‘First-class' producer at BBC Scotland and promoter of Gaelic dies

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

Died: July 18, 2005
Neil Fraser, who has died aged 86, was a former head of BBC Radio Scotland and a seminal figure in the evolution of Gaelic broadcasting. He was widely respected for the high production standards he brought to all his work and the sense of ambition he encouraged in young colleagues.
The former controller of BBC Scotland and lifelong friend, Pat Chalmers, paid tribute to him as 'a first-class programme maker'. He said: 'Neil was high-minded in the best sort of way. He believed in giving audiences what he thought they needed, which was not always what they said they wanted.'
A notable broadcasting legacy in this vein was an epic series of 30 programmes on Scotland's Music by John Purser, which traced its history from Bronze Age to the present day with recordings commissioned including reconstructions of early music and works by many little-known composers. It is difficult to imagine such an undertaking today.
One of Fraser's first acts when he took over at BBC Radio Scotland in 1987 was to ban music from the airwaves before 10.30am in order to establish a more serious news and current affairs profile. When he resigned after five years, he said it had 'become more difficult telling people you are reducing their resources and manpower'.
While capable of great charm and diplomacy, there was also a steely determination, to deliver outcomes which matched his high standards, particularly where Gaelic was concerned. He navigated successfully through BBC politics and lived most of his life in Glasgow, while retaining a deep affinity with the society from which he came.
Neil Fraser was born in Lochboisdale, South Uist. His father, Alexander, was a teacher and the family of his mother, Ina (née Maclennan) ran the Post Office. They were a piping family and although Neil did not play, his love of the music stayed with him throughout his life.
When Neil was five, the family moved to Skye when his father was headmaster of Staffin School. He was Dux of Portree High School in 1955 and proceeded to Glasgow University to study maths. This was Gilmorehill's golden age, famed for debaters and budding politicians as well as notable Gaels. Neil flourished in this environment, played shinty and became president of the SRC, though his academic career was less distinguished.
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He took employment as a maths teacher in Glasgow but quickly discovered it was not his calling. Fred Macaulay was head of [[Gaelic]] at the BBC and rescued Neil from the chalkface by offering him a job. In 1973, he became the BBC's first [[Gaelic]] TV producer, making programmes across the spectrum from current affairs to light entertainment.
The production standards and journalism in the Gaelic current affairs output of that era were exceptional while the twee formats associated with early Gaelic song programmes were transformed, bringing in traditional musicians who had never been seen or heard on the BBC.
Neil moved into the English language mainstream as head of current affairs in 1978. Again, these were days of ambitious programmes from Queen Margaret Drive, with some outstanding journalists and broadcasters. Neil's own award-winners as producer included The Glorious Effect about the history of the great Highland bagpipe, and The Pinch based on the recovery of the Stone of Destiny.
In 1983, in succession to Fred Macaulay, he became head of Gaelic. Disparity of treatment compared with Welsh was glaring and Neil had the long-term vision of moving towards a dedicated channel. Pat Chalmers recalls him as 'very persuasive' about the expansion of Gaelic content and he had another friend at court in Alasdair Milne who became the BBC's Director General in 1982 but fell out with Mrs Thatcher and was gone within five years.
BBC Radio nan Gaidheal, launched in 1985, is a lasting memorial to Neil's influence during that window of opportunity, giving the language the status of having its own national broadcasting service for the first time.
His last BBC job was as head of Radio Scotland with the challenging task of keeping multiple audiences reasonably happy, while entirely satisfying none. Every change met with resistance while the massive bureaucracy amidst a climate of cutbacks, after Milne was succeeded by John Birt, was not to Neil's taste. He left in 1992.
Neil had fought Gaelic's corner tenaciously and used his extensive political connections to build support. He helped cultivate a succession of Tory Secretaries of State for Scotland who for their own, sometimes very personal, reasons were well disposed towards Gaelic. In 1992, Malcolm Rifkind provided a transformational Gaelic TV Fund worth £9.5million, £21m in today's money.
In 1997, I became the first Minister for [[Gaelic]] in the Scottish Office and one of my objectives was to initiate a process which would lead to a [[Gaelic]] channel. I turned to Neil whose report, setting out the rationale, proved a crucial mechanism in moving the concept forward, though arguments about how it would be funded dragged on for far too long. Neil continued to be involved in ensuring the ultimate delivery of BBC Alba.
Neil Fraser (Image: Contributed)
After leaving the BBC, he took on roles which included leading a Gaelic media course at Sabhal Mor Ostaig in Skye where he was greatly respected by students to whom he imparted unique experience and shared unfailing kindness and encouragement.
He continued to make films for independent companies. One of these, about the folklorists John Lorne Campbell and Margaret Fay Shaw, led him to become a key member of the Canna Advisory Group which was dedicated to maintaining their priceless recordings. His love of piping was reflected through the John McFadyen Memorial Trust which he initiated along with Alasdair Milne and as a board member of the Silver Chanter in Dunvegan.
In 1972, Neil married the distinguished singer, Anne Lorne Gillies. They parted in 1990. He is survived by their three children – Robbie, a film-maker; Rachel, a clinical psychologist; and Marsaili, who has worked for humanitarian NGOs at home and abroad; and by five grandchildren.
BRIAN WILSON
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