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This Classical Life with Brit Folk singer Olivia Chaney

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Jess Gillam is joined by folk singer-songwriter Olivia Chaney to swap their favourite tracks.

Jess’s guest this week is the folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Olivia Chaney, who was born in Florence and grew up in Oxford. She’s collaborated with artists including Kronos Quartet, Nico Muhly and The Decemberists (earning a Grammy nomination for her project with the latter, Offa Rex). Her third studio album Circus of Desire is out now, and was produced by frequent collaborator Thomas Bartlett (Sufjan Stevens, Sam Amidon, Florence and the Machine). Jess and Olivia’s musical picks range from Bartók reimagined for the mandolin, to the Miles Davis Quintet, via a fantasia by Purcell, maximalist minimalism from Louis Andriessen, and the perfect love song from Joni Mitchell.

LISTEN at the Source: This Classical Life – Jess Gillam with… Olivia Chaney – BBC Sounds

Bernard Hill: Titanic and Lord of the Rings actor dies

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Actor Bernard Hill, best known for roles in Titanic and Lord of the Rings, has died aged 79.

Bernard Hill enjoyed a career spanning decades in film and television. He played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film and King Théoden in the Lord of the Rings.

His breakout role was in 1982 BBC TV drama Boys from the Blackstuff, where he portrayed Yosser Hughes, a character who struggled – and often failed – to cope with unemployment in Liverpool.

He died early on Sunday morning, his agent Lou Coulson confirmed.

Alan Bleasdale, who wrote Boys from the Blackstuff, said Hill’s death was “a great loss and also a great surprise”.

“It was an astonishing, mesmeric performance – Bernard gave everything to that and you can see it in all the scenes. He became Yosser Hughes.”

He added: “I was desperate to work with him. Everything he did – his whole procedure for working, the manner in which he worked and his performance was everything that you could ever wish for.

“You always felt that Bernard would live forever. He had a great strength, physically and of personality.”

TCD/Alamy Bernard Hill in Lord of the Rings
TCD/Alamy | Bernard Hill in full flow as King Théoden in the Lord of the Rings

Hill, who was from Manchesterand lived in Suffolk, was due to return to TV screens in series two of The Responder, a BBC drama starring Martin Freeman, which begins airing on Sunday.

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, paid tribute to him, saying: “Bernard Hill blazed a trail across the screen, and his long-lasting career filled with iconic and remarkable roles is a testament to his incredible talent.”

“From Boys from the Blackstuff, to Wolf Hall, The Responder, and many more, we feel truly honoured to have worked with Bernard at the BBC. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this sad time.”

In Boys from the Blackstuff, Hill drew praise for his gritty portrayal of Yosser Hughes, an intense and memorable character who pleaded “Gizza job” as he sought work.

That show won a Bafta for best drama series in 1983, and in 2000 it was ranked seventh on a British Film Institute list of the best TV shows ever made.

Another of Hill’s memorable BBC TV performances came in the 2015 drama series Wolf Hall, adapted from Hilary Mantel’s book about the court of Henry VIII. Hill portrayed the Duke of Norfolk – an uncle of Anne Boleyn and an enemy of Cardinal Wolsey.

Hill was also much loved for his performances in Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

He joined the cast for the second film, 2002’s The Two Towers, and returned to the franchise for 2003’s The Return Of The King, which picked up 11 Oscars.

Other roles in his decades-long career included the 1976 BBC TV series I, Claudius, an appearance in 1982’s Gandhi, Shirley Valentine in 1989, The Scorpion King in 2002 and 2008 Tom Cruise film Valkyrie.

Hill was meant to be at Comic Con Liverpool on Saturday, but had to cancel at the last minute, the convention said in a post on X. As news of his death broke, the organisers said on the platform they were “heartbroken” at Hill’s death, and wished his family “a lot of strength”.

Scottish musician Barbara Dickson also paid tribute on X, saying he was “a really marvellous actor”.

She added: “It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. RIP Benny x.”

Source: Bernard Hill: Titanic and Lord of the Rings actor dies

BBC is far from perfect, but it did give Ivor Cutler and Monty Python to the world

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The daft ditties of Glasgow’s Ivor Cutler and Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks might never have seen the light without the BBC, writes Aidan Smith.

By Aidan Smith | January 2020

The BBC is under threat. Yes, again. It’s not perfect. Sometimes it annoys and occasionally it infuriates. Like when the in-house diversity focus group decides – in the interests of inclusiveness for other minute markings on the clockface, presumably – that the new Crackerjack shouldn’t start at the sacred and literally time-honoured “five-to-five”. But think of this right now: we wouldn’t have had Terry Jones without the Beeb, nor Ivor Cutler.

I’m thinking of Ivor because he’s being celebrated by Celtic Connections with tomorrow’s performance in his Glasgow birthplace of a tribute album of his daft ditties and I’m thinking of Terry because like the Norwegian Blue parrot he’s no more, ceased to be, an ex-comedy genius.

Jones and the rest of Monty Python’s Flying Circus emerged, big foot bursting through a bucolic sky, at the end of a decade of merciless mirth at the expense of the natural order. Politicians were sent up by the satire boom and then Python set up the Ministry of Silly Walks. The government of the day, still believing in deference, was appalled at this snook-cocking by the state broadcaster. The government of this day, even though it controls much of its own message, still manages to be appalled by the Beeb and perceived bias and is planning stiff retribution.

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