BOLTON broadcaster Mark Radcliffe is set to present a new television series documenting the story of indie music.

The three-part documentary series will be shown this October on BBC Four and will chart the evolution of alternative music from its inception in the late 1970s with the explosion of independent record labels and their associated acts, to the boom of the genre in the 1980s, onto its demise following the mainstream success of its Britpop successor in the 1990s.

Finally, the series will look at its legacy and influence in the current music scene.

Mark said: “This is really a story that's been waiting to be told. We're always hearing about the seismic shifts the music business is undergoing, but in many ways, this was the first – when the egalitarian independent spirit of punk and DIY broke the stranglehold of the men in suits in the posh offices of the major labels in that there London, creating the soundtrack of our lives along the way.”

Cassian Harrison, Channel Editor of BBC Four, says: “Following on from the success of BBC Four’s acclaimed Rock ‘n’ Roll America season, comes another new three-part music documentary series on the channel. This time, the focus is indie.

The series is a must-watch for music lovers as it is the definitive inside story of the genre of a generation. BBC Four is delighted to celebrate this pioneering musical movement as part of its much-loved Friday night music schedule.”

The hour-long programmes will air on Fridays from early October.

The Story of Indie will feature interviews with performers including James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers, Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos, Carl Barat of The Libertines, Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder, Suede’s Bernard Butler, ska icon Pauline Black of The Selecter, Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Buzzcocks’ frontman Pete Shelley and Joy Divison/New Order’s Stephen Morris, plus key music industry figures.

The opening episode of the series explores the origins of the UK’s alternative music scene with the emergence of independent record labels and the eclectic sound hubs they spawned in cities across the country.

Episode two looks at the 1980s, when the independent labels transformed from cottage industries into real businesses.

Episode three begins with the original independent labels struggling in the wake of acid house, allowing the major labels to move in on 'indie cool' with Britpop and the subsequent rise of early 1990s heavyweights Blur and Oasis.