Episode 4 Out of the Blue

-Welcome to Out Of The Blue with Graham Little.

-And Joanne Salley.

Tonight we're live from Belfast.

They're about to hit the road with Gary Barlow

on his nationwide tour, so they must have the X Factor.

It's the Alabama sisters, The Pierces.

APPLAUSE

His work has been exhibited all over the world from the States to China,

but tonight sculptor Brendan Jamison

makes a 60-minute masterpiece out of...

Well, sugar, of course. He's not even a Cubist.

We'll see what he does in his own sweet way later

and tell you how you can own it.

And waitress to actress isn't myth.

Our sofa guest went from PizzaExpress tables

to the West End stage via the odd mountain top.

# The hills are alive with the sound of music. #

Yes, it's Connie Fisher.

APPLAUSE

-Hello, Connie.

-Hello. How are you?

Connie, we know you from your Welsh upbringing,

but a lot of people watching might not be aware that

you're a local girl born a few miles down the road.

I am. I was born in Lisburn.

I came back a couple of years ago with The Sound Of Music

to the Grand Opera House.

It was the first time I've been back in 26 years.

We left when I was quite young.

My dad was in the Army during the Troubles. 1983.

It was kind of tough.

We moved away quite quickly, but we have that Celtic connection I think,

living in Wales, and coming back to Ireland.

-It is very similar.

-It is quite. Very musical as well. Very musical.

It's quite an exciting place.

I brought my mum back on Mother's Day,

and we had an amazing time here in Ireland.

I think... It's nice.

-I'd like to bring my family back here one day and have a big reunion.

-Lovely.

-Have a cottage in the countryside.

-Yes!

Unless you have been on Planet Zog, you'll know

that one of the largest music events on this planet rocked Belfast last night.

It was, of course, the MTV European Music Awards

which saw a whole host of celebrities descend on the town.

Did you get up close and personal with an A-lister?

If so, we want your pictures. E-mail them to us at...

We will aim to show the best later on.

The more famous, of course, the better.

The awards last night could be the start

of a Northern Irish musical renaissance.

Our own musical expert Niamh Perry was there.

# Don't stop, make it rock

# DJ, blow my speakers up tonight... #

Tonight, as many as 1.2 billion eyes could be on Belfast

as the MTV European Music Awards rocked this city.

For one night only it is a billing that pop and rock fans

in Northern Ireland could usually only dream of.

Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Red Hot Chilli Peppers

and for all you Beliebers out there, Justin's here too.

Performing across three stages,

it's the biggest music event in our history.

MTV said it was the vibrant nightlife,

and compelling music scene of the city that attracted its attention.

And who could forget the infamous Rihanna music video

that she chose to film here.

# We found love in a hopeless place

# We found love in a hopeless place... #

So, is our wee city that would fit near enough 30 times into London,

on the verge of becoming a big-time musical Mecca?

Stranger things HAVE happened.

It started with Liverpool in the '60s,

then it was the turn of Sheffield in the '80s, and Manchester in the '90s.

Beatle-mania, electro pop,

and mad Madchester all saw music change those places for good.

I worked for New Musical Express

when the whole Manchester era was kicking off in the late-'80s.

You'd go to Afflecks Palace and people would buy the T-shirts.

You would go to The Hacienda to see bands.

Manchester, like Belfast has a village mentality.

It's quite small. It has got its Victorian architecture.

It makes a cool issue out of that old industry.

We've had our shipyards, we've had our Ropeworks,

and all the rest of it.

There's a kind of a "grrrr" in the sound of Belfast which comes from that.

This is why are punk rock era was so exciting.

I think that translates into the music of David Holmes,

translates into the music of Therapy? and Ash,

and obviously bands like Snow Patrol now

can put their hands on their heart and sing, I love this city tonight.

They call it a love song to Belfast.

# I love this city tonight I love this city always... #

Has it been a conscious effort to change the music scene in Belfast,

or do you think it's happened by chance?

It probably began around 1994

when Van Morrison played in front of City Hall

to President Clinton and Hillary Clinton.

That was a big feel-good moment.

That was the first time, I think, it became almost

an issue of policy to use music to make Belfast look like a great place.

Cultural tourism is something like 22%

of the tourist market now.

People want to come to a city

to see what it's unique musical story is.

Belfast's got an amazing musical story.

The council have thrown their weight behind

the Belfast music scene with the newly established annual Belfast Music Week.

Last week, over 170 gigs happened with bright young things

like Wonder Villains, Eatenbybears and Axis Of.

All hoping to capture the eyes and ears of record label's A&R.

# Only now I'm sick of it all... #

Cashier No.9 are one band tipped to be the next big thing from these shores.

They have just been confirmed as the only act from here so far

to perform on the official line-up at SXSW -

the world's biggest music industry get together

held this March in Texas.

When was your first gig as Cashier No.9?

I think it was at the Menagerie maybe, in University Street.

It was a club night David Holmes did,

so we played in there for him which was great.

It's a dirty, old sweaty bar, you know?

We played at the Northern Irish Music Awards in Belfast

last Wednesday.

It was really apparent the calibre and the standard of,

not just bands within Belfast and Northern Ireland,

but bands from here that are doing well around the world.

Bands like Two Door Cinema Club who are doing so well.

So I Watch You From Afar are doing great things,

then there's the bigger guys like Snow Patrol.

I think Belfast is as good as anywhere in the UK.

There's loads of great venues, loads of rehearsal rooms

so there's tons of resources

in the city that weren't here 15-20 years ago.

Evidence does seem to be pointing

to a music-led mini cultural revolution.

New bars, new venues and new bands.

The owners of an Ibiza super-club

have even chosen Belfast as home to their first venue outside the party island.

There's never been a better time to be made in Belfast.

Connie, are your musical tastes strictly from the musicals?

Well, not really.

If you seen my record collection it's pretty eclectic.

I like anything from Lady Gaga, to Elaine Paige. Anything.

I kind of agree that anything made in Belfast is pretty good.

Well, that will get you full marks on this show.

You are qualified.

You have a degree in musical theatre,

but you didn't jump straight into playing Maria.

You had to go via PizzaExpress and telesales.

Was there ever a stage when you thought, "I am not going to make it?"

Yes. There was a lot of doubt.

I think that was good because you suffer a lot rejection.

I went for loads of auditions. Came second a lot of the time.

So when the opportunity to play a Julie Andrews' role, which is everything I wanted...

I heard years before they were workshoping The Sound Of Music

and I couldn't leave drama school to go and have an audition

because they wouldn't allow you to do that.

After I left, I was stuck in telesales thinking, I'm going to give up soon.

When the opportunity came along, I had to go for it.

I had nothing to lose.

I was getting constant rejection on the phones,

I was sick of asking, "Would you like olives, or nuts?"

To be honest, I had nothing to lose

and I still can't believe that I won. I have to pinch myself.

We'll have a look at it now.

The moment that made the big break.

For one of you, life is about to change forever.

The girl the public have cast

to be Maria Von Trapp is...

Connie!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Oh, my goodness! It's one of those moments, isn't it?

-Have you ever seen a face like it?

-It's fantastic. That was 2006.

Does that still make your heart jump out of your chest?

I'm still nervous that I won't win.

It is the kind of thing that Elaine Paige says,

"They're going to find me out," I think it's Judi Dench says it.

"They'll find me out when I go on stage."

You're constantly worried that it's all a dream.

It must have been terrifying for you.

Yes, and the fact that Andrew Lloyd Webber was one of the judges.

I never thought that I'd get to meet him.

I thought I'd only see his name on a piece of music.

To perform for him, and sing some of his own songs

was really nerve-racking.

And working with him, and working with a big sort of a family in a major big show like that.

Everybody thinks it's one big happy family,

but there have been films like the Black Swan

which portray a different side to it.

-Was your experience all positive?

-Yes, yes, well, no.

I mean, every day is like groundhog day.

So you compare it to the last.

Of course, there are moments where you don't get on with everyone.

I remember at the Palladium, there was one lady who didn't like me much,

or perhaps didn't like the way I was doing something.

I remember singing thinking, "She hates me, she hates me.

"We're smiling at each other."

Playing Maria, I'm all very nice and, "She hates me."

There's that look in her eye, and you think, "Gosh..."

I used to think we were getting on quite well,

but those were just our characters getting on well.

There are moments of just joy and a family on tour.

The UK tour I did for 18 months, I did Palladium for 18 months

and on tour for 18 months.

The UK tour was like one big family.

I have got friends for life from that tour.

There has been some healthy debate in the last week about

whether murals in Belfast depicting the Troubles

should be painted over with fresh images of life in the city.

You seldom have to look far in any part of the country

to find public works of art that divide opinion.

We've been down Downpatrick way to see if the locals think

the large metal sculpture on the edge of the town is a saint or sinner.

# I did my best to notice

# When the call came down the line... #

My name is Coleman McGuinness, I'm a local businessman in Downpatrick.

Our new monument, I think, says a lot about Downpatrick.

I think the St Patrick's sculpture, it marks,

the interest of the town.

It marks the returning of St Patrick to Ireland

to spread his Christian message.

It was designed by a lady called Melanie Jackson from Cheshire.

I think sometimes if you get somebody from the outside looking in,

they give us a different interpretation of what we have.

It sits high on the stone base and the landscaping.

It looks as though it's St Patrick looking out over his flock.

It marks the regeneration of Downpatrick and the way forward.

Hello, my name is Martin Carter I am a local artisan

based in a local arts collective in Belfast.

The more I think about this piece of sculpture,

the more it becomes decoration, it becomes artistically very little.

It becomes something you might see on a Christmas tree.

I don't really see it as being something that has the merits

to be the on the outside of a town.

It is not very pleasing to the eye.

It doesn't really represent Downpatrick in my eyes.

It represents something Christian with the crow's ear

being held in the hand.

But in even the description of Scott Wilson,

they say it has a Celtic-like swirl somewhere in the sculpture.

We could do better.

Well, who do you agree with? Vote with your feet.

# Are we human Or are we dancers... #

I feel it's a fine addition to the town.

For the strangers coming in on the main road to Downpatrick,

it raises a question mark, causes them to look a bit further.

We have the St Patrick's Centre to back up

all the questions they have.

I think it's a three-dimensional doodle.

It's ill-thought out and doesn't reflect anything of the area.

I think it takes away from the St Patrick's monument

out on St Patrick's mountain in Saul.

When tourists come, they have no idea where it is

and there is no proper tourist information

and it takes away from the town, personally.

To bring this new statue of new materials to be erected

is a great idea and a good aspect to the town.

I don't think it's a good piece of art to be quite honest.

Everybody's a critic.

It must be difficult being a performer

and putting up with people who like you or don't like you?

Especially in a demanding role. You played Maria nearly 100 times...

-More than that.

-..it took its toll on your health, first of all.

I probably played it 1,000, a couple of 1,000 times.

Quite a long time.

Three years stage time playing her, so it was quite demanding.

It is difficult. You can't please everyone all the time.

You have to remember that every night you have got a new audience,

so try not to get too complacent about going on stage.

You were told at one stage you could never sing again?

Yes, that was for different reasons.

I... Obviously, vocally I found it difficult and demanding anyway.

After I left the Palladium, I developed a croak in my voice

and I was finding it difficult doing another show

I was doing with Alistair McGowan.

I was performing at the Menier Chocolate Factory with him in a different show.

It was quite a funny show and really high energy.

I found it quite difficult. So, I went to get looked at.

It turns out I was diagnosed with something I was born with.

Which meant I should never have been a singer.

But I think I learned to sing around it.

Now was that the same as Julie Andrews?

No, I think Julie Andrews had nodules

through just over exertion and vocally perhaps pushing herself

cos she was in demand, she was hot stuff really in musical theatre.

I think she did Victor Victoria and created nodules

and went to have them lopped off and perhaps had difficulties afterwards.

-But we actually both now have the same vocal surgeon.

-That's right!

That's my claim to fame! We had the same fate but for different reasons.

As they say, one door closes, another opens.

You're pursuing a new career actually in Wales.

That's a line from the Sound Of Music, actually.

When God shuts a door, he opens a window.

I am, actually. I'm doing a cartoon at the moment, voicing over for S4C which is our Welsh channel.

I'm doing Poppy Cat which is quite fun.

We're doing 52 episodes of that. But my new kind of venture really is presenting

and I've had a programme called Connie's Musical Map Of Wales.

So watch out, Ireland. Maybe there'll be a Musical Map Of Ireland one day.

It would be a detailed map! Does that mean you're going to turn your back on stage altogether?

No, I don't think I could. Having gained, not that it means much with a piece of paper,

but a first class honours in musical theatre,

you think, you've trained to be on the stage in any capacity, really.

I like presenting, I like meeting new people,

but I don't think I could ever fully leave the stage.

My heart's always really on stage.

I'm glad to hear it, Connie.

You have some massive fans here in Belfast.

Earlier we asked you to send in photos of celebrities you'd met over the weekend.

I don't think this was taken at the weekend but this was sent in by Christopher Patterson

who met his idol, somebody called Connie Fisher.

No, that's such an old photograph!

-Chris Patterson. I shall never forgive him.

-Yes.

-Never forgive, Chris!

-Do you remember that?

I do, actually. That wasn't far from here.

-It's opposite my favourite cafe.

-Excellent.

I remember meeting him, but he caught me on the hop there.

-More make-up needed next time.

-Big star, Connie Fisher.

Fantastic. And we've got Roy Porter here with Brian May,

looking very cool with his big hair.

-I've got one, actually.

-Who've you got?

-I've got Justin Bieber.

-Hold it up so we can see.

Justin Bieber with Elizabeth McDade in Hillsborough.

She saw Justin Bieber at the LMFA0 at the M Club.

It sounds like a code of some sort!

-Is it really Justin Bieber? I'm not sure.

-Yeah!

This apparently is Bruno Mars. Niall Smith has sent this

of Bruno Mars in Belfast, through the window, I might add.

-He looks exactly the same as in his videos.

-Doesn't he just?!

Thank you so much for sending those in. And thanks to Connie.

Connie's in a long line of stars born here before hitting the big time elsewhere.

Colin Bateman now has the story of a slip of a lass from Belfast

who ended up 5,000 miles away under the bright lights of Hollywood.

But unlike Connie, this girl's voice wasn't her fortune.

In Hollywood, long before the brand names of Branagh and Neeson,

an earlier band of Irish legends lit up the silver screen.

One of the brightest of the silent movie era

was the Blanchett or Knightley of her day,

but unlike Cate or Keira, many would struggle to remember her name.

Welcome to the South Belfast world of Eileen Percy.

By 1927, our Eileen was making five films a year,

from westerns to romances,

but the story of her and other Irish movie stars begins not in LA

but 3,000 miles east in New York.

This is where America's movie industry really began.

You had a lot of famous Irish entertainers on the American stage,

Vaudeville, slides,

and they would have gone into films.

Sometimes they played Irish characters.

Sometimes, interestingly, they didn't. They played every ethnicity but Irish.

And this is How Molly Made Good which is typical of the sort of movie they were making at the time.

Very much so.

This is kind of a feature film version of a storyline that had existed for decades

so you have kind of what the title suggests.

You have an Irish immigrant who comes to America, Molly, and she makes good.

She achieves the American dream as it was seen at the time.

'A young Eileen Percy in Belfast may well have seen

'early American flicks as export markets opened up overseas.

'By the beginning of the 20th century,

'picture houses were springing up all over the city.

'But life on the streets outside was anything but a Hollywood fantasy.'

They lived here in Vernon Street for about nine years.

And Eileen and her two elder brothers, James and John,

went to a local Protestant primary school here.

Her father was a Presbyterian

and her mother was a baptised Roman Catholic.

Eileen's father was a law clerk in Belfast.

In 1907, I believe, he went to New York, New Jersey,

to work towards...to pave the way for the family to join him,

basically, to escape what would probably have been

a really poverty-stricken lifestyle.

Soon, in 1909, Eileen and her 12-year-old brother

set sail from Londonderry to New York.

Eileen got her first break as a 15-year-old chorus girl

in the Broadway hit, Siegfried Follies.

Next, she landed a film and was signed up by the movie mogul

and heartthrob, Douglas Fairbanks.

This was the greatest thing that could have happened to her

because Fairbanks was not only one of the biggest stars

but he went on to found United Artists,

his feature films were among the greatest box office successes.

He was really the best break Eileen could have got.

Eileen was cast as leading lady alongside Fairbanks

in hit westerns such as The Man from Painted Post in 1917.

Soon the movie industry had decamped to Hollywood. Why?

Because Californian sunshine gave longer filming days.

Before she knew it, Eileen was starring with the great Rudolph Valentino.

She partied hard with tycoons Jack Warner and Howard Hughes.

She signed with Fox and made an amazing 64 films in a decade.

But almost overnight, the movies became the talkies.

Eileen may have looked the part,

but like so many other silent movie stars, she just didn't sound it.

Eileen Percy was now relegated to bit parts.

In the next five years, she made just five films.

Others fared even worse.

Many people lost their careers. You take an example like Karl Dane

who was an actor who had a very thick accent.

His career ended abruptly. He was despondent.

He opened a hotdog stand outside the studio where he had worked

and it didn't even make a success.

And he goes on to commit suicide.

So this was what was happening to a lot of people's careers, and it had an effect on Eileen's.

Eileen Percy was last on screen in the '30s

but she more than kept her head above water as a newspaper columnist

till she died in 1973.

Not exactly a Hollywood ending, but there's no getting away from it,

the girl from Vernon Street had come a long way.

That's an extraordinary story.

For the last 60 minutes, sculptor Brendan Jamison has been hard at work on his knees

doing his sugar cubist masterpiece. Let's see what he's doing.

Now, you've finished, haven't you?

Yes, I've just completed. This is a sculpture relief

of Belfast City Hall, of the front facade.

That's absolutely gorgeous. It's incredible. I'm afraid to touch it.

Now, you've done about a thousand sugar cubes here, as you said.

But you've done the Tate Modern and that was about 80 stone

and 100,000 sugar cubes.

So you're used to working on a much grander scale.

Yes, absolutely. It suits something like the Tate Modern

which is such an iconic building and so colossal.

So to make something like that on a grand scale is a strong statement.

For me, I was thinking, you know, big piece of work, why are you using tiny sugar cubes?

Tiny sugar cubes, they're so beautiful to cut and carve

and I love the glistening surface on the finished sculpture.

And very impressively,

you've actually been summoned now by Downing Street?

Yes, I've been invited to create a sugar cube sculpture

of Number 10 Downing Street for an exhibition inside Downing Street in February 2012.

That's February. How long will that take?

-That will probably take about two months to complete.

-Wow.

What inspires you? Obviously, it's architecture for this piece. Is it always architecture?

No, I'm also very inspired by the organic and natural worlds as well as the architectural.

For that, you use wool and wax and other materials.

I'm always drawn to very unusual materials

to try to push the boundaries of contemporary sculpture.

And you sure have and it's so impressive.

-Now you just have to sign your coffee table.

-Sure.

This is going to be nicely covered up as well.

Beautiful. If you would like Brendan's work as a centrepiece

in your living room, here's how you can get your hands on it.

All the works made by artists on Out of the Blue will be auctioned off

with the proceeds going to BBC Children In Need.

Log onto bbc.co.uk/pudsey

and go to the Northern Ireland section for more information.

-Graham.

-Thanks, Joanne. Well done, Brendan.

Time for some music now and we're honoured to have

sisters Allison and Catherine with us tonight,

otherwise known of course as The Pierces. Welcome, girls.

-Hi.

-Welcome to Belfast.

You should have been here yesterday, of course.

We missed Bieber fever.

I know you're gutted by that, Catherine.

It's been an amazing year for you girls as well, we have to say, since moving to the UK.

The album's going gold all over the place, constantly playing on Radio 2.

You must be delighted.

Yeah, how could we not be, really?

It was just such a nice surprise to come over here.

We've been doing this for a really long time

so to have it finally begin to work was really, really a good feeling.

-Taking you back, you grew up in Alabama and didn't go to school.

-We were home schooled, yes.

Was there much academic work taught at all? Or was it all music and dancing?

-A little.

-It was probably 20% academic and 80% creative arts.

Including ballet. You're both accomplished ballerinas, I hear.

Yeah. Our mom's a painter, our dad plays guitar, our sister's a dancer,

our brother's a photographer, so we were immersed in the creative world.

The next big thing here in the UK is supporting Gary Barlow. How did that come about?

We met him at a festival we did together

and he heard our stuff and really liked it so asked us to come and open for him.

You're pretty different musical tastes, I would think.

-How do you think his fans will react?

-I don't know.

We'll see. I think they'll like it.

Gary's an amazing songwriter

so we were honoured that he asked us to do it.

I'm sure we'd like to hear you tonight so I'll let you go and get ready.

-Thanks for joining us.

-Thank you.

And we're back Out Of The Blue next week.

See how a Victorian form of art is making a comeback.

Yes and you might know him best as evil Archie from EastEnders

or lovable dad in Gavin And Stacey. Larry Lamb will be with us.

Join us Monday, 7.30pm on BBC One.

Right now though with Kissing You Goodbye,

-we'll say goodbye with The Pierces.

-Goodbye.

# Your love waits at the window

# I said go home

# Cos he don't know

# It's not his problem

# And he don't know

# I'm not alone

# Clock strikes three in the morning

# And I lie sleepless

# Cos he don't know

# I broke my promise

# And he don't know

# I've done this

# In the early light

# I find you

# With a bottle by your side

# I can see by your eyes

# You know that I

# I'm kissing you goodbye

# I'm kissing you goodbye

# Well now

# That is a question

# But it's not up to you

# So I think I will

# Leave you guessing

# After all you put me through

# In the early light

# I found you

# With a bottle by your side

# I can see by your eyes

# You know that I'm

# I'm kissing you goodbye

# I'm kissing you goodbye

# I'm kissing you goodbye

# In the early light

# I found you

# With a bottle by your side

# I can see by your eyes

# You know that I'm

# I'm kissing you goodbye

# I'm kissing you goodbye. #