During the last few years of James Brown's career he enjoyed a healthy working relationship with the BBC. Between 2003 and 2006 he allowed the BBC to exclusively film a number of his performances, none of which have ever been broadcast in their entirity.



In November 2003 Mister Brown appeared in session for the BBC at LSO St Lukes. This concert has never been broadcast in full.



In Summer 2004 Mister Brown appeared at 'The Olympic Torch Concert' in London. This performance, four songs, was filmed by the BBC, who only broadcast two songs - and even edited those down significantly. Mister Brown also gave a filmed interview [with Jamie Theakston] to the BBC at this event.



During the same week in 2004 Mister Brown played the 'Glastonbury Festival'. This performance was also filmed in it's entirity by the BBC but only ten minutes' worth was broadcast.



In 2005 Mister Brown appeared on 'Friday Night With Jonathan Ross'. Both his interview and his performance were edited significantly before the programme aired.



A little later in Summer 2005 Mister Brown played a lengthy set at 'T In The Park', which was filmed in it's entirity by the BBC but never aired. The BBC also filmed Mister Brown's four song performance at 'Live 8' in Edinburgh, but only two of those songs made it onto the 'Live 8' DVD and the full performance was never broadcast. Mister Brown gave filmed interviews [with Edith Bowman] to the BBC at both of these events.



Finally, in October 2006 Mister Brown played a concert at the 'BBC Electric Proms'. The duration of his and his band's set was over two hours, yet even in the wake of his death the BBC only saw fit to air a severely edited one-hour version of the concert. Not much of a tribute. Mister Brown also gave a full length press conference to the BBC at this event, which was filmed but never broadcast.





The BBC is a public service broadcasting outlet, funded by the public. They therefore have a duty to provide entertainment that their public wishes to see. We are, in effect, their bosses. It is the very essence of the public service broadcasting ethos. They are a worldwide service and are required to take into account the wishes of their audience and attempt to fulfill them as best as possible.



Petitions such as this have proved successful in the past, most notably when a large petition successfully resulted in the release of the 'QI: Series One' DVD. There is no reason that the BBC should not take into account our views and respond positively once more.



The creator of and contributors to this petition call upon the BBC to release some of, if not all of these full length performances on DVD along with accompanying interviews.



Each performance was special in it's own way, be it the historical significance of Mister Brown's only ever performance at Glastonbury, his first duet with Will Young, or the stripped down versions of old classics and rarely performed hits he played with Max Beesley and the Sugababes at the Electric Proms.



It is not right that these classic performances remain locked in a vault forever more, and it is equally unjust to rob the world of the chance to see Mister Brown, undoubtedly the most significant musician in the history of recorded music, in action in his twilight years.



Be they separate releases or a commemorative boxset, the creator of and contributors to this petition wish to see these performances released into the public domain to be enjoyed by those who were never fortunate enough to witness Mister Brown live first hand, or who were unfortunate enough to have missed the original broadcasts - however feeble they were.