Dracula really. Instead ola bat it‘s a snake. instead 01 a man it‘s a woman and I‘ve set it today instead ol1860. lt'sthe lirsl contemporary British lilm I‘ve made since the iirst lilm I made. French Dressing. We treated it asa land-based Loch Ness Monster.‘ Currently he's in the midst otlilming D.H.Lawrence's The Rainbow with Glenda Jackson and Elton John.
The reason tor this prolilic burst lrom a director who once seemed in danger ot extinction is the courageous support ol Vestron Pictures who have given him a tree hand to make what he desires as long as it is done cheaply. “Vestron is an American company that has been taken over by two lilmlans who used to run a chain 01 cinemas. They like mylilms and used to run lestivals ol them so. whenthey cameto power. they decided they wanted to work with their lavourite director. It‘s very unusual. Most studio executivesiust know about bottles ol coke but I'm very gratelul. lwake every morning. lace Hollywood and genullect because all the lilms I make in Britain are Americanlinanced.‘ (Allan Hunter).
PARTIN'G 0F
L
THE WAYS
' The much~heralded
splitting ol Radios Forth and
Clyde‘swavelengthsis
' upon us at last. with both
stations providing separate services on theirAM and FM
lrequencieslorlimited times every week. Forth‘s step into the
lutureolBritish broadcastingwastakenlast
Monday. with the adoption of Richard Branson‘s Radio
Radiopackagetotillthe
hours between 10pm and 5am each night on 97.3 FM. The Radio Radio package. launched with great lantare
3 by Branson. is carried by satellitelrom Paddingtonto
l
more than a dozen independent local radio stations around the country. and is crewed by personalities like Jonathan Ross. Ruby Wax. ‘Whispering‘ Bob Harris (presenting a mellow show 01 New Age. classic oldies and album tracks). the ground-breaking DJ Johnnie Walker. Diana Luke and Phil Kennedy. The FM service is described by Forth as ‘a more outrageous and brashercontemporary style‘. and is aimed ata younger. hipperaudience. Those who lind it not quite
Ken Russell
totheirtaste will be ableto enioythe banterol Forth regulars like Bill Torrance and Ken Haynes on the AM service (1548 AM/194 medium wave).
Explaining the move. Forth‘s Head olMusic. Colin Sommerville. says. ‘the plansto splitthe wavelengths have been on the go since the beginning olthe year. butthe government put backthe date when you had to use it or lose it. This is the only country where radio simulcasts (broadcasts the same on both wavelengths). Serving two markets isa microcosm olwhatwill happen eventually.‘
Over at Clyde. D-Day is August 12. whenthe FM wavelength will go its own way lrorn 4pm on Fridaysto midnighton Sundays. (102.5 FM) while the AM signal stays at1152. Clyde‘s Head olMusic. Graeme Morland. tinds a lot to looktorward to intheir new programmes.
‘Clyde FM will be lirstand loremost a last. exciting music station tor musically-aware people. Glasgow's one of the most musically-aware and exciting places inthe country. and Clyde FM will retlectthat.‘
Having had very little interest in taking on Branson‘s Radio Radio. Clyde have intended that the newlormatwill be lirmly grounded on music. Extensive use at CD is intended to make the most olthe FM quality. and coverage olAmerican music. soul. music news andlocalsoundsis planned. Keen to promote the talent on theirdoorstep. Clyde already have about two months worth 01 sessions in the can. notonly lrom well-known local groups like Deacon Blue. Hue and Cry and so on. but also the up-and-coming groups. Airtime is also being set aside lortop names and new bands recorded live in Scotland lor an “In Concert‘-type series. Negotiations. Morland says. are still carrying on with Phonographic Pertormance Ltd overthe amount olactual needletimethat can be allotted to records.
He denies. though. that as Forth seem to be doing. Clyde are aimingtheir services atditterentage groups.
'Not necessarily. We don‘twant to polarise things so that there will be a
r... .m‘pv-U cu-C wax-o-“ v-‘cx-‘a‘ ‘
‘ ’ I 5‘ w . x A \/ DU ‘ \
@FM lO
2.5
%4
lot at middle ground. Clyde FM will be a ditterentstyle. butlhere will be common ground between thetwo. We don‘twant to losethe identity at Clyde. (Mab)
SHAUN CATON
How do you express in art the desperate rot in modern Western society—the dereliction. poverty and displaced people that can belound in every British inner city? And how do you express youranger about these conditions and what the down-and-out hasto livethrough? Shaun Caton tries to express his leelings aboutwhat he sees about him in twenty-tour hour long pertormances. ‘living installations‘ that cross the boundary between art and pertormance—atrained artist. Caton telt he needed more than two-dimensions: ‘I wanted to really live it‘. Currently working on his sixty-eighth perlormance. Caton has appeared in Britain. Switzerland and Germany (the picture shows a perlormance in Berlin). This month he appears at the Transmission Gallery. Glasgow. in a twenty-tour hourpertormance in which he is surrounded by and interacts with materials he hastound in the area immediately surrounding the gallery. The aim isto create an environment and experiencethatthe audience will understand. It will be a darkand potentially distressing pertormance. but. Caton hopes. the more ellective torthat. For him. the experience is quite gruelling and taxing-he is one otseveral artists (Alastair McLennan being another) who literally live their art tor several days, devoting total concentration to it the Whole time. ‘ltis quite disorientating.‘ says Caton. ‘It takes a lew days to get back to normal.‘ His commitment alone lends strength to his meSsage. (Sarah Flemming). ‘Dark Side ol Dperations'. Transmission Gallery. Glasgow. Noon 6Aug— noon Mug.
Shaun Caton
SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY.
Alter weeks olspeculation as to why ‘Scots with a mind ottheir own' should. according to the adverts on buses. regard 7 August asa date to remember. all will be revealed this weekend with the launch 01 ‘Scotland On Sunday.‘
Although the combined sales at the Glasgow Herald and The Scotsman suggest that a similartype 01 Scottish Sunday paper would be viable. Scotland On Sunday is thelirst attempt to till this gap inthe market since the Sunday Standard popped its clogs a lew years back. The stall ol the new venture. needless to say. are conlident that it will not meetthe samelate asthe Standard. ‘We have produced seven dummy issues.‘ says deputy editor Brian Groom. ‘and the market research onthem has been most encouraging. So we‘re extremely optimistic.‘
While Groom describes Scotland On Sunday as ‘a pan-Scottish national paper'. some cynics might regard it as The Scotsman underanothername—atter all.the same company owns both titles. So launching on the eve ot the Edinburgh Festival will provide a good test olthe newspaper‘s ability to cover all parts 01
the country. and to achieve Groom‘s aim 01 a “blend ol Scottish. UK. and international news.‘
‘Readershipligures in excess ol250.000' isthe conlident expectation. and the target audience is ‘the youngish age-bracket‘. We old lags at The List wish a warm welcometothis cheeky young newcomer. (Stuart Bathgate).
FRINGE STOP-PRESS
The Edinburgh Fringe starts nextweek. butalready disaster has struck some companies. enlorcing cancellation. while others have crept onto the agenda. but been too late to make the Fringe programme. Below is a listot cancellations. additions and changes solar. Watch out lor continued details 01 last-minute changes in The List‘s nextlew issues:
I CANCELLATIONS: TRAVERSE THEATRE: Dwingto serious illness Open Space. Dbsala lrom Yugoslavia. who were a hit lastyearwith Tattoo Theatre. have suddenly had to cancel this year's premiere atthe Traverse. ASSEMBLY ROOMS: Foco Novo‘s Savannah Bay has canceHed.
OTHERS: Access Theatre's Laundry and Bourbon & Lone Starhas cancelled. Les Escogritte‘s Le Malentendu has cancelled. Everyman (His Own Wile) in Joys Satislied has cancelled. Kazzum‘s The Importance ol Oscarhas cancelled. Meet the Author has cancelled. Parkerand
, Klein at the Pleasance have
cancelled. United Artists (Scotland)‘s Howling To The Moon has cancelled.
WarwickUniversity's Agammemnon has canceHed.
l CHANGES:
ASSEMBLY ROOMS: Joan Collins will not appearon 15. 16& 17 Aug. butwill now appear on 25 & 26 Aug. 9.30pm. Red Shilt‘s Le Misanthrope will be atdpm. not6pm.
lADDlTlONS:
ASSEMBLY ROOMS: Clillhanger's Licensed to Look III will do extra pertormances on 21 . 22 & 23 Aug. at 9.30pm. Julia Fordham will do an extra on 24 Aug. 9.30pm. Malcolm Hardy and Satirical Swing will pertorm At Two inthe Afternoon trom 16 Aug-3 Sept. 2pm.
PLEASANCE: Dead Marilyn will do an extra weeklrom 21—27 Aug. 10.30pm. Lily& Mae lrom Australia will appearlrom 28 Aug—3 Sept at5pm. Martin Raphaelwill appearin Ragazzitrom 14—20 Aug & 28 Aug—3 Sept at 12.30pm. The Bodgers will present the band Vicky and the Vitals on 25 Aug at 11.30pm.
OTHERS: The Luckenbooth Players will present Midnight. Perestroika atSt Andrews & StGeorges Church trom 14 Aug—3 Sept atmidnight. The Cabbage Brothers will appear atthe Gilded Balloon on 15. 22 & 29 Aug at7.30pm.
The List 5— 11 August 19883