0:00:06 > 0:00:10For more than half a century, the BBC has captured the changing
0:00:10 > 0:00:14face of everyday life in Londonderry and the north-west.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16In good times and bad times,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19this vibrant region has given us
0:00:19 > 0:00:22some of our finest singers and writers.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28These are the archives and those were the days.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32I think it's absolutely crucial
0:00:32 > 0:00:35that we hold on to, erm,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37really unique...
0:00:37 > 0:00:39moments in time.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45I think that it's wonderful to have these archives
0:00:45 > 0:00:49and these films to look back on because that's who we are.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Memories, you know, it says memories are made of this,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59the old song, and it's very appropriate, that,
0:00:59 > 0:01:03because if you haven't got memories, then you have nothing.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14The world may have been reeling from the swinging '60s,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18but back home in Derry, an altogether more sedate melody
0:01:18 > 0:01:21was providing a different soundtrack for the uncertain '70s.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Its singer...
0:01:23 > 0:01:25a certain Miss Rosemary Brown,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28better known as Dana.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30This teenage schoolgirl from Derry
0:01:30 > 0:01:34won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38And even before her feet had touched the tarmac at Ballykelly airfield,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41BBC cameras were there to see Dana delight waiting fans
0:01:41 > 0:01:45with an encore of her chart-topping hit.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51It was an extraordinary experience coming back because going,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I think it was two cleaning ladies and a porter who waved us goodbye!
0:01:57 > 0:01:58And when we arrived in Ballykelly,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01then all the people meeting me
0:02:01 > 0:02:03were people I knew.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07You know, that for me, was very emotional.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10# Sailboats and fishermen
0:02:10 > 0:02:13# Things of the sea
0:02:13 > 0:02:17# Wishin' wells, weddin' bells... #
0:02:17 > 0:02:20'When I won Eurovision, I remember feeling
0:02:20 > 0:02:22'that it wasn't just for me,'
0:02:22 > 0:02:27you know, it was for everyone who had been through such terrible times.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30# All kinds of everything
0:02:30 > 0:02:33# Remind me of you. #
0:02:33 > 0:02:37In a way, it was the true identity of the people of Northern Ireland
0:02:37 > 0:02:40and the true identity of the people of Derry
0:02:40 > 0:02:44and the feeling of sharing this was so strong.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47And it wasn't just Dana who connected Derry
0:02:47 > 0:02:49with the world's most enduring song contest.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Composer and compatriot, Phil Coulter,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54who arranged All Kinds Of Everything,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56had triumphed at Eurovision
0:02:56 > 0:03:00with a shoeless Sandie Shaw classic, just three years earlier.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02'I think it's quite unique, you know,'
0:03:02 > 0:03:07that Derry has kind of an ongoing thread with Eurovision.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Of course, beginning with Phil Coulter who...
0:03:10 > 0:03:13the song he had co-written, Puppet On A String.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17# I-I-I wonder if one day that
0:03:17 > 0:03:20# You say that you care
0:03:20 > 0:03:23# If you say you love me madly I'll gladly be there
0:03:23 > 0:03:29# Like a puppet on a stri-i-ng... #
0:03:29 > 0:03:33'Winning Eurovision, I mean, we were so proud of that.'
0:03:33 > 0:03:35I mean, it was incredible, the first win for England,
0:03:35 > 0:03:39but one of the co-writers was a Derry man so we were so proud.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44# One day I'm feeling down on the ground
0:03:44 > 0:03:47# Then I'm up in the air... #
0:03:47 > 0:03:50The system for choosing the song for the Eurovision
0:03:50 > 0:03:56back in 1967 was that the BBC announced,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59we have chosen Sandie Shaw to represent United Kingdom
0:03:59 > 0:04:01in this year's Eurovision.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05We're inviting songs from, you know, songwriters out there.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Make your demo and send it in, no names,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11so that everybody got a crack at the whip.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14# A puppet on a string... #
0:04:14 > 0:04:17So when we sat down to write Puppet On A String, I think,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21the smart thing was... I can well remember the discussion with
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Bill Martin, he said, you know, everybody is going to try
0:04:25 > 0:04:27and write a Sandie Shaw song.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Everybody is going to listen to Sandie Shaw hits and try
0:04:30 > 0:04:32and write a Sandie Shaw song. We should be smarter than that,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36because this is not about Sandie Shaw, this is about the Eurovision.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39# I'm all tied up in you
0:04:39 > 0:04:42# But where is it leading me to? #
0:04:42 > 0:04:44Eurovision had been won maybe two or three years
0:04:44 > 0:04:47previously by Luxembourg and a song called
0:04:47 > 0:04:49"Poupee De Cire Poupee De Son",
0:04:49 > 0:04:51which was a little kind of a cutesy thing.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53I said that's the way we have got to go.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56# Madly, I'll gladly be there
0:04:56 > 0:04:59# Like a puppet on a string... #
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Part of the other research was another big song
0:05:01 > 0:05:05out of Eurovision was a song called Volare
0:05:05 > 0:05:07and that started with...
0:05:07 > 0:05:10# Vo-o-o-lare... # and I thought, I like that,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13that long note at the front, that's a good idea.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16# I-I-I wonder... #
0:05:16 > 0:05:20So we went, I-I-I wonder if one day...
0:05:20 > 0:05:23so, you know, it was carefully thought through.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Sandie helped secure Phil Coulter and songwriting partner,
0:05:27 > 0:05:32Bill Martin, a 1967 Eurovision win and the talented pair came
0:05:32 > 0:05:37a close second in '68 with Cliff Richard's Congratulations.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Global success followed with acts from Elvis to the Bay City Rollers
0:05:41 > 0:05:44recording their carefully crafted pop songs.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Meanwhile, BBC cameras could not get enough of Derry's Eurovision Queen,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52but a combination of unpredictable weather and an open-top car
0:05:52 > 0:05:54was the least of Dana's worries.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Hello. I am driving to the south coast to do a Sunday concert.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02And I know it looks it looks a bit dull,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05but the weathermen have promised some bright intervals later.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08So, let's see if we can find some.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10'I loved that series, A Day With Dana.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15It was a totally unique series. I don't think they have one like it,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17'before or since.'
0:06:17 > 0:06:19# Winter froze the rivers
0:06:19 > 0:06:22# And winter birds can sing
0:06:22 > 0:06:25# If winter makes you shiver
0:06:25 > 0:06:27# Well time is going to bring the spring... #
0:06:27 > 0:06:31'The series was built around me driving throughout the country
0:06:31 > 0:06:34'and stopping here and there and ending up with a concert.'
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Unfortunately, what they didn't know
0:06:36 > 0:06:38was that I didn't have a driving licence.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41# If he swears he'll never marry
0:06:41 > 0:06:44# Says that cuddles are a curse... #
0:06:44 > 0:06:48So on the first day when I'm driving, singing live to a backing track,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51I had an L plate on the side of the car,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55the camera would not pick up and I had a petrified soundman,
0:06:55 > 0:07:00crunched up in the driver's... you know, seat beside me,
0:07:00 > 0:07:05petrified, and I am driving and I am singing
0:07:05 > 0:07:07and I thought to myself,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11this cannot be real, you know, this just cannot be real.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15But challenging for me, but moments I will never forget.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26As Dana gave way to disco,
0:07:26 > 0:07:31Derry in the '80s was as much about tradition as the pop charts.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Every Easter, the city's Guildhall saw thousands of young people bring
0:07:35 > 0:07:38their curls, clothes and choreography
0:07:38 > 0:07:40to the annual Derry Feis.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44# We're lost in music
0:07:44 > 0:07:48# Caught in a trap
0:07:48 > 0:07:52# No turning back
0:07:52 > 0:07:55# We're lost in music... #
0:07:55 > 0:07:58The Feis was the cultural highlight of the year.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02It involved at least one third of the population and several generations.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04There were the competitors themselves,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07usually quite young, then there were their mummies
0:08:07 > 0:08:10who carried all their costumes and all their bits and pieces
0:08:10 > 0:08:13and then there were the grannies who were there to applaud loudly
0:08:13 > 0:08:16and to criticise the adjudicators loudly!
0:08:16 > 0:08:20# Have you ever seen Some people lose everything
0:08:20 > 0:08:23# First to go is their mind... #
0:08:23 > 0:08:27When you walked into the Guildhall at the time of the Feis,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29it was mayhem.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36In the corridors, there were so many people, there would be
0:08:36 > 0:08:41Irish dancers there or there would be kids rehearsing their songs.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45The corridor, of course, was the social avenue
0:08:45 > 0:08:47on which everyone paraded.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49The children practised,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53you were in severe danger of being danced to death
0:08:53 > 0:08:58by kids practising for the 16 handreel, and all 16 of them
0:08:58 > 0:09:00were coming towards you like a tsunami!
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Among these fearless young competitors were singer,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06Patricia O'Donnell,
0:09:06 > 0:09:11French Horn player, Paul Goodman, and Irish dancer, Melissa Bond.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Decades before the days of reality TV,
0:09:14 > 0:09:19the BBC cameras were there to follow every well-drilled move.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22It was a great opportunity for the three of us at the time,
0:09:22 > 0:09:27because there was not much filming on those aspects being done
0:09:27 > 0:09:31and Derry was a new kind of concept and you were thrilled to be
0:09:31 > 0:09:35asked, and TV were going to come and follow you and see what you did,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38what your hobbies were and how you got on at your practice
0:09:38 > 0:09:41and then follow you through into a competition at the Derry Feis.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Melissa, I think we'll start with the Kilkenny Races
0:09:44 > 0:09:47for this coming Feis.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51It's a favourite dance of mine and I have done well with it before,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53but I know that you also like the music of it.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57'It made me very proud seeing the part with my mother
0:09:57 > 0:10:02and me in it, because she wanted to do the thing right for my sake
0:10:02 > 0:10:04and I don't want to let her down, so I am trying to do the thing
0:10:04 > 0:10:07right for her sake, and I'm afraid to smile and I'm afraid to talk
0:10:07 > 0:10:09and I'm afraid to say anything!
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Here I am, trying to do what I'm supposed to be doing!
0:10:12 > 0:10:15HER MOTHER HUMS
0:10:15 > 0:10:19It's lovely looking back on that, you know, my mother looks so young!
0:10:19 > 0:10:21It was lovely.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32At the time of making The Gates of Derry, I learned the horn
0:10:32 > 0:10:34with my father, he was my teacher.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Sometimes it was very handy
0:10:40 > 0:10:44having your teacher live in the same house. Sometimes not!
0:11:03 > 0:11:05APPLAUSE
0:11:05 > 0:11:07He's a very promising player
0:11:07 > 0:11:11and he's, of course, getting a first prize with 87 marks.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13APPLAUSE
0:11:13 > 0:11:15It was nice to win it.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19I think I was the only one in for that competition!
0:11:24 > 0:11:28# Oh, I'll not sit on... #
0:11:28 > 0:11:31The thing about the Feis...
0:11:31 > 0:11:33you expected to win, you know,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35you were geared up, you were in for a competition
0:11:35 > 0:11:40and you were used to getting a prize of some description, whether you got
0:11:40 > 0:11:45first, second, you were used and that particular competition, I didn't win.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50What did the adjudicator say about your performance?
0:11:50 > 0:11:51I've got my wee sheet here.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55I'll quote it.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59"There's a certain hoarseness in the voice.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03"The voice sounds as though it needs a long rest." So he noted it.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06I took a ten-minute rest and went in for the next competition
0:12:06 > 0:12:09and came third. With a different adjudicator!
0:12:09 > 0:12:12The thing is my parents would have said the adjudicator was
0:12:12 > 0:12:17sitting on his ears. You know! It wasn't your fault.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19The adjudicator didn't have good judgement,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23but if you won, the adjudicator was right!
0:12:23 > 0:12:28The Feis highlighted varying degrees of onstage success.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30But the local theatre scene
0:12:30 > 0:12:33saw one of its own sons achieve worldwide acclaim -
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Brian Friel.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39# The changing of sunlight... #
0:12:39 > 0:12:42This former Derry teacher penned some of the 20th century's
0:12:42 > 0:12:45most evocative Irish plays.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53And in 1971, the famously private playwright allowed BBC Northern Ireland
0:12:53 > 0:12:58a rare glimpse into the mindset of this most modest of men.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03It's such a rare thing to see Brian Friel do an interview
0:13:03 > 0:13:06for television at all, and he hasn't done one for years
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and years and years and won't ever do one again, I imagine.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13But I found that portrait really so very frank.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18Well, I think for a period, I was going along what I thought
0:13:18 > 0:13:21was a reasonably logical kind of course,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24and then I deviated with one play
0:13:24 > 0:13:26which was The Mundy Scheme.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28I regret that play now.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31I love the fact that the two, the interviewer
0:13:31 > 0:13:34and Brian, are kind of bunched together in two seats.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36They're really snug together going, hello!
0:13:36 > 0:13:41Yes and he is talking and I am just thinking, oh, I would love,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45love, love to have been that person sitting there talking to him,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47so frankly, so genuinely.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Why do you regret The Mundy Scheme?
0:13:49 > 0:13:52I regret it because it should have been better.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55I think it was half good, but that's not good enough.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59He said that his first play, he completely dismissed it
0:13:59 > 0:14:00and said it was no good.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04And that...just blew me away, you know,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07to hear him talk in such a way
0:14:07 > 0:14:11with such feeling, with such passion,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14it was so intimate and so special
0:14:14 > 0:14:18that I was so, so delighted to see it.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23His portfolio of plays has been performed far and wide,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26from Buncrana to Broadway.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And as this BBC documentary discovered,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Friel ensured his work translated seamlessly from script to stage.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Brian has always paid huge attention
0:14:36 > 0:14:40to the rehearsals of his own works.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44He takes every syllable of every word very seriously
0:14:44 > 0:14:48and I loved his analogy of... He said, an oboe player does not
0:14:48 > 0:14:53come in and decide that he's going to leave or change a bit of Mozart.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57I have yet to meet an oboe player who will take a Mozart concerto
0:14:57 > 0:15:01and say, I don't like this phrase, so I'll change it, I'll cut it.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06We constantly have this situation where directors and actors think,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I don't like that phrase, I don't like the way that line is written.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13We'll change it, we'll cut it, we'll add to it. This is nonsense.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15'I see where he's coming from 100%, in his own plays.'
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Why should somebody cut or edit words that he has spent hours,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21weeks, months, for somebody
0:15:21 > 0:15:24to come in and say, "We'll snip that bit out". I don't think so.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28# If I listen long enough to you... #
0:15:30 > 0:15:36The cameras kept rolling as Friel welcomed viewers in through the doors of his Donegal retreat,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39nestled on the shores of Lough Foyle.
0:15:42 > 0:15:48Surrounded by manuscripts and no doubt inspired by his quiet, rural surroundings,
0:15:48 > 0:15:53this father of five shared everything from the uniquely insightful
0:15:53 > 0:15:55to the deliciously mundane.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58To allow a crew into your house is quite a thing.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01You're exposing a lot of yourself not alone into your house,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05but to allow them into your bathroom to see you shaving.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08It's kind of great.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14I think very much of its time, that film,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16I don't think we would see programmes like that now.
0:16:16 > 0:16:24People would be much more cautious about letting the crew into that domestic world.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35The fact he was out weeding his garden.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Brian Friel, the playwright, weeds his garden!
0:16:39 > 0:16:42And the dog, and he was in his wellies... I loved that.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45While you had this access to Friel, they weren't going overboard about it
0:16:45 > 0:16:49and literally in every nook and cranny of his house.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53There was a sense of familiarity with him
0:16:53 > 0:16:57and allowing him to let us see him.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02# If I listen long enough to you
0:17:02 > 0:17:08# I'd find a way to believe that it's all true... #
0:17:11 > 0:17:17I found it just such an open and candid denoument of himself.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22I learnt a lot about Brian from that and he's a man I know well.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35As they did with Brian Friel, Donegal lured many
0:17:35 > 0:17:39with its rugged beauty and measured pace of life.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43So close to its urban neighbour,
0:17:43 > 0:17:48yet a world away from Derry's bustling streets and festering turmoil.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52The call of Donegal was one few Maiden City natives could resist.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Most people who are from Derry,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00they automatically feel they're also from Donegal.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02There's a very strong connection.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05I think Siamese twins is the only way I could explain it!
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Donegal was never a place apart.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14If you walk in one of any three directions from the centre of Derry, from Guildhall Square,
0:18:14 > 0:18:15you're in Donegal.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18It was a place you could walk to,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20to do a bit of shopping on a Sunday afternoon.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22It's not far away, it's not alien to you.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27And because Donegal had different licensing hours,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31later licensing hours, pubs opened on a Sunday in Donegal.
0:18:32 > 0:18:38Because of that, once you reached a drinking age, you could be living in Derry
0:18:38 > 0:18:42but doing your growing up, or an awful lot of it, in Donegal.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Donegal was always the place that you wanted a second home,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52if you could afford it, of course.
0:18:52 > 0:18:58But most people, a lot of people in Derry have got mobile homes of caravans in Donegal
0:18:58 > 0:19:01and... If I ever make money,
0:19:01 > 0:19:06that's where I'm going to go, Donegal.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10# There's no place else on earth
0:19:10 > 0:19:16# Just like the homes of Donegal... #
0:19:18 > 0:19:22Stonewall cottages are reminders of age-old traditions
0:19:22 > 0:19:25before the onset of modern life.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Determined to capture the past, in 1980,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32BBC producer David Hammond documented a Donegal
0:19:32 > 0:19:37whose Artisans as well as homesteads were fast becoming a rare commondity.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43I loved the film because I liked its sense of pace.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Unrushed, as was David's Hallmark.
0:19:47 > 0:19:53I loved the respect that was paid to the houses in Donegal.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57The roof of the house is thatch.
0:19:57 > 0:20:04It is held on here with ropes and these ropes are held by stone pins
0:20:04 > 0:20:11known locally as baghans, which are held in the wall themselves.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13I loved the detail when he talked about the baghan,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15I found that very informative.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Those scenes that we see, those big wide scenes,
0:20:21 > 0:20:24where we see thatched cottages, such a thing of the past,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28and the trade of the thatcher is gone.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31I was talking to somebody in Donegal recently who was telling me
0:20:31 > 0:20:35they were going to bring in somebody from Germany to thatch a house.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38It has gone, really, from the country.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42As magnificently coiffed as his cottage creations,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Donegal weaver Patrick McMenamin shared the dying art of thatching
0:20:46 > 0:20:50with a curious BBC reporter and his equally enchanted viewers.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52You've learned to thatch yourself?
0:20:52 > 0:20:54A bit, I can do a bit of thatching all right.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58The thatcher, I loved his shirt. A great shirt.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00I want one of those shirts!
0:21:00 > 0:21:04How do you fix the thatch onto the roof?
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Every layer of thatch you put on, you put on a scallop across
0:21:08 > 0:21:11and two or three for a clasp.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14He's telling us how you thatch.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18Wouldn't it have been much handier to go to a roof?
0:21:18 > 0:21:23You sharpen it with a knife. At each end, so it will go through.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26You place that one and you bend one over the top.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30'He has these sticks or something in his hand and he's telling you,'
0:21:30 > 0:21:33I bend it over this way and I put it in here and then I push that in there
0:21:33 > 0:21:38and then I press the whole lot down, and he does this...
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Why not just give him some thatch?! Show us how you do it.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45No, let's pretend.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50Patrick, what about the walls and the decoration of the walls outside?
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Yes, there we always use whitewash, ordinary lime.
0:21:54 > 0:22:00To see Paddy McMenamin, the thatcher, I love Paddy's shirt, as well,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04and he's a great dancer, a terrific dancer.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06I see him dancing in Donegal every winter.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Light of foot.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Donegal has long harboured those of a somewhat mysterious disposition.
0:22:14 > 0:22:22So, who better than Gerry Anderson to unearth one particularly unconventional guest?
0:22:22 > 0:22:24I know the fairies play a big, important part in your life.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28As a matter of fact, you could say that they rule it.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31- Didn't they bring you here? - Yes, they did, definitely.
0:22:31 > 0:22:36Let's take this from the very start - when did you first become aware that they were there,
0:22:36 > 0:22:38that there were fairies?
0:22:38 > 0:22:40The first time I actually saw fairies was when I was eight.
0:22:40 > 0:22:47They looked like tiny monks. They were in brown with cowls on them.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50They were walking in single file, and we saw them
0:22:50 > 0:22:53and we knew that these were not people.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58She was the one who told me, this wasn't in the programme,
0:22:58 > 0:23:00she told me there were three different types of fairies.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Some little tiny fairies who wear cowls over their heads
0:23:03 > 0:23:06and other medium-sized fairies that are the fairies we know,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09and then there are others that are 15-foot tall.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12I remember saying to her, it would be very hard to conceal a 15-foot tall fairy,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14and she said, I think you're probably right.
0:23:14 > 0:23:20Anybody who believed in the fairies or anybody who worked with nature spirits
0:23:20 > 0:23:22wouldn't say anything about it.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27Because they were afraid of being ridiculed, but a few years ago,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31the fairies said, come out of the closet.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33'She talked about the fairies coming out of the closet!'
0:23:39 > 0:23:44From mystical sightings to the small screen debut of a local legend.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Amid this convoy of Irish country idols,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51the Make Mine Country juggernaut was about to set up in Coleraine
0:23:51 > 0:23:53and witness the birth of a star.
0:23:55 > 0:23:581988, the Riverside Theatre, Make Mine Country,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01it's a date that should be remembered by everybody.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03This is a hugely significant moment
0:24:03 > 0:24:05in the history of Northern Ireland broadcasting.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08The first television appearance of the Wee Man from Strabane.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11The Wee Man from Strabane, Hugo Duncan!
0:24:19 > 0:24:23# Darling, since you left me, I'm so sad and blue
0:24:23 > 0:24:28# I count my memories one by one with photographs of you... #
0:24:28 > 0:24:29'He looks like an extra from Goodfellas,
0:24:29 > 0:24:34'he has the shiny suit and the white shoes. He is done up to the nines.'
0:24:34 > 0:24:37He's got the shirt open to the waist, right down to the navel.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39He has the old chest rug going on.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44# Though you found a new love, no-one can take away... #
0:24:44 > 0:24:48People are going to remember his name and even if they don't,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50he has it on a little gold chain around his neck, just in case.
0:24:50 > 0:24:56# I can hear you whisper and I can hear you laugh
0:24:56 > 0:25:00# But I realise through misty eyes, it's just your photograph... #
0:25:00 > 0:25:05It was so difficult to get on TV and I was delighted to get on Make Mine Country
0:25:05 > 0:25:06with my big black beard
0:25:06 > 0:25:10and my black hair and my blue suit and white shoes.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13- Sure, I thought I was Elvis! - HE LAUGHS
0:25:13 > 0:25:16# Pictures from the past bring back memories... #
0:25:19 > 0:25:24The song I sang that night was a song called Pictures From The Past.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27This is the song we were actually told to sing.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30At that time, if they had told me to sing Three Blind Mice
0:25:30 > 0:25:33to get on TV, I would have sang it.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38# It's all that I have left of you Our pictures from the past... #
0:25:38 > 0:25:42'He's an absolute natural and it's the first appearance
0:25:42 > 0:25:45'of a broadcasting legend, and it should go down in the history books.'
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Make Mine Country, 1988, Hugo Duncan arrives!
0:25:50 > 0:25:55Almost a decade later, and Uncle Hugo was a regular on our screens.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Not even the dismal Donegal weather
0:25:58 > 0:26:03can dampen the Strabane singer's spirits during one particularly rain sodden episode
0:26:03 > 0:26:05of Anderson on the Road.
0:26:05 > 0:26:13Anderson on the Road in Buncrana was probably the worst day ever God sent, weather-wise.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15It was a complete downpour.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18# Why does it always rain on me?
0:26:18 > 0:26:22# Is it because I lied when I was 17? #
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Sometimes when you do a live programme like that,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28you have to deal with what God send you.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33It was horrendous but when I look at it, I thought it was worse than it was.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Or maybe you don't agree!
0:26:39 > 0:26:43# When the clouds began to gather and the thunder it did roar
0:26:43 > 0:26:45# Barney MacShane came down the lane... #
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Poor wee Hugo Duncan, he nearly got electrified.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50His stage was sinking into the mud!
0:26:50 > 0:26:54# We'll cuddle up together We'll talk about the weather
0:26:54 > 0:26:59# Barney dear, there's a queer... #
0:26:59 > 0:27:03I was jumping about that much, that the stage was going down and down.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05It was just good fun to do.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15The song fitted in very well because the song said,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17"Come in out of the rain Barney MacShane."
0:27:17 > 0:27:21It should have said, come in, Hugo Duncan, you eejit, out of the rain!
0:27:23 > 0:27:26The band was soaking and the cameramen and the sound men,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30everybody was soaking, but it was enjoyable.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38I've always enjoyed working with Gerry, I've worked with him
0:27:38 > 0:27:40a number of times, and he has a great sense of humour.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43It is a peculiar sense of humour, but when you get used to it,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45you can accept it and you have to take what comes with it.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53Because of the weather, everything was forced, because everybody had to up their game
0:27:53 > 0:27:55and everybody had to pretend to be enjoying themselves.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58That's when I learned not to do any more live TV shows,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02in Buncrana, or anywhere, in the summer, in Ireland, ever again.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11From dancing to Dana, and all kinds of everything in between.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15The story of the North West's music and culture through the decades
0:28:15 > 0:28:18is the story of how we used to live.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Thanks to a rich archive and the magic of film,
0:28:21 > 0:28:24we can bring those bygone days back to life.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd