The Sounds of the 21st Century

An unofficial continuation of BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 21st Century.

If you’ve found this podcast, then chances are, like me, you were a massive fan of BBC Radio 2’s Sounds of the 20th Century.

Created by Trevor Dann’s Company, the original series ran from 2011 and 2012. Each episode was an hour of one particular year’s biggest moments (news, TV shows, films, sports etc), alongside that year’s memorable hit songs. It was similar to the Rock and Roll Years TV shows from the ’90s, which broadcasting legend Trevor Dann was also behind.

What was particularly awesome about it, was that it didn’t feature any ‘talking heads’, analysis or hindsight. They were simply audio collages of each year, allowing you to work out what was being played, and to make connections to what happened in the following years.

With the series ending after the year 2000, I was left bereft and wanted more. As someone who is obsessed with nostalgia, charts and pop culture, and because the 2000s were my formative years, I decided to give making an unofficial continuation a go myself.

So this series is an ongoing project that will continue the original series from 2001 onwards, with attempts made to keep it in the original style as much as possible (including the theme tune, run-length etc).

Each episode aims to be a 60-minute snapshot of the world (largely from British eyes!), as it was back then. Archive news clips have been taken from various sources (such as BBC News, Sky News, Channel 4, ITV, The Guardian, CNN and other news networks). However, as I only have access to what is available online, some clips, particularly from the early years of the internet, may sound a bit tinny in quality, as they were ripped from incredibly old files (such as old .ram files – remember them?), that no longer exist since I made the first few episodes back in 2012.

NOTE: If you’ve previously downloaded the series – I have since made revisions to the episodes in 2022. Please re-download to get updated versions with improved intros and other new clips.

The series is in no way endorsed by Trevor Dann or the BBC, but was meant as a bit of fun, as a homage to the brilliant series, and to give fans something new. Trevor himself has been kind enough to acknowledge the series, as long as I call it ‘Bootleg Sounds of the 21st Century’.

In 2021, the original series returned as Sounds of the 21st Century. It was in a slightly different style, with Claudia Winkleman replacing original host Jeremy Vine.

I greatly encourage everyone to listen to the original series if you can track it down. The 2021 series can be found here.

Please do get in touch in the comments sections if you’d like to say hello or give feedback – or follow me on Twitter (@eamezey).