Classic Albums - History

History

The television series is unrelated to a radio show devised by radio producer John Pidgeon as a vehicle for Roger Scott, following the disc jockey’s move from Capital Radio to BBC Radio 1 in 1988. The first hour-long series, produced independently by John and Roger, opened with Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms in May 1989, followed by the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet, Genesis’ Invisible Touch, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, The Who's Who's Next, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, the Police’s Synchronicity, the Eagles’ Hotel California and U2’s The Joshua Tree. Roger died of cancer five months later, and the second series aired posthumously. Further programs were presented by Richard Skinner.

The first episode of Classic Albums is actually a documentary called "The Making of Sgt. Pepper". This documentary focused on The Beatles' landmark album and was produced in much the same way as the Classic Albums series. Isis Productions and Nick de Grunwald helped co-produce this documentary and it helped lay the template for the Classic Albums series. It aired in 1992 both on the Disney Channel in the United States and ITV's The South Bank Show in the UK.