a gig in my flat tonight."

0:35:570:35:59

Up until now really, I mean, most bands and artists,

0:35:590:36:02

they want to keep their home address completely private so there's

0:36:020:36:06

no fans hanging around, nobody knows where they are,

0:36:060:36:08

-but here he is, inviting people into his actual home.

-Yeah.

0:36:080:36:11

# Bare necessities of mother nature's recipes... #

0:36:140:36:18

That's you, isn't it?!

0:36:180:36:20

I spotted you. HE LAUGHS

0:36:200:36:23

INDISTINCT SPEECH AND LAUGHTER

0:36:230:36:25

They just welcomed everyone in,

0:36:290:36:30

let them all be part of their world, really.

0:36:300:36:32

-It felt like you'd kind of had a look behind the scenes, or...

-Yeah.

0:36:320:36:36

They just got everyone involved, got everyone in the same gang.

0:36:360:36:39

Don't forget your membership card,

0:36:390:36:41

because it might come in handy again, you never know!

0:36:410:36:43

You might be able to collect some points on it.

0:36:430:36:46

-I'll take it right now.

-HE LAUGHS

0:36:460:36:48

MUSIC FADES OUT

0:36:510:36:52

Out of that same north-London cool came a star with the voice

0:36:560:36:59

of a jazz siren and a connection to her fans that was closer

0:36:590:37:03

and deeper than any pop diva.

0:37:030:37:06

# You should be stronger than me... #

0:37:060:37:10

Uni student Sarah was the same age as Amy

0:37:100:37:13

and was smitten from the start.

0:37:130:37:16

These are some posters that I was really...I was really thrilled...

0:37:170:37:22

And it's double-sided, which I found very exciting.

0:37:220:37:25

That... I knew all the numbers!

0:37:250:37:27

I knew all the numbers, cos I'd looked at it so much.

0:37:270:37:30

# When you walk in the bar and you're dressed like a star... #

0:37:300:37:35

Desperate to see her live, Sarah dragged her friends to Amy's

0:37:350:37:39

next gig, a jazz festival in Wales.

0:37:390:37:43

So, this is...this is a set list, obviously,

0:37:430:37:46

from the first gig that I saw her at.

0:37:460:37:51

It was a very well-behaved crowd and they were all sat down and

0:37:510:37:54

they were all in very neat rows and my friend and I were at the front

0:37:540:37:58

and we were singing along,

0:37:580:38:00

really dancing, and so she was like, "I love these girls!

0:38:000:38:03

"I love these girls!" And everybody else was kind of...

0:38:030:38:07

Which must have been, like, really difficult for her, cos she just...

0:38:070:38:10

she was like, "Oh, come on! Come on, let's go."

0:38:100:38:13

Finally, on the last song, they got dancing and she was like,

0:38:130:38:16

"It's too late now, look, we've finished!"

0:38:160:38:18

# You don't like players

0:38:180:38:20

# That's what you said... #

0:38:200:38:22

She was brilliant, she was exactly as you wanted her to be.

0:38:220:38:25

She was friendly and she was funny, and then I was like,

0:38:250:38:30

"Can I have a picture?"

0:38:300:38:31

And then I had two people taking pictures, so I was like,

0:38:310:38:34

"I need a picture here and I need a picture here,"

0:38:340:38:37

and she was like, "All right!"

0:38:370:38:38

And looking back now, I'm like, "Oh, my God, why wasn't I cool?"

0:38:380:38:42

I was hysterical, like...

0:38:420:38:44

SHE MUMBLES

0:38:440:38:46

Sarah connected deeply with Amy's lyrics.

0:38:500:38:53

There's that lovely moment on Frank where she talks about going

0:38:530:38:56

to this guy's house and she presses all the buzzers and the neighbours

0:38:560:39:00

are really cross with her and she just wants to see him, she just wants...

0:39:000:39:03

And she knows it's wrong, she knows it's embarrassing,

0:39:030:39:05

she knows it's not playing it cool.

0:39:050:39:07

And, you know, I did things like that.

0:39:070:39:10

# Your neighbours were screaming

0:39:100:39:13

# I don't have a key for downstairs

0:39:130:39:17

# So I pressed all the buzzers...

0:39:180:39:22

# Hoping you wouldn't be there. #

0:39:230:39:26

A lot of those pop stars at the time seemed very unobtainable.

0:39:260:39:31

Amy, you feel like you could've gone up to her in the pub,

0:39:310:39:34

you could've played pool with her, you could've moaned to her

0:39:340:39:37

about your boyfriend, or about the guy that you'd got off with

0:39:370:39:40

that hadn't called you and she'd be there with you.

0:39:400:39:43

# You're so beautiful... #

0:39:430:39:47

Artist Sally had been a fan of Amy Winehouse for six years when she

0:39:470:39:52

went with her family to a classic Camden haunt for a quiet drink.

0:39:520:39:57

This is the Hawley Arms pub and this is where my brother,

0:39:570:40:00

my dad and I were sat when we were having a glass of wine,

0:40:000:40:04

when Amy suddenly came around this corner.

0:40:040:40:07

# Take the box... #

0:40:070:40:09

It was one wet Wednesday afternoon and my brother and I had

0:40:110:40:14

arranged to meet my dad, who was down from York.

0:40:140:40:17

All of a sudden, the music went really loud and it was hurting

0:40:170:40:20

my dad's hearing aid.

0:40:200:40:22

So my brother went round to ask the bar staff,

0:40:220:40:24

"If you could just turn it down."

0:40:240:40:26

# I'm a-walkin' in the rain

0:40:260:40:28

# Tears are fallin' and I feel a pain... #

0:40:280:40:30

Matthew came back and he said, "Oh, my goodness,

0:40:300:40:33

"you won't believe who's putting the music on the jukebox, it's Amy Winehouse."

0:40:330:40:36

And then she just appeared and she just said,

0:40:360:40:38

"Oh, I've been asked if I can turn the music down cos it's

0:40:380:40:41

"hurting someone's hearing aid and I just wanted to apologise."

0:40:410:40:44

And we were a bit starstruck and then it was like

0:40:440:40:46

we'd known her for ages. She was just so friendly.

0:40:460:40:49

# My little runaway... #

0:40:490:40:52

You can see in the background here there's

0:40:520:40:54

a Bowie image that is just behind me, still.

0:40:540:40:57

I was explaining that I had a very good relationship with my dad,

0:40:570:41:01

like she had with her father, Mitch.

0:41:010:41:03

So she said, "Oh, come on, Dave, get up and have a dance with me,"

0:41:030:41:06

so she got him up here and, you know, twirled him around

0:41:060:41:10

a couple of times, or he twirled her around a couple of times,

0:41:100:41:13

and yeah, she was just so personable and very friendly.

0:41:130:41:16

# Because I've forgotten all of young love's joy... #

0:41:160:41:21

Sally took the opportunity to show Amy photos of the mosaic

0:41:210:41:24

portraits she'd been making.

0:41:240:41:27

This is a mosaic that I created in 2007 and it was exhibited

0:41:270:41:32

in a few different places.

0:41:320:41:34

And then it was the one that Amy actually liked the best.

0:41:340:41:37

I feel very, very lucky that I got to meet her.

0:41:370:41:40

She was just a breath of fresh air.

0:41:400:41:43

The Brit and Grammy award-winning singer Amy Winehouse

0:41:480:41:50

has died at her home in North London.

0:41:500:41:53

# For you I was a flame... #

0:41:530:41:57

When she died, I just couldn't believe it.

0:41:570:42:00

I just thought, no, actually,

0:42:000:42:02

cos that's not the way it's going to go.

0:42:020:42:05

She's going to get better.

0:42:050:42:06

I just burst into tears. I was really, really upset.

0:42:060:42:09

I phoned my dad up and he cried.

0:42:090:42:12

It still feels really...

0:42:120:42:16

unfair that she's not here.

0:42:160:42:21

# We only said goodbye with words

0:42:210:42:25

# I died 100 times... #

0:42:250:42:28

We loved Amy, and had found out about her through the usual routes,

0:42:280:42:32

hearing a song on the radio, promoted by a record label.

0:42:320:42:36

But now some of us were bypassing the record industry and using

0:42:360:42:40

the internet to hunt out new sounds.

0:42:400:42:42

This is the era of accessible stars.

0:42:420:42:45

They made themselves accessible to us and we made them

0:42:450:42:48

accessible to the world.

0:42:480:42:50

In 2005, fans changed how the music industry worked forever.

0:42:500:42:55

A band from Sheffield, who first built a following on the internet,

0:42:570:43:00

are set to have the fastest-selling debut album

0:43:000:43:03

since chart records began.

0:43:030:43:05

These fans and thousands more like them have been crucial to

0:43:050:43:07

the success of the Arctic Monkeys.

0:43:070:43:09

This band, more than any other in the last decade, enjoys

0:43:090:43:12

a reputation based on word of mouth.

0:43:120:43:15

MUSIC: I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor by Arctic Monkeys

0:43:150:43:18

Sheffield Hallam Uni student Omar was one of those responsible

0:43:210:43:25

for the change.

0:43:250:43:27

This is the one that kicked off all the hype.

0:43:270:43:30

First release, it's an unofficial EP,

0:43:300:43:32

Five Minutes With Arctic Monkeys.

0:43:320:43:34

There's only 1,500 copies of the CD

0:43:340:43:36

and vinyl, so they're pretty rare.

0:43:360:43:39

I don't get them out very often.

0:43:390:43:41

# I don't want to hear you

0:43:410:43:43

# Fake tales of San Francisco

0:43:430:43:45

# Echo through the air... #

0:43:450:43:48

Listen to the songs.

0:43:480:43:50

They were urgent, they were catchy, they were...they were fresh,

0:43:500:43:53

they were punky and they were just exciting.

0:43:530:43:57

You know, it was about just being a lad around that time,

0:43:570:44:00

trying to pull girls and failing because of other boys

0:44:000:44:04

who had cars and lots of money.

0:44:040:44:06

They were songs that we knew about and could relate to.

0:44:060:44:10

# All that's left

0:44:100:44:11

# Is the proof that love's not only blind but deaf... #

0:44:110:44:15

Unsigned band Arctic Monkeys had given out demos at gigs,

0:44:150:44:19

but had no idea their songs were being shared online by their fans,

0:44:190:44:24

via MySpace and a fan forum.

0:44:240:44:26

I literally went online just to find out whatever I could,

0:44:280:44:31

got lucky, found the forum, found the link for their website

0:44:310:44:35

where all the downloads were and just downloaded them all,

0:44:350:44:38

put them on my MP3 player and walked to a friend's house

0:44:380:44:41

the next day and said, "You have to listen to this band."

0:44:410:44:43

I don't think the band realised at the time, but...

0:44:430:44:46

It was already too late, the songs were already out there.

0:44:460:44:50

And the buzz started.

0:44:500:44:52

There was a sense that there was something important happening,

0:44:520:44:55

something exciting, and we were right in the middle of it.

0:44:550:44:57

The gigs would sell out stupid quick.

0:44:570:45:00

And people already knew the songs,

0:45:000:45:02

even though they weren't being released.

0:45:020:45:05

# And what a scummy man

0:45:050:45:08

# Just give him half a chance

0:45:080:45:10

# I bet he'll rob you if he can. #

0:45:100:45:12

The only way they could was from the MP3s.

0:45:120:45:15

And that was a bit weird.

0:45:150:45:17

# I bet that you look good on the dance floor. #

0:45:170:45:20

In a couple of months, the whole country knew the word.

0:45:200:45:23

They're number one, welcome to the sensational Arctic Monkeys!

0:45:230:45:26

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:45:260:45:28

After fans had spread the word for two years, the band were

0:45:320:45:35

finally signed in June 2005,

0:45:350:45:38

broke sales records with their debut album, and tickets

0:45:380:45:41

to the tour off the back of it sold out in under an hour.

0:45:410:45:45

I feel proud because they were still our boys, but...

0:45:450:45:49

You know they're going to make it and you know they'll be

0:45:490:45:52

around and everyone's going to really enjoy their songs.

0:45:520:45:54

# I'm so glad they turned us all away, we'll put it down to fate!

0:45:540:45:58

# I said a thousand million things

0:46:000:46:01

# That I could never say this morning... #

0:46:010:46:04

Omar made some lifelong friends from the online forums,

0:46:040:46:08

including Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt's mum.

0:46:080:46:11

Matt's mum.

0:46:110:46:13

She was on the forum, she was under a secret alias,

0:46:130:46:16

but word quickly got out who she was.

0:46:160:46:18

We'd see her at gigs, she was in the queue, handing out baked goods.

0:46:180:46:23

This forum-forged friendship meant Omar got more than

0:46:240:46:27

the usual band merchandise.

0:46:270:46:30

My friend Lee had a charity auction and he asked me

0:46:300:46:33

if I could get any items, so I sent Matt's mum, Jill,

0:46:330:46:37

a message saying, "Have you got anything that could be of value?"

0:46:370:46:40

She goes, "Yeah, I might have something."

0:46:400:46:42

So she gave me Matt's first drum skin,

0:46:420:46:45

and he obviously signed it on a bit of duct tape,

0:46:450:46:47

and we gave it a nice frame and put it on the auction.

0:46:470:46:50

My mum outbid everyone and then just gave it to me.

0:46:500:46:53

# I'm so glad they turned us all away, we'll put it down to fate! #

0:46:530:46:57

I joked to my mum that she was around when the Beatles

0:46:570:47:00

quickly got up and I was around when Arctic Monkeys did.

0:47:000:47:03

It was just right place, right time.

0:47:030:47:05

Arctic Monkeys fans pioneered a new relationship with our music.

0:47:080:47:12

Rather than artist and fan, it was a spectrum where artists

0:47:120:47:16

blended with fans in a seamless relationship that can take music

0:47:160:47:20

from the toughest of postcodes to the big wide world.

0:47:200:47:24

Spawned on pirate radio and blossoming on the streets of

0:47:240:47:27

East London, an edgy new sound was about to become the voice

0:47:270:47:30

of a generation - grime.

0:47:300:47:33

This was young MCs spitting fast and furious rhymes over beats

0:47:330:47:36

they'd made in their own bedrooms.

0:47:360:47:38

Oi!

0:47:380:47:39

MUSIC: Fix Up, Look Sharp by Dizzee Rascal

0:47:390:47:42

E3. It's real.

0:47:420:47:44

This is, like, the estate I grew up on.

0:47:440:47:47

This whole little area.

0:47:470:47:49

Canary Wharf, it's kind of like in your face.

0:47:490:47:52

On this side, everyone living like, sort of council estates and that.

0:47:520:47:55

It's all grimy kind of round here, innit?

0:47:550:47:57

Dizzee Rascal took grime from the streets of E3 and onto

0:47:570:48:01

the Mercury Awards stage and into the mainstream,

0:48:010:48:04

flooding the charts with a fresh crop of musical talent.

0:48:040:48:07

# Fix up, look sharp... #

0:48:070:48:09

Grime fan Jamal Edwards is a music entrepreneur whose website

0:48:090:48:13

has had over 100 million views and is worth over £8 million.

0:48:130:48:19

Grime's the reason I'm sitting here right now.

0:48:190:48:22

I started off as a fan, as, like, a...looking in on it

0:48:220:48:25

and just, like, peeping through the window

0:48:250:48:27

to actually filming with the artists that are around today.

0:48:270:48:30

# What do you call it, urban? #

0:48:300:48:32

But it all started with a canny teenager and his Christmas present.

0:48:320:48:36

I first started out filming with my mates and then I remember

0:48:360:48:39

I used to go to clubs and try and find the artist.

0:48:390:48:42

And when I went there, didn't know them, went up to them,

0:48:420:48:45

got my cousin, "Can you ask them to get...? I want to do a little freestyle."

0:48:450:48:48

And it's funny, cos when I look back at that, that was eight...

0:48:480:48:51

eight, nine years ago, now I do videos with them on a regular basis,

0:48:510:48:54

but at first it was just hustling.

0:48:540:48:56

SHOUTING AND INDISTINCT LYRICS

0:48:560:48:59

The sound that drew him to the clubs talked directly to him.

0:49:010:49:04

The reason why I was a fan of grime from the early days,

0:49:040:49:07

cos I thought it was something that related to me.

0:49:070:49:09

I never really related to, like, American rap, American hip-hop.

0:49:090:49:12

I related to something that was in the UK, born in the UK,

0:49:120:49:15

and it was just that raw sound and storytelling

0:49:150:49:18

that sort of made me just love it.

0:49:180:49:21

# Yo, yeah, Skepta!

0:49:210:49:24

# Always ready, the black Nigerian's way too heavy

0:49:240:49:27

# Every time I open my mouth, blud

0:49:270:49:28

# I say a lyric and another MC gets buried. #

0:49:280:49:31

It was just about real lyrics and it was also always about the beats

0:49:310:49:35

and it was just, like, snappy, it was hard, it was raw.

0:49:350:49:38

The moment that transformed Jamal and grime was the arrival of

0:49:380:49:42

a new online platform, YouTube, in 2005.

0:49:420:49:46

Jamal's videos now had a home accessible to millions,

0:49:460:49:49

and his channel, SPTV, was born,

0:49:490:49:52

and grime was given a shot in the arm.

0:49:520:49:55

YouTube, how it's changed the relationship between artists and

0:49:550:49:58

fans, it's made it closer.

0:49:580:50:00

So where now you can see what your favourite artists are getting

0:50:000:50:03

up to, you only used to hear of it on radio,

0:50:030:50:06

see it in the paper and see it on TV

0:50:060:50:09

and it was very controlled.

0:50:090:50:10

Whereas YouTube is a free, roaming experience.

0:50:100:50:14

It's, like, democratic, you can put whatever you want online.

0:50:140:50:16

# Knock, knock, what's your answer?

0:50:160:50:19

# You're top dog with a bark... #

0:50:190:50:21

At his heart, Jamal is still a grime fan.

0:50:210:50:25

I never thought I'd be sitting where I'm sitting now...never.

0:50:250:50:28

It was just for the love, to be a part of it.

0:50:280:50:31

That was my main aim.

0:50:310:50:33

Um, and now I am a part of it.

0:50:330:50:35

It's like, how do I take it to the next level?

0:50:350:50:38

And carry on exporting grime around the world.

0:50:380:50:40

# Stress on the brain, complain to the full

0:50:400:50:42

# Stress on the brain, complain to the max... #

0:50:420:50:44

Experiencing our fandom online

0:50:440:50:46

has taken us way beyond what we thought might be possible.

0:50:460:50:49

It's deepened the relationship with artists

0:50:490:50:51

and taken the most basic of all fan instincts,

0:50:510:50:54

to belt out the songs you love,

0:50:540:50:56

and made that joy shareable with millions.

0:50:560:50:59

18-year-old Katie often posts covers of her favourite pop stars' hits

0:50:590:51:04

to show her adoration.

0:51:040:51:06

# I wish nothing but the best for you, too... #

0:51:060:51:12

She fell for her idol in primary school.

0:51:120:51:16

I didn't actually originally know that it was Adele that I was

0:51:160:51:19

listening to when I first heard her.

0:51:190:51:21

It was in an emotional assembly and wondering who is this voice?

0:51:210:51:26

And, I want to know more.

0:51:260:51:28

# I heard

0:51:280:51:30

# That you're settled down

0:51:320:51:36

# That you... #

0:51:360:51:38

Her Brit Award performance in 2011...

0:51:380:51:40

hit me.

0:51:400:51:42

Seeing Adele perform and for the whole room to be still,

0:51:420:51:45

it just made me cry.

0:51:450:51:47

I could understand her pain behind the words

0:51:470:51:50

and I could see the emotion

0:51:500:51:52

and hear it in her voice and I think it just touched me.

0:51:520:51:55

# Sometimes it lasts in love

0:51:550:51:58

# But sometimes it hurts instead. #

0:51:580:52:00

Katie started collecting anything to do with her new-found hero

0:52:000:52:04

and covered her side of the bedroom she shares with her little sister.

0:52:040:52:08

This is my side of the room.

0:52:080:52:11

And that's my little sister's side of the room.

0:52:110:52:13

She doesn't really have much over there any more.

0:52:130:52:16

There is just an agreement that I don't put anything over that side

0:52:160:52:20

but I'm OK with that.

0:52:200:52:22

I've got a lot of quotes on here.

0:52:220:52:24

This one always has stuck out to me since I was about 14.

0:52:240:52:28

That's just, like, my life story.

0:52:280:52:30

I did this when I was about 15.

0:52:300:52:33

I'm not a very good artist.

0:52:330:52:35

I can't draw to save my life.

0:52:350:52:36

But...

0:52:360:52:37

I drew the outline of her Rolling In The Deep look,

0:52:370:52:40

so this was, like, the honeycomb hair.

0:52:400:52:42

# We could have had it all...

0:52:420:52:45

# Rolling in the deep... #

0:52:470:52:50

Adele may well be a world-famous pop star

0:52:500:52:53

but it's not her celebrity status that Katie's drawn to.

0:52:530:52:56

For my generation, to have an idol who is down-to-earth, normal,

0:52:560:53:03

that is definitely what appeals to me.

0:53:030:53:05

When you're an artist you need to actually be relatable,

0:53:050:53:08

not just by your lyrics, not just by your music,

0:53:080:53:11

by yourself, and I think she's hit it right on the nail

0:53:110:53:14

with being relatable for everyone.

0:53:140:53:16

Fellow Adele fans Glenn and Ronan

0:53:210:53:23

also decided to post a video of themselves

0:53:230:53:25

covering Adele a couple of days before seeing her in concert.

0:53:250:53:29

# That you found the one

0:53:290:53:32

# And you're married now... #

0:53:320:53:35

We knew Adele was coming to Dublin, where we were both living.

0:53:360:53:38

We knew she was coming that week

0:53:380:53:40

so Glenn said, "Look, we both love Adele's music,

0:53:400:53:43

"why don't we do something to mark the occasion?"

0:53:430:53:45

And, we posted the video online.

0:53:450:53:47

It just took off for whatever reason, it sparked,

0:53:470:53:49

and I think overnight it had something like five million views,

0:53:490:53:51

which was just insane.

0:53:510:53:52

We posted it on the Thursday and the Saturday was when we went to the concert.

0:53:520:53:56

OK, so you're at the concert, it's amazing.

0:53:560:53:59

Tell us what happens next.

0:53:590:54:01

So about three songs from the end of her concert,

0:54:010:54:03

we were already just in awe of her.

0:54:030:54:04

As a live musician, I haven't seen anyone better, to be honest.

0:54:040:54:08

Adele said, "I saw this video during the week of two Irish guys."

0:54:080:54:11

At this point I think Glenn grabbed my arm, or vice-versa,

0:54:110:54:14

-I'm not sure which.

-What?!

0:54:140:54:16

She said, "Their names are Glenn and Ronan.

0:54:160:54:18

"I believe they're here in the audience."

0:54:180:54:20

We leapt out of our seats, flailing arms.

0:54:200:54:22

Everyone looking at us like we're crazy.

0:54:220:54:24

She said, "I'd like you guys to come down to the stage now."

0:54:240:54:27

At which point Glenn got a tug on the shoulder.

0:54:270:54:29

There's a security guard saying, "Follow me."

0:54:290:54:31

-Are you ready to relive the magic?

-Yes.

-Sure.

0:54:310:54:33

Let's have a look, it's so good.

0:54:330:54:35

-ADELE:

-Oh, here they are!

0:54:360:54:38

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:54:380:54:40

Oh, come on. You can't put it online and meet me in Dublin

0:54:430:54:46

and not think I'm going to tell you to come up.

0:54:460:54:48

How are you feeling at this point?

0:54:480:54:50

-She's one of your idols.

-Absolutely shellshocked.

0:54:500:54:53

And then she puts out her hands for a hug. I'm hugging Adele.

0:54:530:54:55

Will you sing to them what you put online?

0:54:550:54:59

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:54:590:55:01

I'm saying to Ronan, "Ronan, I don't remember it,

0:55:030:55:05

"I don't remember it. Do you remember it?"

0:55:050:55:07

What were you saying?

0:55:070:55:09

He was very calm.

0:55:090:55:11

She set it all up just in the hope that you guys happened to be in the crowd?

0:55:110:55:14

Well, we had obviously tweeted out,

0:55:140:55:17

but you never know that anyone's going to see that.

0:55:170:55:19

We genuinely had no idea when we arrived that she knew we existed,

0:55:190:55:22

let alone what she had planned.

0:55:220:55:24

There she is just standing back, giving us her stage.

0:55:290:55:34

# I've heard...

0:55:340:55:35

CROWD SINGS ALONG

0:55:350:55:36

# That your dreams came true... #

0:55:360:55:38

She loves you guys.

0:55:410:55:43

# This is my last night with you... #

0:55:430:55:49

I don't think it'll matter how many times we watch it,

0:55:490:55:52

there will always be part of us that goes, "That can't have happened."

0:55:520:55:55

I mean, it did, and we are so grateful

0:55:550:55:57

and it's definitely a highlight in our life so far.

0:55:570:55:59

So you've sang for Adele - would you sing for us now, please?

0:55:590:56:03

-We'd love to.

-Absolutely.

0:56:030:56:05

# I've heard that your dreams came true

0:56:090:56:13

# Guess she gave you things

0:56:130:56:17

# I didn't give to you

0:56:170:56:19

# And I can't keep up with your turning tables

0:56:210:56:28

# Under your thumb, I can't breathe

0:56:280:56:33

-BOTH:

-# Never mind, I'll find someone like you

0:56:350:56:41

# I wish nothing but the best for you...too

0:56:410:56:47

# I can't give you the heart you think you gave me

0:56:490:56:55

# It's time to say goodbye... #

0:56:550:56:58

Over six amazing decades we have loved our pop music,

0:57:030:57:08

more than any kind of culture.

0:57:080:57:10

We've gone from wide-eyed, star-struck devotees...

0:57:100:57:14

John, Paul, George, Ringo. John, Paul, George, Ringo.

0:57:140:57:17

..to believing our music was saying something important about the world.

0:57:190:57:23

Reggae has done more for race relations in England

0:57:230:57:28

than a lot of things.

0:57:280:57:30

Being a fan has allowed us to express our identity...

0:57:300:57:33

I sat and listened to it at the dining-room table

0:57:330:57:36

with my headphones on

0:57:360:57:37

and basically changed as a person.

0:57:370:57:40

..escape our surroundings...

0:57:400:57:42

Northern Soul was a way of life.

0:57:420:57:44

I worked in a bacon factory.

0:57:440:57:47

It was great to be able to think I've got

0:57:470:57:49

a weekend to look forward to.

0:57:490:57:51

..explode with unbridled happiness.

0:57:510:57:54

Goose bumps...

0:57:540:57:56

Still! How does that work?

0:57:560:57:58

# Sometimes I feel like

0:58:000:58:02

# Throwing my hands up in the air... #

0:58:020:58:04

The digital revolution has also been a revolution in our

0:58:040:58:07

relationship with our music and the artists who make it.

0:58:070:58:11

It's no longer enough just to be a fan.

0:58:110:58:13

Today we seem more like pop partners.

0:58:130:58:16

By 2010 we had a bewildering but brilliant array of music to

0:58:160:58:21

get passionate about.

0:58:210:58:22

And we could keep our entire record collections in our pocket.

0:58:220:58:26

Now with so much choice about there's a bit of

0:58:260:58:28

a danger that true fandom could become a thing of the past.

0:58:280:58:31

But the truth is,

0:58:310:58:33

the internet brought us even closer to our musical heroes.

0:58:330:58:37

The future is looking pretty fun for us fans.

0:58:370:58:40

# You got the love You got the love

0:58:410:58:45

# You got the love

0:58:450:58:47

# You got the love You got the love

0:58:490:58:53

# You got the love

0:58:530:58:56

# Sometimes I feel like saying, "Lord, I just don't care"

0:59:070:59:11

# But you've got the love I need to see me through. #

0:59:110:59:14

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