Pop! What is it good for?

At 50 years of age, Morley is just about as old as pop music itself and in this film he argues that pop has played a central role in the culture of the nation over the past half century. In the post-empire era, pop music has helped give the world a sense of Britain and Britain a sense of itself.

Featuring artists and fellow pop obsessives as diverse as poet Simon Armitage and contemporary girl group The Sugababes, and national treasures like pop artist Peter Blake and Suggs from Madness, this film explores and celebrates the beauty and mystery of the pop single.

From Adam Faith's What Do You Want in the 1950s to Kylie's Can't Get You Out Of My Head in the 'noughties', it reveals how complex, rewarding and varied the three minute pop song can be and how a nation fell in love with the form.

Pop! What is it Good For? is part of a season of the same name celebrating British pop music.

Read more about the programme's featured artists