[1] Instead, the series' website provided a list and description of the audio items, which was also supplied in real time by the show's Twitter feed.
Focussing upon 1951, it featured the real King's Speech (as he opens the Festival of Britain), a General Election victory for the Conservatives and their Liberal allies, the first hit single with multi-tracking (Les Paul’s "How High The Moon"), the first rock ’n’ roll record (Jackie Brentson’s "Rocket 88"), screen heroes from Marlon Brando to The Lone Ranger.
Comparing the show to BBC One's The Rock 'n' Roll Years, The Independent's Chris Maume asked if "commissioning Sounds of the 20th Century [was] the first thing the 6 Music/Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan has got right in his short but deeply unsatisfactory tenure?".
[4] More critically, The Guardian's Elisabeth Mahoney identified parallels between the archive clips and the contemporary world, but was frustrated at the lack of a narrative, arguing that "the jaunty mix is frustratingly hard-going.
"[5] In 2021, a follow-up series aired on Radio 2 called Sounds of the 21st Century covering the years 2000 to 2010.