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There are bands who split and reunite so often it stops meaning anything. And then there's The Smiths. Five years. Four albums. A string of hits that still sound like nothing else. And a break-up, in 1987, that's still raw forty years on. Presented by Steve Lamacq and Elizabeth Alker and built entirely from the BBC archive, this eight-part series goes back to the very beginning: a restless teenager from Stretford, a guitarist from Wythenshawe with a cassette under his arm, and the five extraordinary years that followed. How did it all go so right? And how did it go so wrong? The full series is available exclusively on BBC Sounds.

By 1989, Manchester is no longer underground, it is now unavoidable. Baggy jeans, bucket hats and loose jumpers become a uniform. Market stalls and record shops replace boutiques and fashion houses. The look travels as fast as the music and the city has found its silhouette. The Happy Mondays record Bummed in a blur of ecstasy and mischief, then quietly redraw the indie rulebook by handing a track to a club DJ for remixing. The Stone Roses release their debut album to modest chart impact, but something else is happening beneath the numbers. Coaches roll out of Manchester bound for Blackpool. Inside the Empress Ballroom, chandeliers shake as a crowd bounce before the band even appear. Within weeks, Madchester is on prime time television. The Late Show. Top of the Pops. Living rooms across Britain are introduced to a city no longer asking for permission. Episode 4 of The Rise and Fall of Madchester captures the moment the movement breaks through. When fashion becomes identity, when dance becomes pilgrimage and when Manchester steps from dark rooms into the national spotlight. Featuring archive interviews from Mani, Clint Boon, Shaun Ryder, Ian Brown, John Robb, alongside new interviews with Leo Stanley, Mike Pickering, Tim Booth from James and Steve Atherton. A BBC Audio Production.

In 1985 two Manchester bands release their first records on the very same day. The Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays barely register beyond the city. They are promising, scruffy… and largely ignored. But elsewhere in Manchester, something far more seismic is taking shape. In community halls, tower blocks and semi-legal parties, imported house records from Chicago and Detroit begin changing the temperature in the room. A new chemical arrives and with it a new way of feeling. Strangers embrace. Dance floors dissolve old boundaries. The Haçienda, once awkward and half empty, starts to pulse. Episode 3 of The Rise and Fall of Madchester tells the story of the moment when guitars collided with house, when ecstasy rewired a generation and when Manchester stopped documenting its decline and started losing itself in the dark. Featuring archive interviews from Noel Gallager, Liam Gallagher, Shaun Ryder, Bez, Peter Hook, Mani, Chris Jam, and Tony Wilson alongside new interviews with Angela Matthews, Mike Pickering and Kermit. A BBC Audio Production.

March 1983. New Order take to the stage on Top of the Pops to perform their new single, Blue Monday. The machines misfire, the sequencer slips and Bernard Sumner glances upwards as if waiting for help that never comes. On national television, it looks like chaos. Within weeks, Blue Monday becomes the biggest selling 12 inch single in British history. Inside the Haçienda, the early nights are sparse and uncertain. The building is vast, expensive and half empty. Almost nobody dances. But beyond Manchester, in the clubs of Chicago and New York, a new sound is transforming dance floors into places of collective release. That pulse begins travelling across the Atlantic, carried by DJs, white labels and restless curiosity. As house music seeps into Hulme community centres and Moss Side blues parties before reaching the city centre, the rules begin to change. Door policies loosen. Guitars make room for groove. Episode 2 of The Rise and Fall of Madchester charts the moment Manchester finds its rhythm. From the uneasy birth of Blue Monday to the early reinvention of the Haçienda, this is the story of how a city that had stood still began, tentatively at first, to move. Featuring archive interviews from Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Shaun Ryder, Ian Brown and Tony Wilson alongside new interviews with Mike Pickering, Angela Matthews and Steve Atherton. A BBC Audio Production.

Manchester in the late 1970s is a city in retreat. Industry is collapsing and jobs are disappearing. Whole neighbourhoods feel abandoned. Out of that stillness comes a stark, unsettling new sound. Joy Division capture the mood of a city that has lost its rhythm. Their music is tense, mechanical and unflinching. When Ian Curtis dies in May 1980, just as the band stand on the brink of America, it feels like the end of something fragile and important. A month later, Love Will Tear Us Apart is released. But this story does not end there. Tony Wilson, television presenter and cultural instigator, has already opened a club night called The Factory. Within two years, the surviving members of Joy Division return as New Order and take a huge gamble to open a cavernous nightclub by the canal. On opening night at The Haçienda, a white grand piano sits in the middle of a vast, echoing room. Almost nobody dances. Episode 1 of The Rise and Fall of Madchester tells the story of how a broken industrial city began to rebuild itself through sound. From the Russell Club in Hulme to the birth of Factory Records, from the stark poetry of Joy Division to the uncertain promise of the Haçienda, this is where Manchester finds a room… and the faintest hint of a new pulse. Featuring archive interviews from Tony Wilson, Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, Ian Curtis and Stephen Morris and a new interview with Mike Pickering. A BBC Audio Production.

It's the moment so many people had been hoping for - Oasis are back. Steve and Jo reunite to tackle the biggest musical story of the year, the return of Noel and Liam. But what do we know about the reunion so far? Presented by Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley Written and produced by Paul Sheehan and Phil Smith for BBC Audio

With both Liam and Noel having successful solo careers, and a new generation of fans discovering Oasis, there is endless talk of the band getting back together. And whilst they seem to have been staying out of each other’s way, the constant jibing has moved to social media. We look at what the band means to a new generation of fans, and if they ever will just give each other a call? The Rise and Fall of Oasis was presented by Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq. It was written by Paul Sheehan and Philip Smith. Technical production by Tim Heffer and Sarah Hockley with additional production by Berni Botto, Anna Richards and Merrily Grout. The Editor for BBC Audio was Helen Hobday, the commissioning producer was Hannah Clapham and the Commissioner for BBC Sounds was Will Wilkin. It was produced for BBC Audio by Philip Smith and Paul Sheehan. Archive comes from - The Brits, Channel 4, ITV, MTV, CBC Radio, 9News, Sky One Productions, OasisMediaArchive and the BBC Archive. The producers wish to thank all the contributors and archive interviewers and interviewees including: Matt Everitt, Dermot O'Leary, Ben Walker, Christine Boar, Anna Richards, Zane Lowe, Mark Radcliffe, John Wilson, Paul Kobrak, Mista Jam, John Harris, Felix White, Stephen Sackur, Hannah Farrell, Jolie MacKereth, Elizabeth Alker, Mark Goodier, Shaun Keaveny, Tony Visconti, Brian Cannon and Lisa Moorish.

Oasis during the 2000s dutifully continue to play the hits to a committed and enthusiastic audience. However, when the final show does eventually come, it’s a largely unsatisfying end for a band that always seemed stronger than the rest. Oasis. Killed, by a plum. In a portacabin. In Paris.

As the millennium approaches, Oasis are no longer sound tracking a generation. They are flat and limping along; trying, in vain, to find their place in a shifting musical environment. Noel chooses this period to get clean but he, and Liam, have divorces pending. Bonehead and Guigsy leave the group, and the band release ‘Standing on the Shoulder of Giants’ - their comedown album. Add to this, their “worst gig ever” live at Wembley stadium and a fight in Barcelona that will fundamentally alter the brother’s relationship. And we look at how the tabloid demand for the band lead to cases of phone hacking and leaks within the camp.

In the lead up to the release of Be Here Now, Oasis tabloid mania is at fever pitch, but what should be the crowning glory of their career is slowly unravelling. The band faced a series of challenges, many of their own causing, and the album is released to massive fanfare... and industry paranoia. We learn about the chaos that followed the group at the time, the backlash that came after the release of Be Here Now, the Australian tour affair that almost resulted in a major diplomatic incident and how Noel’s visit to number 10 changed everything.

Oasis are Massive. Earls Court, Knebworth and actual success in America. But with that comes arrogance, defiance and a fight so ferocious that the band appear to have finally split up. We cover the chaotic month that sees the band play Knebworth, have a meltdown live on MTV, and a US tour that starts without one brother, and ends without the other. Utter chaos, and pure drama at the very peak of their powers. Post Knebworth, Oasis really didn’t know what to do next, and as they lurch from one drama to another, the British tabloids have made them a front page priority.

With a number 1 single under their belts, the band headline Glastonbury on Boneheads’ 30th Birthday, welcome a new drummer and release the era defining album - (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? But this episode is not without drama - a studio fight almost derails the Oasis express and the Blur Vs Oasis rivalry reaches a nadir.

It's 1994 and Oasis’s constant touring is underscoring their reputation as rock 'n' roll hellraisers, a reputation which comes to the fore at a gig in Newcastle just days before the release of their debut album. Then, just a few weeks later, the hottest new band in the UK are in a mess in America. Their first US tour is a shambles. Frustrated at blowing their big chance, Noel Gallagher walks out of the band, flying off to Las Vegas. He returns after a week, with a new vision for Oasis, and with a set of clear objectives. Episode 2 looks at the live reputation that the band was starting to form, where an Oasis gig would either be biblical or diabolical, and how that debut American tour helped bring a new focus to Noel’s leadership.

Oasis is Liam Gallagher’s band, and after their first gig at the Manchester Boardwalk he asks his brother, Noel, to be their manager. Noel instead suggests joining as songwriter. Episode 1 focuses on the exciting and breathless start of the band - new experiences and new dynamics. Yet turbulence, chaos and confusion is never far away with Oasis... as a disastrous trip to Amsterdam proves.

Join Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq as they delve into the complex relationship between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, a fascinating sibling rivalry that both made, and ultimately destroyed, Oasis. Featuring archive material, music, outrageous anecdotes, and first-hand accounts from bandmates, producers, and industry insiders.