British fans of the Saturday night music treat known as From the Basement, prepare to cry forlornly into your handkerchiefs as this particular primetime gem has ended its popular run on Sky Arts – US readers, however, have something to look forward to as the show makes it way Stateswards late February.

In case you haven’t been keeping up on recent events, From the Basement is produced by Nigel Godrich and brings some excellent contemporary performers to the stage in a series of intimate, personal, and (most importantly) closed gigs with no distracting audience or annoying hosts. The last show in the series, featuring Damien Rice, E from Eels, Autolux, and Architecture in Helsinki, is being repeated this week on Thursday 10 January and Saturday 12 January on Sky Arts channel 267. Watch it now before it leaves your lives forever!

Seamlessly picking up where the younger pretenders left off, and stamping rudely on the proverbial leftover cigarette butts and plastic pint glasses left in the wake of From the Basement’s departure, Sky Arts continues to make Saturday nights the musical highlight of its week with Centre Stage – a series of high profile, classic concerts from some of the greatest names in rock.

Leading the pack on 12 Jan, Queen and Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions, sees the aforementioned Rodgers standing in for the late Freddie Mercury at the concert that rocked Sheffield back in 2005. Rather than simply parody Mercury, Rodgers threw his own style into the mix when performing the Queen songs, which provoked divided views from long-time admirers. Regardless, this is a must-see for fans of all artists involved.

The complete series list for Sky Arts Centre Stage is shown below:

12 Jan 2008: Queen and Paul Rodgers - Return of the Champions
19 Jan 2008: The Stones in the Park
26 January 2008: Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
2 February 2008: Eric Clapton and Friends: Band du Lac
9 February 2008: The Pixies Acoustic
16 February 2008: Eric Clapton: Crossroads
23 February 2008: Elvis Costello Live in Montreal featuring Allen Toussaint
1 March 2008: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
8 March 2008: Elvis Costello and the Impostors: Live in Memphis