In this television interview, the legendary rock and blues guitarist gives an honest and offen moving account of his life and career, from his early successes, to his years of drug addiction and on to his spectacular re-emergence in the mid-1980s. The programme includes footage looking back on Clapton’s career, a specially arranged private concert with his hero, blues player Buddy Guy, and a reunion with Jack Bruce from Cream.
The Real Sound of Africa
This programme features the Zimbabwean group, The Real Sounds of Africa, who backed Paul Simon on his Graceland album, the lively twelve-piece rumba band gives a special studio performance and the members talk about their music, with ist complex rhythms.
Frank Rich
The influential American drama critic talks to Melvyn Bragg about the different influences which are radically altering the cultural life of New York – from the preoccupation with real estate and the dominance of corporate money, to AIDS.
George Bernard Shaw
For biographer Michael Holroyd the writer George Bernard Shaw is an all-consuming passion. This programme follows Holroyd’s detective processes, his research through paperwork and visits to locations where Shaw spent time, to get under the skin of the renowned playwright and political theorist. Rare archive footage of Shaw is used as Holroyd considers to what extent Shaw’s life fed his art – and vice versa. The writer’s role as biographer also comes under scrutiny.
Suzanne Vega
In this programme, American singer/song-writer Suzanne Vega talks about her songs, her New York background and the influences on her music. She performs specially-arranged solo versions of Luka, Small Blue Thing and Tom’s Diner and is seen in concert singing Gypsy Cracking, Ironbound/Fancy Poultry, Marlene on the Wall and Black Widow Station.
The Al Jolson Story
Little has ever been heard of the true Al Jolson – the extravagant womaniser, who poached material, went in for outrageous contractual manoeuvrings and whose occasional ruthless cruelty left him few real friends among a host of hangers-on. This colourful and candid profile of the legendary singer includes extensive film clips, rare archive and home movie footage, together with a number of interviews with those who knew him well.
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy is one of the world’s most accomplished and charismatic musicians, renowned as both a pianist and a conductor. He left Russia in 1963 to escape the restrictions imposed on individual expression pre-perestroika, and, in this film he talks revealingly about his life, work and motivations. Specially-recorded musical illustrations include passages of Chopin, Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Brahms.
Peter Shaffer
This programme with Peter Shaffer, one of the world’s most successful contemporary playwrights, looks at his concerns as a writer, his skill as a story-teller and his mastery of theatrical spectacle. He is seen at work on his play, Yonadab, in the weeks leading up to its opening night. Specially-staged extracts from Amadeus, Equus and The Royal Hunt of the Sun provide the basis for a discussion of his work.
Stephen Spender
A prominent member of the generation of writers who emerged after the First World War, British poet Stephen Spender (1909-95) has often been described as the conscience of the thirties, the turbulent decade which saw the rise of Hitler, Franco and Fascism. Returning to the places which influenced his early life and work, he talks about his political and artistic concerns during that period and recollects his friendships with contemporaries, including W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood.
King Lear
Shakespeare’s tragedy is one of the finest pieces of theatre of all time. To explore the play’s enduring significance, this programme recorded work in progress on a Royal National Theatre production, directed by David Hare, with Anthony Hopkins in the title role. Some of the great Lears of the past are seen on archive film, including Olivier, Scofield and Hordern, and directors Peter Brook and Jonathan Miller discuss their acclaimed interpretations of the work.