Runrig to Robbie Coltrane

From the collection of

National Library of Scotland

Scotland’s national collection of moving image is based at the National Library at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. The National Library of Scotland collects, preserves and promotes access to films capturing Scotland and her people, from the early days of film making to the present day, with over 48,000 items captured on film, videotape and digitally. Manuscript, printed material and memorabilia relating to the history of filmmaking and the cinema going business in Scotland since 1896 are also part of the collection. You can watch over 3,500 clips and full-length films on the Moving Image Archive catalogue or to explore even more of the collections visit Kelvin Hall.

Runrig to Robbie Coltrane

What's the gossip? A fascinating compilation of interviews from Grampian TV, featuring Robbie Coltrane, Margaret Thatcher, Willie Miller, among many others.

This selection of talking head interviews, compiled from Grampian Television news items between 1989 and 1990, includes conversations with footballers, Ministers of Parliament, Celtic rock band Runrig, National Health Service (NHS) workers and actor Robbie Coltrane, among many others.

This compilation tape is one of almost 2,000 such tapes preserved at the National Library of Scotland. Grampian Television transferred content from mostly news and arts output onto a single videotape. These tapes record audiovisuals in the form of interior shots, interviews, exterior shots, and occasionally, material from external source such as ITN or advertisers.

For example, a tape can jump from colour bars to a scenic view, from an interview with a prominent figure to a live performance - usually without context or guidance on what you're seeing and when it was recorded (although Grampian did keep detailed logs of timecoded content on each tape with recording (?) dates attached. Due to their age and format, some of these recordings may now have visible video dropout, splashes, tape wrinkles, and visual distortion, among other technical issues.

Tapes digitised for preservation and viewable on BFI Replay are mostly Betacam SP. These compilation tapes provide a rare, informative, and fascinating look at how complete news stories were archived by a regional broadcaster, and they are still likely to contain a little untransmitted material.

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From the collection

Let Them Talk: TV Chat Shows

Celebrating the gift of the gab through decades of studio chat.

For as long as there’s been television, there’s been talk – in many ways the formative influence on the small screen wasn’t film, but radio. But the modern chat show was forged in the age of mass television and the rise of celebrity culture in the later 20th century. Ready access to generations of stars and insatiable public curiosity about them has made chat shows a gift that keeps giving. For broadcasters, of course, stardom is an easy route to audiences. For guests, a seat on the armchair or sofa is a chance to self-promote, to plug a new film, book or record... or to rescue a flagging career. Audiences, meanwhile, can hope for a surprise revelation, a glimpse of the ‘real’ person behind the celebrity mask, or just enjoy the illusion that these sparkling stars are guests in our own living rooms. We can chart the changes in the celebrity weather through decades of chat show guests. We might recognise the Hollywood stars, pop icons or sporting legends who made up the ‘A-list’ of decades ago, but often it’s the less guarded ‘B-listers’ (or below) who can intrigue us most, with a well-turned story, a flash of wit, or an insight into what it’s like to live a life in the public eye.

22 videos in this collection

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Victoria Wood & Julie Walters (Live from Two

  • 1982
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Reeves & Mortimer / Nirvana (Tonight with Jonathon Ross)

  • 1991
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Alan Bennett / Jackie Collins (The Russell Harty Show)

  • 1977
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Catherine Deneuve / Anthony Hopkins (Aspel & Company)

  • 1991
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Appointment with John Freeman

  • 1961
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Michael Palin (Live from Two)

  • 1981
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Emma Thompson / policing (The Frost Programme)

  • 1993
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Linton Kwesi Johnson / John Cooper Clarke (Late Night from Two)

  • 1982
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Jilly Cooper / Jean Rook (Calendar People)

  • Leeds
  • 1975
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Vanessa Redgrave / Mick Hucknall (Aspel & Company)

  • 1992
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Sir Len Hutton

  • Leeds
  • 1975
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Dennis Potter / Natalie Cole (Russell Harty)

  • 1976
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Anthony Daniels (Kelly)

  • Belfast
  • 1997
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Jack Ashley (Live from Two)

  • 1980
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James Herriot

  • Leeds
  • 1975
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Bob Hoskins / Hugh Laurie (Aspel & Company)

  • 1991
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Appointment with Victor Gollancz

  • 1962
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Pat Phoenix &Tony Booth (Live from Two)

  • 1980
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Ian Carmichael / Brian Rix (Calendar People)

  • Leeds
  • 1975
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Diana Ross / Shirley MacLaine (Aspel & Company)

  • 1992
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Best of the Stark Truth

  • 1998
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Runrig to Robbie Coltrane

  • 1989
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