Episode 11

2011

Published on: 9th December, 2016

UK riots, a royal wedding, phone hacking scandal, Game of Thrones...

Tracklisting:

– Mrs Brown’s Boys

– Maroon 5 – Moves Like Jagger

– News of the World shuts down

– Phone hacking scandal, Murdoch trial

– Jessie J – Price Tag

– Occupy Wall Street

– Aloe Blacc – I Need a Dollar

– Unemployment levels at record low

– UK riots

– Rizzle Kicks – Down with the Trumpets

– Japan earthquake

– Christina Perri – Jar of Hearts

– Amy Winehouse dies

– Steve Jobs dies

– Nicki Minaj – Super Bass

– Obama releases birth certificate, Donald Trump takes credit

– Rebecca Black - Friday

– Amanda Knox released

– Olly Murs – Heart Skips a Beat

– Tucson shooting, Gabrielle Giffords survives

– Norway attacks

– Lana Del Rey – Video Games

– Vincent Tabak guilty of Joanna Yeates murder, Christopher Jeffries innocent

– Adele – Someone Like You

– David Cameron rejects EU referendum, Nigel Farage not happy

– The Wanted – Glad You Came

– Conrad Murray guilty of causing Michael Jackson’s death

– One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful

– Ryan Giggs super injunction

– The Only Way is Essex/Made in Chelsea

– Jimmy Savile dies

– LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem

– Rory McIlroy wins first golf major

– Novak Djokovic dominates tennis, wins first Wimbledon

– Man Utd 1 Man City 6

– Gary Speed dies

– Ed Sheeran – The A Team

– Prince William and Kate Middleton wedding

– Final Harry Potter movie

– Osama bin Laden killed

– Professor Green & Emeli Sande – Read All About It

– Kim Jong Il dies

– Coldplay – Paradise

– Burqa ban in France

– Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi resigns

– Rihanna & Calvin Harris – We Found Love

– Richard Keys and Andy Gray sexism row

– Game of Thrones

– Egypt President Hosni Mubarak resigns

– Colonel Gaddafi killed in Libya

– Iraq War ends

– Military Wives – Wherever You Are

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About the Podcast

The Sounds of the 21st Century
An audio time machine from 2001 onwards.
An unofficial continuation of BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 21st Century.

If you’ve found this podcast, then chances are, like me, you were a massive fan of BBC Radio 2’s Sounds of the 20th Century.

Created by Trevor Dann’s Company, the original series ran from 2011 and 2012. Each episode was an hour of one particular year’s biggest moments (news, TV shows, films, sports etc), alongside that year’s memorable hit songs. It was similar to the Rock and Roll Years TV shows from the ’90s, which broadcasting legend Trevor Dann was also behind.

What was particularly awesome about it, was that it didn’t feature any ‘talking heads’, analysis or hindsight. They were simply audio collages of each year, allowing you to work out what was being played, and to make connections to what happened in the following years.

With the series ending after the year 2000, I was left bereft and wanted more. As someone who is obsessed with nostalgia, charts and pop culture, and because the 2000s were my formative years, I decided to give making an unofficial continuation a go myself.

So this series is an ongoing project that will continue the original series from 2001 onwards, with attempts made to keep it in the original style as much as possible (including the theme tune, run-length etc).

Each episode aims to be a 60-minute snapshot of the world (largely from British eyes!), as it was back then. Archive news clips have been taken from various sources (such as BBC News, Sky News, Channel 4, ITV, The Guardian, CNN and other news networks). However, as I only have access to what is available online, some clips, particularly from the early years of the internet, may sound a bit tinny in quality, as they were ripped from incredibly old files (such as old .ram files – remember them?), that no longer exist since I made the first few episodes back in 2012.

NOTE: If you’ve previously downloaded the series – I have since made revisions to the episodes in 2022. Please re-download to get updated versions with improved intros and other new clips.

The series is in no way endorsed by Trevor Dann or the BBC, but was meant as a bit of fun, as a homage to the brilliant series, and to give fans something new. Trevor himself has been kind enough to acknowledge the series, as long as I call it ‘Bootleg Sounds of the 21st Century’.

In 2021, the original series returned as Sounds of the 21st Century. It was in a slightly different style, with Claudia Winkleman replacing original host Jeremy Vine.

I greatly encourage everyone to listen to the original series if you can track it down. The 2021 series can be found here.

Please do get in touch in the comments sections if you’d like to say hello or give feedback – or follow me on Twitter (@eamezey).

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Tom Eames