Episode 15

2015

Published on: 8th July, 2023

The Paris attacks, FIFA scandal, Jeremy Clarkson's fracas, The Force Awakens...

Tracklisting:

  • Eastenders – Who Killed Lucy
  • Mark Ronson – Uptown Funk
  • Buckingham Palace denies Andrew claims
  • Poldark
  • Charlie Hebdo attacks
  • Hozier – Take Me to Church
  • Australia allowed in Eurovision
  • Piers Morgan joins GMB
  • OMI – Cheerleader
  • Princess Charlotte born
  • The Dress
  • Justin Bieber – What Do You Mean
  • Justin Bieber – Sorry
  • General Election – debates/Tories win/SNP success/resignations
  • James Bay – Hold Back the River
  • Tunisia beach attack
  • Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
  • Calais migrant crisis
  • Furious 7
  • Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth – See You Again
  • Nepal earthquake
  • Lost Frequencies – Are You With Me
  • Jeremy Clarkson fracas
  • Love Island
  • Jason Derulo – Want to Want Me
  • Same sex marriage in US and Ireland
  • Jess Glynne – Hold My Hand
  • Snapchat
  • Major Lazer – Lean On
  • Britain win Davis Cup
  • Jess Ennis wins Heptathlon
  • Lewis Hamilton wins F1
  • Walk the Moon – Shut Up and Dance
  • Tyson Fury beats Klitchscko
  • Sepp Blatter arrested, FIFA scandal
  • Jurassic World
  • Elon Musk
  • Little Mix – Black Magic
  • Alton Towers crash
  • Trump announces Presidency run
  • Drake – Hotline Bling
  • Hatton Garden raid
  • The Weeknd – Cant Feel My Face
  • James Corden
  • Jeremy Corbyn becomes leader
  • Years & Years – King
  • Caitlyn Jenner
  • Nadiya wins Bake Off
  • Queen is longest reigning monarch
  • Calvin Harris – How Deep is Your Love
  • Germanwings crash
  • Justin Bieber – Love Yourself
  • Tim Peake in space
  • Star Wars the Force Awakens
  • Paris attacks
  • Adele – Hello
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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