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The Strand Archive

Image for 29/02/2012

Play now 55 mins

29/02/2012

Duration:
55 minutes
First broadcast:
Wednesday 29 February 2012

As the BBC World Service celebrates its 80th anniversary, The Strand marks the occasion with a live show featuring a range of guests from the world of the arts.

William Orbit, who's produced Madonna's latest album, is guest editing the show and will also be performing live, alongside Roger Taylor from Queen, who'll be dropping his drumsticks and picking up a microphone.

Trinidad-born writer VS Naipaul, author of A House for Mr Biswas and India: A Million Mutinies Now remembers his early days working at the World Service.

Uzbek writer and poet, Hamid Ismailov, will read his poem written specifically for this celebration.

American writer Lionel Shriver talks about her latest book, The New Republic, a playful look at journalism and terrorism.

Amadou and Mariam - one of the biggest selling African acts of our times - will be performing a track from their new album.

Pianist Rosey Chan will be performing her own composition.

And extraordinary sitar player, Anoushka Shankar, performs a track from her new album which blends Indian music traditionally played on the sitar with the very Spanish guitar-dominated Flamenco.

  • Bush House Inside Out

    Bush House Inside Out

    BBC World Service celebrates 80 years of international broadcasting with a special day of programmes live from the heart of Bush House

    Find out more about what's happening today

  • Today's editor William Orbit

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    Madonna producer William Orbit on what's coming up in The Strand.

    "It's super fun and technically challenging" he says.

  • Queen of the news

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    "The World Service is the best representative of Britain that we have," says Roger Taylor, who was the drummer for rock group Queen.

    He says he was persuaded to take part in the closing show by his friend William Orbit, who was guest editing the special editon of The Strand.

  • Work exchange

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    Musician William Orbit has produced several tracks on Madonna's new album and revealed that he would be working with her just a few hours after finishing his day guest editing at Bush House.

    Madonna may be in New York but he revealed that they swap ideas over the internet and said that they share a real musical "telepathy".

  • The Noah's Ark of Nations

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    Hamid Ismailov is the head of the Central Asian service.

    An Uzbek novelist and poet, his work is banned in Uzbekistan and when he was threatened with arrest, he moved to London where he joined the BBC World Service.

    He is the World Service’s Writer in Residence.

    Read more on Hamid's blog

  • Malian duet

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    Malian musical duo Amadou & Mariam perform a live rendition of Wily Kataso.

    The pair met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind.

  • Radio Bush House

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    A host of stars turned out for the finale of The Strand and the day's special programming.

    Queen drummer Roger Taylor turned singer for this rendition of the Queen classic Radio Ga Ga, with guest editor William Orbit on electric guitar, Malian duo Amadou and Mariam on vocals, Anoushka Shankar on sitar, Pirashanna Thevarajah on percussion, Rosey Chan and Spike Edney on keyboards and Gus Isidore and Neil Fairclough on guitar and vocals.

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