Burton’s Article on Churchill Sent his Producers Into a Panic and the UK’s Politicians into a Flap In 1974 Richard Burton took the unusual step of promoting his forthcoming television film portrayal of Winston Churchill by deriding him and all he stood for. ‘In the course of preparing myself to…

A Great Champion who Retired at his Peak when Borg Returned to the Sport, he was a Man out of Time. On 4th July 1981, Björn Borg lost to John McEnroe in the Wimbledon men’s final. It was Borg’s first defeat there in 42 matches, having won the previous five…

Les Dawson’s 1986 novel A Time Before Genesis puzzled many critics, but it was the comic’s greatest wish he be taken seriously as a writer. Les Dawson was a familiar face on British television throughout the 70s and 80s. The Mancunian was well known for his comic routines prominently featuring…

De Niro’s stage appearances have been few and far between, and his 1986 bow on Broadway was an unusual choice. Since the early 1970s, arguably beginning with his turn as Johnny Boy in Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets, Robert De Niro became an exciting presence on screen. His reputation as an actor to watch throughout that decade was enhanced by his roles in The Godfather Part Two and Taxi Driver. However…

Why a dancehall attached to a market in Glasgow’s East End is one of the best places to experience live music in the world. — I can never understand why a band who put Glasgow on their tour schedule wouldn’t then add the words ‘Barrowland Ballroom.’ Now, I’m not going to make grandiose claims like it’s the best venue in the world. I’m far from being best placed to make such claims. …

The Scots actress had a meteoric rise in theatre, but later her chaotic love life would provide the headlines. — Mary Ure’s work as an actor tends to be overshadowed by the men she married, in death as it was in life. Both her husbands were multi-talented men with forceful personalities; ‘Angry Young Man’ playwright John Osborne and Robert Shaw, star of The Sting (1973) and Jaws (1975). They were…

The new documentary tells the unlikely tale of the men who trained to take out Carlos Escobar on behalf of his competition. — This fact-is-stranger-than-fiction documentary recounts the story of a group of mercenary soldiers from the UK who headed into Colombia to assassinate the largest cocaine manufacturer and distributor on the planet. At the heart of the film is Peter McAleese, a soldier from Glasgow, who describes himself as “A dirty lowdown…

How a film developed only for its soundtrack with no plot and starring non-actors defied the odds to become a groundbreaking picture. — “Who are they?” Walter Shenson replied when he was asked if he would like to produce a film with The Beatles. Noel Rodgers, the British representative for United Artists Records, knew the UK’s Beatlemania was heading for the States and figured a way to cash in. …

The story of the most significant art fraud in history where ruined reputations and wounded egos mattered more than money. — “No one wants to be fooled,” Ann Freedman says at the beginning of this highly entertaining documentary now on Netflix. The film documents an $80.7 million art forgery scandal perpetrated between 1995 and 2011 swallowing up some of the biggest names in the New York art world.