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In the 90s, young creatives, grouped together by advertising guru Charles Saatchi, respond provocatively to the decade's wave of optimism. The results are explosive - but is it art?

In the 1990s, young artists, musicians and creatives use the recession in Britain to their advantage, putting on their own shows in abandoned spaces and warehouses and moving to the run-down and deserted East End of London to live, work and play.

In an age of marketing and branding, advertising guru Charles Saatchi groups together a series of young, contemporary British artists to provide their experience of Britain, which leads to the first female winner of the Turner Prize, a pickled shark that creates waves, as well as eggs, kebabs and rotting meat 鈥 all in the name of art.

It culminates in Sensation, the iconoclastic exhibition of Saatchi鈥檚 private collection at the Royal Academy, where the young rebels are placed at the heart of the establishment. The results are explosive - but is it art?

59 minutes

Music Played

  • The Chemical Brothers

    Block Rockin' Beats

  • Saint Etienne

    Nothing Can Stop Us

  • Happy Mondays

    Hallelujah

  • The Farm

    Groovy Train

  • Annie Lennox

    Why

  • Primal Scream

    Movin' On Up

  • Blur

    There's No Other Way

  • Happy Mondays

    He's Gonna Step On You Again

  • Suede

    Animal Nitrate

  • M People

    Moving On Up

  • 顿别别别鈥怢颈迟别

    Groove Is In The Heart

  • Deee-Lite, Charlie's Angels (Motion Picture Soundtrack)

    Groove Is In Up (Part 1) (Album Version)

  • Primal Scream

    Loaded

  • The KLF

    3 A.M. Eternal

  • Blur

    Country House

  • The Stone Roses

    Fools Gold

  • Pulp

    Common People

  • Inspiral Carpets

    Commercial Rain

  • David Bowie

    Little Wonder

  • D:Ream

    Things Can Only Get Better

  • Supergrass

    Alright

Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator Keith Allen
Director Min Clough
Executive Producer Todd Austin
Production Company Bohemia Films

Broadcasts