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.
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LifestyleTranscript
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)