Nelson Mandela: A legacy in music

Available for over a year

Joan Armatrading considers herself privileged to have met Nelson Mandela and to have written and performed a song for him - The Messenger. In this programme she traces Mandela's life through his all-important love of music, from his early days as a keen dancer to his maturity on the world stage as the first fully democratically elected President of South Africa - an event celebrated in music all over the world. In between, during Mandela's struggle against apartheid and his long imprisonment, he inspired astonishing music of protest - some of the best ever to come out of South Africa. The story is told through many of those wonderful tracks, archive from the days of struggle and with the help of South African actor Jack Klaff and South African expert, Dr Wayne Dooling. (Photo: Former South African president Nelson Mandela in Leeds Monday 30 April 2001. Credit: John Giles/PA)