Retro TV W/C 1st February 2008

Barry Murphy returns once more trawl the TV and radio guides (so you don't have to) to find anything worth tuning into this week. All listings are for UK terrestrial TV, Freeview and national radio, with the shows running from Friday 1st February to Thursday 7th February.

Highlights of the week

Everybody's favourite un-pc PC is back on our screens on Thursday 7th Feb, when beer swilling, spaghetti hoop-munching hardman DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) returns in Ashes to Ashes, the sequel to Life on Mars. This time the action is set in London in 1981, and joining Gene and his faithful sidekicks Ray Carling (Dean Andrews) and Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster) is DCI Alex Drake (Keely Hawkes) a female detective from the 21st Century who is stuck in the past after an accident.

In other highlights, BBC 4 devote a night of programming to jazz pianist Oscar Peterson on Friday 1st, and on Monday 4th broadcasts two shows of interest to any sartorially minded modernist - Ready to Wear - a look at how the suit has changed from the sixties to the eighties, followed by Saville Row, the first in a 3 part series, looking the tailoring houses of Mayfair's famous street.

Pierre Paulin's Orange Slice Chair

Much like the word vintage, iconic is a word that is over-used, but the Orange Slice Chair by Pierre Paulin is surely one piece of furniture worthy of that honour.

Designed in 1960, it is one of Paulin’s series of chairs for Artifort that combine an inner structure of steel tubing with foam and fabric to create a structural piece. It is still being manufactured today by Artifort and it can be bought online from several place, including from Modern Classics Direct where they cost £399.

They are available in a wide selection of colours, although ironically it seems, not orange!

Visit Modern Classic Direct to view their selection.

Aaron Foster Bob Dylan Portrait

Artist Aaron Foster specialises in found art, that is reusing old things in a new context. His chosen medium is discarded license plates, which he uses to create some amazing pieces of art.

He started off by producing a map of the USA using license plates, but has expanded his range to include images of cars (a fairly natural association) and more surprisingly portraits of rock stars. Pictured here is his Bob Dylan portrait, which if you look at closely, you can see is made up of license plates.

Each one of his pieces is handmade in California and can be bought online from American in XS. The Dylan portrait costs $1,300 (approximately £650)

New Biba pieces available on pre-order from Matches Fashion

No one needs telling how much the Biba brand is synonymous with the swinging 60s, so it's hardly surprising the brand's relaunch was met with whoops and cheers.

They're still coming up with retro inspired wardrobe fillers, and though some don't match the wow factor of their vintage counterparts, there's a few gems among the bunch.

A select few pieces from Biba's new range for Spring/Summer '08 are now available to pre-order from Matches Fashion, including these striking burnt-orange Greta shoes. This pair will set you back a very designer £275.

Find out more at the Matches website

Cole & Son launches the Vintage Glamour Collection - wallcoverings from the 1920s to the 1950s

High-end wallpaper retailer Cole & Son has launched the Vintage Glamour Collection, re-creating 16 authentic designs from  the 1920s to the 1950s, the kind of thing once found in mid 20th century ocean cruise liners, hedonistic hotels and haute couture.

HIghlights include Carlyle (an Art Deco design that simulates an embossed leather book binding), Belgravia (coiled ribbon design on a leather grain background), Crocodile (a 1930s Cole original of simulated 'buffed crocodile skin'), Fairmount (50s archive design reviving an 18th century look), Chevron (Art Deco chevrons), Dolly (3D-style fan design from the 50s), Palm Court (1920s archive design featuring olive leaves and stylised flowers) and Molino (Art Deco half circles).

Expect them being available to order in the coming weeks, prices to be confirmed.

Find out more at the Cole & Son website

Vintage ladies hats and headgear on eBay

Last weekend I fell in love with the idea of a vintage hat complete with netting, after seeing one atop a very pretty young lady's head. A classic Hollywood look, a hat complete with netting isn't easy to come by but it is very stylish indeed.

Luckily, an eBay seller called Mad Hatter is selling a number of vintage hats from various periods in vintage fashion.

This fantastic emerald green piece is from the 60s and is currently selling at a bid of just £9 and looks to be in great condition.

Find out more from the eBay product page. From here you can view the seller's other items too.

Win copies of Armchair Thriller on DVD!

Remember Armchair Thriller? Possibly not, unless you were around in the late 1970s. It was a series of mini-dramas made by ITV, very much like other 'creepy' shows of the era (Thriller, Tales of the Unexpected and Hammer House of Horror), except Armchair Thriller was played out over a series of weeks, with each episode ending on a cliffhanger.

The show hasn't been available since on either video or DVD - until now. Network is reissuing all episodes, kicking off with Rachel In Danger and A Dog's Ransom. Both received high praise over at our cult film/TV site Cinedelica, both are available to buy now for £12.99 each and both are available to win in our latest competition.

Three lucky people will each receive a copy of the first two Armchair Thriller DVDs. To be in with a chance, all you have to do is enter your details on the competition page (hosted on our Modculture site). Good luck!

Enter the Armchair Thriller DVD competition

Get the Twiggy look with Andrea ModLash false lashes

There's nothing more iconic about Twiggy's famous 60s look than her amazing eyes. She's most certainly got a great pair of peepers, but its those 'lashes that make the statement.

If you're looking for quick and easy do-it-yourself false eyelashes then Andrea Modlash is the perfect range to choose from. There's a variety of lengths and shapes to choose from, so you can be as bold or natural looking as you choose.

They're available online in the UK from Eye Beauty for around £3.50 per pair, and each pair is reusable too.

Find out more from the Eye Beauty website

"Vintage" leather handbag from Urban Outfitters UK

One of my pet peeves is mis-use of the word vintage - surely its meaning is pretty clearly removed from the word retro? Well, Urban Outfitters have me cursing their blatant misrepresentation by 'naming' one of their new bags Vintage.

Irksome name aside, though, it's not half bad. Rich brown leather and a decent size make it perfect retro fodder.

£80 isn't exactly a bargain, but for that price you can hopefully guarantee higher quality than a lot of high street lookalikes.

Find out more at the Urban Outfitters website

Vintage Radio Birdhouse

While you probably aren’t spending much time in the garden at the moment (not if you are reading this in the Northern Hemisphere anyway), spare a thought for those who have no choice but to brave the cold – the birds.

Now is just the time to give nature a helping hand with a birdhouse and this Vintage Radio Birdhouse is an unusual spin on the average birdhouse. Made from wood, it has been fashioned to look just like a 1930s radio complete with speakers and tuning knobs.

Its costs $30 (approximately £16) from Uncommongoods although you can expect to pay about another $20 on top of that for international shipping.