Brum Britain

Available for over a year

As Birmingham prepares to host the Commonwealth Games, comedian Darren Harriott is joined by a legion of Brummy legends to argue that a new Global Britain needs a new centre of power and that this should clearly be Birmingham. Is it time for the UK's Second City to become its First City? The Birmingham accent is still mocked and hated, and so many of the city's achievements remain underplayed. Brummies have always been the bridesmaids and never the bride. But to prove the city’s worthiness to take control of the country, Darren offers comedic insight into Brum's rich history and its movers and shakers - from the experimentalists of the Lunar Society such as Erasmus Darwin, Josiah Wedgwood, Matthew Boulton and James Watt (who changed the world but inadvertently kick-started Climate Change) to Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Hancock, Lenny Henry, Jasper Carrot, Julie Walters, Joe Lycett, Stewart Lee, Shazia Mirza, Benjamin Zephaniah, Kit De Waal and Steven Knight. Through archive and fresh commentary, Darren explores the lasting legacy of Birmingham’s culture from Tolkien and Heavy Metal (Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin) to Duran Duran, Steel Pulse, UB40, Bhangra, Balti’s, The Streets and Peaky Blinders. To help an understanding of the city today, Darren takes a tour. He walks the streets of Birmingham, talking with social historian Professor Carl Chinn, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Steel Pulse founder Basil Gabbidon, and writer Kit De Waal about how this huge city in the middle of England is always evolving and re-inventing itself. Surely it’s ready to step up and take control! Producer: Helen Lennard A Must Try Softer production for BBC Radio 4