UK's Best Part-time Band
4x60 Wall to Wall Media for BBC4 & BBC2
Rhod Gilbert embarks on a road trip across the country, on a mission to find the UK’s Best Part-time Band.
To help Rhod on his sonic journey, he has recruited Ultravox front man, Midge Ure, who heads home to Glasgow before taking in a tour of Northern Ireland and Wales. Championing the north of England is former New Order and Joy Division bassist Peter Hook, and in the south of the country, Rhod is accompanied by legendary Soul II Soul producer Jazzie B. Along the way, they discuss the joy of service stations, rock ‘n’ roll tour antics, riders, band dynamics, musical influences and some of the untold stories behind these music legends’ greatest hits.
From across the UK, more than 1,200 bands have entered the competition, playing rock to reggae, ska to skiffle, bhangra to blues and everything in between. Leading double lives, by day they might be doctors, window cleaners or waiters, but at night they shed their work clothes, pick up a guitar and channel their inner rock god. What binds them all? An incredible passion for music and an escape from the nine-to-five grind.
This is no ordinary talent show - this is a rock 'n' roll documentary following Rhod on tour, visiting bands playing in rehearsal spaces, pubs, barns and bedrooms.
"I love this show. It has nothing to do with ridiculous, unreal dreams. Or Simon Cowell, or spinning chairs. There are, as Gilbert tells the audience at the live event, no prizes, no recording contracts, no Christmas number ones. It’s about the real world and real people in real bands because they love music. There’s something very reassuring about that. And some of them are brilliant. " - Sam Woolaston, The Guardian
