Linton Kwesi Johnson / John Cooper Clarke (Late Night from Two)
Linton Kwesi Johnson / John Cooper Clarke (Late Night from Two)
(Late Night from 2)
Granada Television's weekday afternoon chat show Live from Two spawned a late evening offshoot in 1982, with a younger studio audience and some slightly more challenging guests. This edition features a rare TV interview with dub poet legend Linton Kwesi Johnson, alongside the shock-haired 'bard of Salford', John Cooper Clarke (incongruously preceded by Call My Bluff regular Arthur Marshall). The two were the leading lights in the performance poetry scene of the late 1970s and early 80s, enjoying a surprise boom as part of the creative renewal fostered by punk.
LKJ (introduced by host Shelley Rhode as 'Lindon') performs his strikingly radical poem 'Di Great Insohreckshan', a celebration of the 1981 Brixton Riots, while Cooper Clarke delivers his comic ode 'The Day My Pad Went Mad' at characteristic machine-gun pace. In between, the two fend of Rohde's scepticism about the entertainment value of their poetry, and talk about their combining of poetry with music - an intrinsic part of Jamaican culture, says Johnson, who welcomes the way it also enables him to 'build a bridge between poetry and music audiences'. For Cooper Clarke, reciting with a band will always take second place to his text-heavy solo performances: 'I kind of like to cram a lot of words into a very short space of time.' As a bonus for JCC fans, there's a brief (and slightly alarming) glimpse of the eyes behind the iconic shades.
Late Night from 2 proved surprisingly welcoming to the post-punk scene - The Stranglers, Gang of Four and XTC all performed - perhaps thanks to the hidden influence of Factory Records impresario and Granada regular Tony Wilson, an occasional contributor to the programme.
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)