London-based indie 7 Wonder has been commissioned by the BBC to produce a new interactive history format on five decades of British rock and pop music.
Told by the people who love the music the most – the fans – People’s History of Pop consists of an online archive of music memorabilia crowdsourced from the public and which will culminate in four 60-minute TV shows for BBC Four, which will air across 2016 – one per quarter.
Fronted by a different presenter, each film will cover a different decade of music and feature the best of what’s been captured in the virtual archive. It will start with the sixtieth anniversary year: 1956 – the year of skiffle and rock’n’roll, when the love affair with British pop music began and will end at 1996, with a raft of optimistic pop and the hope that “things can only get better”.
7 Wonder is working with not-for-profit Historypin, which runs projects with communities to collect memories online, to crowdsource photos and audio and video content of the public’s most cherished music memorabilia. From ticket stubs and diary entries, to teen band recordings, mix tapes, wrist bands, rare footage and more.
The company also plans to attend events and festivals across the country to meet fans in person and capture their stories and memories, some of which will be broadcast on BBC Radio, in collaboration with BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.
Steve Condie, executive producer at 7 Wonder says: “We have seen lots of documentaries that celebrate our amazing pop and rock artists but PHOP is telling the story of our musical genius from another point of view – that of the fans for whom this meant so much. With our call out for musical memories and memorabilia and our innovative website we are making a new kind of social history program and offering everyone a chance to share their part in the musical brilliance which is one of Britain’s greatest achievements.”
Source: 7 Wonder