An arts programme on ITV, shown late on Sunday nights and it is not The South Bank Show!When ITV branched out into late night programming in the late 1980s, Granada decided in the midst of youth orientated programmes and cult repeats they would spend a bit of cash and go for something a little upmarket and still remain populist.They of course turned to Tony Wilson who regularly provided them with the arts coverage when he was not doing Granada Reports or managing New Order or running Factory records or a discotheque.As Melvyn Bragg who once appeared on the programme said, the show's not bad. High praise from him and OSM was a light, slightly humorous look at the north west art scene and the people within it. There would be interviews, live performances and filmed pieces on arts, culture and architecture.Wilson was rather 'in' at this period of time through his music connections and this made the programme rather hip in a low budget way, unlike The South Bank Show which was never hip. Although Bragg's issue was that he feared that the influx of low budget arts programme was not a good thing.
