Local Legends

National World - Broadcast Video

We delve into the lives of remarkable individuals, exploring the impact they have on their cities and the reasons they have become beloved or infamous figures.

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 Every town and city has them, local characters

00:09 whose presence and stories become woven

00:11 into the fabric of the community.

00:13 These individuals, through their unique personalities, actions,

00:16 and often extraordinary circumstances,

00:19 transcend ordinary existence into becoming local legends.

00:23 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:28 This film delves into the lives of such remarkable individuals,

00:32 exploring the impact they have on their cities

00:34 and the reasons they become beloved or infamous figures.

00:37 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:40 Coming up, we'll meet a sporting hero in Leeds,

00:43 a legendary cafe owner in Glasgow,

00:45 and a pivotal figure in the two-tone music of the West

00:49 Midlands.

00:50 The next day, I found myself on stage

00:52 with Bill Haley and the Comets at a major London venue.

00:57 But first, a quick trip across the Mersey

00:59 to find a very unusual home.

01:04 From intricate murals depicting historical scenes

01:07 to handcrafted concrete fireplaces,

01:09 this home in Birkenhead has an incredible interior.

01:12 And it was all created by one man.

01:15 Ron died just before the lockdown.

01:18 And his niece discovered, after he died, when she came in,

01:23 she discovered this amazing emporium

01:26 dedicated to Greek, Egyptian, and Roman art

01:29 that her uncle Ron had created.

01:32 This ground floor flat was rented by Ron Gittins in 1986.

01:36 And he spent the next three decades

01:37 creating a visionary environment.

01:40 With limited formal artistic training,

01:42 he developed his own particular world,

01:44 articulated both through his flat

01:47 and through the creation of historic costumes.

01:50 The last time I saw Ron was at his sister

01:52 Pat's 80th birthday party.

01:54 I'm very friendly with Pat.

01:56 And her daughter, Jan, was there, and all the family.

01:59 And Ron arrived with two wigs on, and a hat,

02:01 and a Mr. Potato Head t-shirt, and a nice tweed jacket,

02:05 and a pair of wellies.

02:06 And that was quite common, really, for Ron.

02:08 Concealed for over 30 years within an unassuming Victoria

02:12 semi-detached villa, Ron meticulously

02:14 crafted this striking artwork, which

02:17 remained a secret until his death in 2019.

02:20 A postcard has been found from Ron saying,

02:23 I'm really looking forward to showing you the space.

02:26 But he sent it to the wrong address.

02:28 So she never got it.

02:30 So it actually sort of validates what's

02:33 happened now, that Jan has kind of brought

02:35 her uncle into the public eye.

02:37 Art permeates every corner here.

02:40 The result is a compelling, immersive space

02:42 that reflects Ron intense character,

02:44 combining his imaginative creative abilities

02:46 and abiding passion for history, following a visit

02:49 to Pompeii as a young man.

02:51 When I worked at the Williamson, he would quite often come in,

02:54 and he would have a wig on.

02:56 And he would chat to the guys at the front desk, Graham

02:59 and Stuart.

03:00 And he would talk with great knowledge about art,

03:03 so Egyptian art, Roman art.

03:05 After Ron's death, concerns were raised

03:07 that the unique work could be lost when the house was

03:10 put up for auction.

03:11 A campaign to save it was a success,

03:13 and it's now owned by rural arts and culture community

03:16 Land Trust.

03:17 We have two patrons, Martin Wallace, who's a filmmaker,

03:20 and Jarvis Coker.

03:22 Jarvis and Martin have gone all around the world looking

03:25 at outsider art spaces, and they've never found anything

03:28 like this in the UK.

03:30 It's now been granted grade two listing on the Advice

03:33 of Historic England.

03:34 The listing recognizes Ron's creation

03:36 as an exemplar of large scale outsider art.

03:45 Over to Leeds now, as we dig down

03:47 to the very grassroots of community football.

03:50 Being able to provide something for the community,

03:52 for everyone to be involved in, it makes it all worth it.

03:55 And the kids coming away with a smile on their faces,

03:58 regardless of whether they win, lose, draw, as long as they're

04:00 here, having fun with their friends,

04:02 that's all that matters to me.

04:03 When it comes to being a hero in the community,

04:06 Stacey Hubbard truly is a force for good.

04:09 Seacroft Community on Top, or SCOT for short,

04:12 has seen its activities expand for all ages.

04:15 Two years ago, we started with three football teams.

04:19 Since then, we have grown massive.

04:21 We have now 11 teams, 12 teams, can't really remember myself.

04:26 A lot more female participants, which

04:28 has been for us to be able to create all girls teams.

04:32 We didn't realize that it was needed as much as it is.

04:36 So yeah, it's been fantastic.

04:38 Dan's cheerleading gym and seated exercise sessions

04:42 are coordinated at the Dennis Healey Center.

04:44 And Stacey was crowned the Community Coach of the Year

04:47 at the Leeds Sports Awards 2024, with SCOT FC runners up

04:51 in the Community Club of the Year category.

04:54 It was so emotional.

04:56 I must have cried about 20 times before I got onto the stage.

04:59 I'm a loss for words.

05:00 I've never been lost for words in my life.

05:02 I was lost for words.

05:04 But yeah, it was an emotional roller coaster from the moment

05:08 that we got nominated to the night itself.

05:11 And even now, it's still like, wow, people still

05:13 say, oh, well done.

05:14 And it's like, oh, yeah, I forgot about that.

05:16 I've won that.

05:17 At first, when I started, I probably couldn't kick a ball.

05:21 I just doofed it up the pitch.

05:23 But now that Stacey's come and we've evolved,

05:27 everyone's evolved, I think Stacey just

05:30 made us all better players.

05:31 And I'd say where we are in our league right now

05:35 and how we're doing is pretty good.

05:37 She's brilliant, giving me the chance to be a coach.

05:40 Always has the coach's backs.

05:42 And she's always there with advice, what we need,

05:46 and just, yeah, just in general a really nice person.

05:49 She brings the equipment.

05:50 We bring the hard work.

05:52 She's also just--

05:53 I can't even think of a word.

05:55 She's just an amazing coach.

05:56 People say that all the time, that if it weren't for me,

05:59 this and that wouldn't happen.

06:00 But I always say, if it weren't for these guys wanting

06:02 to do it, then it wouldn't be where we are now.

06:05 So a massive thank you to all our volunteers, everybody

06:09 who comes and helps.

06:10 Because like I say, they are like gold dust.

06:13 We want to keep them forever.

06:14 So they're fantastic.

06:16 For me, I love what I do.

06:18 I will continue to do it going forward

06:21 till the foreseeable future.

06:25 Now, if there's such a thing as a food hero,

06:27 you might just find one at this cafe in Glasgow.

06:31 Hello there.

06:31 I'm Seamus McInnes, and I own Cafe Gundolfi

06:35 in the Merchant City.

06:36 Well, I'd studied hotel management

06:38 and studied as a chef.

06:39 I have a 706-2 City & Guilds.

06:42 And I needed a part-time job.

06:45 My younger sister was going--

06:47 was at Glasgow Uni, and her boyfriend at the time

06:50 was a part-time waiter here.

06:51 And he told me to get a job here, so I did.

06:54 I'm here virtually every day.

06:56 My children have worked for me.

06:58 My brother, even, at one stage.

07:00 I've got people like Stuart and Annemarie that

07:02 have worked here for 40 years.

07:04 So there's a consistency.

07:05 And I think that's what it is.

07:07 And it's a beautiful restaurant.

07:09 So I went off.

07:11 In Glasgow at that time, this was the place to come to.

07:15 It had a queue.

07:16 We didn't take bookings.

07:18 And, no, you'd have Annie Lennox and Billy Connolly

07:22 standing in a queue to come in.

07:25 I just loved it.

07:26 I loved the ethos of the place.

07:28 It's very fair.

07:30 And there's a kindness about it.

07:32 No one's really allowed to use bad language.

07:34 No one should ever shout.

07:36 So there's a camp.

07:38 It's changed a lot.

07:40 But it's still thriving.

07:42 It's just a really difficult time.

07:45 Just after the pandemic and everything just--

07:49 it's just hard.

07:50 And I think there's a lot of places that are struggling.

07:55 But we've got some fantastic restaurants.

07:57 Eusebi, I love.

07:59 Crab Shack.

08:00 How do you build that relationship with your customers

08:03 where they want to come back and--

08:06 Service.

08:08 --is what has to be.

08:10 And also because we are consistent as waiters

08:15 that we're here.

08:16 So you build up a relationship with people.

08:19 And we encourage repeat customs as much as possible.

08:24 Why do you live and breathe Gaffney and Dolfey, Seamus?

08:28 I love it.

08:30 And I hope that comes across to customers

08:33 and to you interviewing me.

08:37 Yeah, I feel very lucky to run such a special place.

08:41 And because we've been going for so long, since 1979,

08:45 people have a past with us, especially if you're my age.

08:51 And that's good.

08:52 Even young people have because they came in as babies

08:55 with their mom and dad.

08:57 So it's just what I do.

09:04 Lastly, an extraordinary career in the West Midlands

09:07 where the beat goes on.

09:10 It was a hobby.

09:11 I used to put artists on upstairs at the Fighting Cops

09:15 in Mosley.

09:16 And we ran a night for emerging songwriters in 1972.

09:25 And a chap saw me there who I didn't know.

09:28 And he said, would you like to be a roadie?

09:30 And I said, yes, I would.

09:32 And when do I start?

09:33 He said, tomorrow.

09:35 OK.

09:36 So the next day, I found myself on stage

09:39 with Bill Haley and the Comets at a major London

09:42 venue in a crash course of how to be a roadie.

09:46 Subsequently, I went on to be a rep selling records.

09:50 And then I became an agent.

09:53 And it was during my time as an agent

09:57 that I met people like the specials and selector

10:00 and the beat.

10:01 And I ended up managing the beats.

10:03 And then I had a bit of a break.

10:04 And then I managed Fine Young Cannibals.

10:07 And along the way, I launched Ocean Colour Scene.

10:11 So you played a pivotal role in launching

10:13 some of the region's most iconic artists,

10:16 with the two-tone scene becoming a significant cultural

10:19 milestone, especially concerning racial dynamics

10:23 and the societal changes that were happening at the time.

10:26 How do you perceive your legacy in shaping the music industry?

10:30 It was the most exciting time of my life.

10:34 We shared the politics.

10:36 We shared the love of dancing.

10:39 And I know we brought black and white people together,

10:44 black and white youngsters together,

10:46 in a way that hadn't happened before.

10:50 So you are originally from Birmingham.

10:52 You've made it your adopted home.

10:54 And you've become an integral part of its history.

10:57 In the late '60s, very early '70s, I was a bit of a hippie.

11:03 I was an ex-beach bum.

11:06 And a lot of my pals were going off on the trail

11:10 across deserts and goodness knows what,

11:12 through Iran and Iraq.

11:14 But then I got an invitation to come to Birmingham.

11:17 And as I spent my first few months in Birmingham,

11:20 I thought, I don't need to go anywhere.

11:22 I can meet everyone in the world,

11:24 because they all seem to come here eventually.

11:27 And sure enough, over the years,

11:30 I've met incredible people from all over the world.

11:33 You know, when you've worked alongside Nelson Mandela

11:36 and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,

11:39 then that's the pinnacle for me of my life in Birmingham.

11:44 And I'm so grateful to the city

11:47 for giving me those sort of opportunities.

11:49 (music)

11:54 (music)

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