S1979 E1 • Who Is Poly Styrene?

Film portrait of the New Wave singer-songwriter, Poly Styrene.

Première diffusion : 22 janvier 1979

S1979 E2 • The Origins Of My Way

David Bowie was the first person to write English lyrics to the original tune of what eventually became the global hit, My Way. Claude Francois, a big name in his native France, wrote and performed the original song called, Comme d’habitude which means ‘As Usual.’ It was quite common in the 60s for European hits to be picked up by British or American publishers, who would in turn commission somebody to apply an English lyric to the tune. You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Dusty Springfield is a good example, it was originally an Italian hit. The European publisher would make money from the re-version, the Brits and the American publishers would make money, so everybody ate.

Première diffusion : 12 mars 1979

S1979 E19 • The King and I

For David Oxtoby , Elvis is king. He's been painting rock 'n' roll stars since the 50s, much to the bemusement of the art establishment. Most of the paintings in this film-of Presley, Haley, Gene Vincent etc - were stolen and subsequently burnt by Italian bandits and so Arena presents a unique chance to view the work of this entertaining but ill-starred artist. Journey to the Surface of the Earth Last year the artist Mark Boyle attained the singular distinction of occupying the entire British pavilion at the Venice Biennaleastonishing visitors with a Sardinian mountainside, a ploughed field and a Liverpool pavement. Since pioneering light shows with Jimi Hendrix and the Soft Machine he has devoted his life to travelling the world, recreating with uncanny accuracy six-foot-square replicas of the Earth's surface.

Première diffusion : 9 avril 1979