Reeves & Mortimer / Nirvana (Tonight with Jonathan Ross)

Reeves & Mortimer / Nirvana (Tonight with Jonathan Ross) (Tonight with Jonathan Ross)

Comedy duo Vic & Bob, at the peak of their powers, join Jonathan Ross and grunge legends Nirvana for chat and noise.

Jonathon Ross’s second chat show for Channel 4 imported the trappings of American talk shows such as Letterman – high desk, studio band and slightly risqué humour. This 1991 edition features Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, riding high after a stellar year, including a hugely successful tour on the back of their groundbreaking Channel 4 series Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out, and Reeves' number one hit single ‘Dizzy’ with The Wonder Stuff. Among the banter, the three reminisce about Ross’s previous vehicle, the shortlived One Hour with Jonathon Ross, which helped launch Vic & Bob to comedy superstardom.

The other highlight is a blistering performance from Nirvana, introduced without too much overstatement as ‘the biggest band in the world’ after their massive international hit ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. In characteristically contrary style, the band choose to play not ‘Lithium’ as billed, but the much fiercer LP track ‘Territorial Pissings’, before exiting in true rock’n’roll style, kicking over their amps and leaving a trail of lingering feedback behind them.

Also on the bill are horseracing pundit and noted eccentric John McRirick, and Monsieur Mange-Tout, a Frenchman who will truly eat anything, from aeroplanes to bicycles (but draws the line at bananas), and who during the interview (conducted via a translator) munches his way through a rose and a pair of reading glasses. At the close of the show Vic & Bob repay their debt to Ross, inviting him to join them to perform their would-be rock'n'roll classic 'Meals on Wheels'.

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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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