Alasdair Gray at 80: Under the Helmet

23 December 2014

Under the Helmet

In October 1964 BBC broadcast Under the Helmet, a documentary about Alasdair Gray’s work.

To celebrate the 80th Birthday of Alasdair Gray on 28 December 2014, BBC Arts presents Robert Kitts' documentary on the influential Scots artist and writer. Available in its entirety for the first time since 1964, Under the Helmet was originally listed in the Radio Times as:

An unfinished portrait of Alasdair Gray, painter and writer of Glasgow

'I am a chorus in search of a tragedy, a raker of middens in the industrial North.

I am a genius in an obscure line of business. Try me a little.

I may have something you can use.'

The liberation of Lanark
Stuart Kelly examines Gray's literary work and how Lanark influenced a generation of Scottish writers
Seven artworks
Glasgow School of Art Exhibitions Director Jenny Brownrigg chooses seven of her favourite Gray pieces.
From the archive
Archive clips of Gray from Artworks Scotland in 2004, the Late Show in 1993 and Omnibus from 1983
Your Paintings: Alasdair Gray
View a gallery of Alasdair Gray's work held in Britain's public art collections at Your Paintings
Under the Helmet
Originally broadcast on 30 October 1964, a documentary by Robert Kitts about Gray’s early work
A vision and a voice
Sorcha Dallas, who devised Glasgow's Alasdair Gray season, discusses the impact of his art