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Rating
5from
This podcast has
133 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
BBC Radio 4Explicit
No
Date created
2021/10/01
Latest episode
2026/09/18
Average duration
43 min.
Release period
14 days
Description
Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe take us on a musical journey of discovery, exploring the web of connections between tracks across the breadth of all musical styles, from pop, rock, reggae and hip-hop to classical, jazz, folk and country.
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Rick Wakeman and Amanda Whiting close out the series
2026/09/18
Rick Wakeman - keyboard player and former member of the rock group Yes - and Welsh jazz harpist and composer Amanda Whiting, join Jeffrey and Anna as they add the final five tracks to the playlist for the current series. Kicking off with a groundbreaking French hit from 2019 and rounding off with a world-famous singalong song with an equally famous accompanying dance move, the playlist also visits Finland, Canada and a celebrated British one-hit wonder.
Add to Playlist returns for a new series on 6 November
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Pookie by Aya Nakamura
Sumother Song by Kenny Wheeler
Finlandia by Jean Sibelius
Fire by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
Macarena by Los del Rio & The Bayside Boys
Other music in this episode:
Trumpet Concerto in E Flat, III: Allegro by Joseph Haydn
No Scrubs by TLC
Djadja by Aya Nakamura
Who Let The Dogs Out by Baha Men
Wipeout by The Surfaris
Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles
99 Red Balloons by Nena
Funkytown by Lipps Inc
Tubthumping by Chumbawamba
Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye
Macarena by Los Del Rio
Old Town Road by Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
Emma Rawicz and Arsha Kaviani celebrate exceptional teenage talent
2026/09/11
Saxophonist and composer Emma Rawicz and pianist and composer Arsha Kaviani are the studio guests of Jeffrey and Anna as they add five more tracks, taking them from a politically satirical song by George Michael to a classic pop track from the American girl group TLC via two mysterious buildings conjured up by The Animals and Modest Mussorgsky.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Shoot the Dog by George Michael
Lush Life by John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman, written by Billy Strayhorn
House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
The Old Castle by Modest Mussorgsky
No Scrubs by TLC
Other music in this episode:
Disco Inferno by The Trammps
La Cucaracha by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán
Cowboys & Aliens by Emma Rawicz
The Rising Sun Blues by Clarence 'Tom' Ashley and Gwen Foster
Poker Face by Lady Gaga
What's Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner
Anne Dudley and Jon Boden at the Crossed Wires festival in Sheffield
2026/09/04
Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley and musician, arranger and former lead singer with the folk group Bellowhead, Jon Boden, are Jeffrey and Anna's guests in front of a live audience at the Crossed Wires podcast festival in Sheffield. Kicking off with a huge Sheffield banger from 1982, the five-track journey takes them to Bob Marley, Eliza Carthy and finishing up with a legless cockroach!
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
The Look of Love by ABC
Stir It Up by Bob Marley
Little Gypsy Girl by Eliza Carthy
Pe-loc by Béla Bartók
La Cucaracha by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán
Other music in this episode:
Don't You Want Me by The Human League
Tonight The Streets Are Ours by Richard Hawley
With A Little Help From My Friends by Joe Cocker
I Do This All The Time by Self Esteem
Heatwave In The Cold North by Reverend and The Makers
Temptation by Heaven 17
Common People by Pulp
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor by Arctic Monkeys
I Shot The Sheriff by Eric Clapton
Rufford Park Poachers recorded by Percy Grainger
From the Diary of a Fly by Béla Bartók
RuthAnne and Gavin Higgins get in the Flow
2026/08/28
RuthAnne - songwriter Ruth-Anne Cunningham - and composer Gavin Higgins join Jeffrey and Anna as they create a standalone five-track playlist for this one-off episode. Starting with a massive international hit by a leading Irish singer, they head to Fugees, Gershwin and some fine young cannibals.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Orinoco Flow by Enya
Ready or Not by Fugees
I Loves You, Porgy by George & Ira Gershwin, sung by Nina Simone
She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals
Opposite People by Newen Afrobeat & Seun Kuti
Other music in this episode:
Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber and Tiësto
In the Name of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
Too Little Too Late by JoJo
Work Bitch by Britney Spears
Slow Hands by Niall Horan
Where Do Broken Hearts Go by One Direction
Boadicea by Enya
Rhapsody In Blue by George Gershwin
Opposite People by Fela Kuti and Africa 70
Nadine Shah, David Arnold and Charlotte Harding celebrate the BBC Proms
2026/08/21
To mark this year's BBC Proms, Jeffrey and Anna are joined by three music specialists to create a playlist of five Proms-themed tracks. Celebrated James Bond film composer David Arnold, Mercury-Prize-nominated, South Tyneside-born, singer and songwriter Nadine Shah, and composer and saxophonist Charlotte Harding check out this year's festival, currently just past its halfway point, and look into the archive to choose their five tracks.
Every concert in this year's BBC Proms is - or will be - available via BBC Sounds, including Nadine Shah's performance in Gateshead and Charlotte Harding's Relaxed Prom in Bristol, with many also available on the iPlayer.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
James Bond Theme by John Barry
4th mvt: Adagio, from 9th Symphony by Gustav Mahler
Time by Pink Floyd
It’s Raining Today by Scott Walker
And the Door Unsealed by Miho Hazama, performed by the Danish Radio Big Band
Other music in this episode:
Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland
Topless Mother by Nadine Shah
Miami International from Casino Royale by David Arnold
Bad Sign, Good Sign by Monty Norman
Main Title from Out of Africa by John Barry
Make It Easy on Yourself by The Walker Brothers
My Ship Is Coming In by The Walker Brothers
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore by The Walker Brothers
Wilkommen from Cabaret by the Danish Radio Big Band
A celebration of Black British music live at V&A East, with Nolay, Soweto Kinch and Keelan Carew
2026/08/14
The V&A East Museum in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London opened in April with its inaugural exhibition The Music Is Black: A British Story, focusing on 125 years of Black music-making in Britain. Spanning four continents, it is a story of excellence, struggle, resilience and joy.
To celebrate the exhibition, in a collaboration between the V&A and the BBC, Add to Playlist comes from the museum in front of a live audience with a host of significant figures on the Black British music scene.
Jazz saxophonist Soweto Kinch, leading UK grime artist NoLay (accompanied by fellow grime artists Griminal and Roachee), classical pianist Keelan Carew and special guest Janet Kay - who hit the high notes with her 1979 smash hit Silly Games - join Anna and Jeffrey as they discuss the five tracks of Black British music that make up this episode's playlist.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Back to Life by Soul II Soul
21 Seconds by So Solid Crew
Silly Games by Janet Kay
Deep River by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
It’s So by Omar
Other music in this episode:
On My Radio by The Selecter
Keep on Movin' by Soul II Soul
Hiawatha's Wedding Feast by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
There's Nothing Like This by Omar
Tom Seals and Debbie Wiseman slap that bass
2026/06/26
Wolf Hall composer Debbie Wiseman and boogie-woogie pianist and singer Tom Seals are Jeffrey and Anna's final guests of the current series as they add the final five tracks, taking them from a Prince classic via the First Lady of Song to Bob Geldof's ticking clock and a Punjabi bhangra megahit.
Add to Playlist will be back on air on 14 August.
For details of the Crossed Wires podcast festival in Sheffield and for free tickets for the recording of Add to Playlist and other Radio 4 shows, visit https://crossedwires.live/fringe
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
When Doves Cry by Prince
Slap That Bass by Ella Fitzgerald
La Valse by Maurice Ravel
Like Clockwork by The Boomtown Rats
Mundian To Bach Ke by Panjabi MC
Other music in this episode:
West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys
Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
Africa by Toto
In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins
L'Enfant et les Sortilèges by Maurice Ravel
Time by Pink Floyd
Hung Up by Madonna
Knight Rider theme by Stu Phillips & Glen A. Larson
Turn It Up/Fire It Up by Busta Rhymes
Claire Wickes and Ashley Henry celebrate chocolate and music
2026/06/19
Flautist Claire Wickes and jazz pianist Ashley Henry join Jeffrey and Anna as they add the next five tracks, exploring the association between music and chocolate, and digging into the Harlem Renaissance with the poet Langston Hughes and Cuban Negrismo, before marking the official longest partnership in pop.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
5-4-3-2-1 by Manfred Mann
Dance of the Mirlitons from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky
The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
Boda Negra by María Teresa Vera
West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys
Other music in this episode:
Mississippi Goddam by Ashley Henry
Knee Play 5 from Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass
Numbers by Kraftwerk
5,6,7,8 by Steps
Moon River by Audrey Hepburn
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Tchaikovsky
Guy Pratt and Amy Harman and the art of hocketing
2026/06/12
Bass guitarist, composer and songwriter Guy Pratt and bassoonist Amy Harman are Jeffrey and Anna's studio guests as they add five more tracks. Starting with an early ska classic, they explore the art of 'hocketing' before heading to the beach with Einstein.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Miss Jamaica by Jimmy Cliff
Rock On by David Essex
Finale of Symphony No 6 in B Minor by Tchaikovsky
Hockets for Two Voices: 1 by Meara O’Reilly
Knee Play 5 from Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass
Other music in this episode:
Ain't No Doubt by Jimmy Nail
Like a Prayer by Madonna
The Reason by Celine Dion
I'm Alive by Vybz Kartel
Be My Guest by Fats Domino
Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed
The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
9th Symphony by Gustav Mahler
Zap Mama by Babanzélé
Gamelan by the Bali Gamelan Orchestra
Money by Pink Floyd
Welcome to the Machine by Pink Floyd
Lucy Parham and Nicky Spence explore some familiar Radio 4 theme tunes
2026/06/05
Classical pianist Lucy Parham and operatic tenor Nicky Spence are Jeffrey and Anna's studio guests as they compile another five-track playlist. Starting with a memorable scene from Werner Herzog's film Fitzcarraldo, they end up at the queen of the power ballad, stopping off to reveal the background to two very popular tunes regularly played on Radio 4.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Quartet from Rigoletto by Verdi
La Flor de la Canela by Chabuca Granda
The Minute Waltz by Chopin
My Native Heath, Suite IV: Barwick Green by Arthur Wood
The Reason by Celine Dion
Other music in this episode:
Cantaloop by Us3
Proud Mary by Ike & Tina Turner
Approaching Menace by Neil Richardson
The Archers Theme by The Yetties
My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion
Fiona Bevan and Keelan Carew mess around
2026/05/29
Multi-platinum songwriter and musician Fiona Bevan and pianist Keelan Carew are Jeffrey and Anna's studio guests as they add five more tracks, taking us from Ray Charles letting loose for the first time, to a famous riverboat steamer on the Mississippi via Mozart and Nick Drake.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Mess Around by Ray Charles
Kyrie from the Mass in C Minor by Mozart
From the Morning by Nick Drake
Fields of Gold by Eva Cassidy
Proud Mary by Ike & Tina Turner
Other music in this episode:
Soul Bossa Nova by Quincy Jones
Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor (the Chaconne) by J.S. Bach
Over the Rainbow by Eva Cassidy
Fields of Gold by Sting
Little Things by One Direction
Ben Gernon and Heidi Fardell launch a new series
2026/05/22
Conductor Ben Gernon and baroque recorder player Heidi Fardell open the new series alongside Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe as they add the first five tracks, taking us from a steamy New York summer to a celebrated Bach composition that violinist Joshua Bell has described as 'not just one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, but one of the greatest achievements of any man in history'. Throw in Gershwin, Louis XIV and a very serious musical accident, and you've got a cornucopia of an opening episode.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Summer in the City by The Lovin’ Spoonful
An American in Paris by George Gershwin
Overture to Phaëton by Jean-Baptiste Lully
Ain’t It Strange by Patti Smith
Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor (the Chaconne) by J.S. Bach
Other music in this episode:
Batman Theme by Neil Hefti & his Orchestra
12 Sonatas Op. 11 'Parensi': No 7 in A Minor: II. Allegro by Robert Valentine, performed by Heidi Fardell
Because The Night by Patti Smith
Neil Brand and Matilda Lloyd celebrate the mambo
2026/03/27
Pianist and silent film music specialist Neil Brand and trumpeter Matilda Lloyd join Jeffrey and Anna as they add five tracks to the playlist, in the last of the current series. From a celebrated American singer who died aged 27 we head to the most successful artist in the history of the Grammys, via a famous sacred Italian work, appropriate as Good Friday approaches.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Mercedes Benz by Janis Joplin
Stabat Mater Dolorosa by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Mambo Bacan by Sophia Loren
The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini
Say My Name by Destiny’s Child
Other music in this episode:
Toccata by Giovanni Battista Martini, played by Matilda Lloyd
Peter Piper by Run-D.M.C.
My Adidas by Run-D.M.C.
Mambo No 5 by Pérez Prado
Que Rico Mambo by Pérez Prado
Bangers & Mash by Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers
Moon River by Henry Mancini, sung by Audrey Hepburn
Say My Name (Acapella) by Destiny's Child
Anne Dudley and Guy Barker are Thunderstruck
2026/03/20
Trumpeter and bandleader Guy Barker and composer and arranger Anne Dudley join Jeffrey and Anna as they add five more tracks, taking us from a high-octane heavy-metal classic to Run-D.M.C. via signature stage moves and dreamy Ella.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Thunderstruck by AC/DC
I Got You (I Feel Good) by James Brown
Hommage à Rameau by Claude Debussy
My Reverie by Ella Fitzgerald
Peter Piper by Run-D.M.C.
Other music in this episode:
Love's Theme by The Love Unlimited Orchestra
Gravel Pit by Wu-Tang Clan
Surrender by Swing Out Sister
It's a Man's Man's Man's World by James Brown
Reverie by Debussy, performed by Lang Lang
A-Tisket A-Tasket by Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb
Humpty Dumpty by Aimee Mann
All The King's Horses by Dusty Springfield
Take Me To The Mardi Gras by Bob James
Take Me To The Mardi Gras by Paul Simon
Nicholas McCarthy and Amy Harman watch the clock
2026/03/13
Bassoonist Amy Harman and concert pianist Nicholas McCarthy are the studio guests of Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe as they add five more tracks. Kicking off with an internationally famous track written in Ostend in Belgium, they end up in a gravel pit via a ticking clock or two.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye
Clocks by Coldplay
The Clock (the 2nd mvt) from Symphony No 101 in D Major by Haydn
Precipitato (the 3rd mvt) from Piano Sonata No 7 in B Flat Major by Prokofiev
Gravel Pit by Wu-Tang Clan
Other music in this episode:
Etudes: Op 8 No 12 in D-Flat Minor by Scriabin, played by Nicholas McCarthy
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D-Major by Ravel, played by Nicholas McCarthy
On the Road Again (Live) by Willie Nelson
Who'll Buy My Memories by Willie Nelson
Impulse by Hans Zimmer
Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell
Nautilus by Anna Meredith
It's a Man's Man's Man's World by James Brown
Da Mystery of Chessboxin by Wu-Tang Clan
Podcast reviews
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16Curiouser 2025/08/20
Phenomenal
I have been listening to this podcast for several years. There is so much to take in, that I have listened to episodes more than once with the same en...
the.geoff.nixon 2022/10/03
My favorite music podcast. Ever.
This eclectic music program must be listened to to be believed. The only question is, where is the Add To Playlist playlist?
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