The menacing chords of the theme tune played over the title card of a brooding Glasgow skyline remain instantly recognisable: Taggart, one of the longest-running police dramas in the world, became a national institution across its staggering 27-season run.
But the series, which finally wrapped in 2010, made the city and its people stars and now to coincide with the 40th anniversary of its pilot, Glasgow Caledonian University is launching a people’s archive to recognise the role the public played in the drama.
Starring the late Mark McManus as the hard-bitten titular detective DCI Jim Taggart – whose catchphrase, “there’s been a murder”, prompted endless faux Glaswegian accents – the noir-ish series blazed a trail for UK crime drama, confronting topics including homophobia and domestic violence in its early storylines.
But the series, created by the Scottish playwright Glenn Chandler and produced by STV, also exists as an extraordinary catalogue of the modern city, documenting changing urban spaces, buildings, vehicles, fashions and attitudes, as well as the gallows humour and Glasgow patter recorded in its witty scripts.
Archivists at the university are encouraging members of the public who were involved in location shoots, worked as extras, played a corpse or provided props or expertise to the show to share their stories.
Blythe Duff, who played Jackie Reid in the show for two decades and is an honorary graduate and cultural fellow of Glasgow Caledonian, said: “Everyone I meet has a Taggart story: ‘Oh, you filmed in my auntie’s house’ or ‘in our street’, or ‘I was an extra for the day’.
“I’ve worked with so many people who watched us film and it inspired them to become directors, writers or join the police.”
She added: “It made me realise how important these stories are to the fabric of the series.”
Duff, who donated all of her scripts from the show to the archives at Glasgow Caledonian in 2018, will join volunteers collecting these memories over three days, from 6 to 8 September.
Carole McCallum, the archivist at Glasgow Caledonian University, said: “Giving people the chance to add their stories to the programme’s legacy ensures they too have ownership of Taggart’s proud heritage.
“We are interested in every story, big and small, but our success in creating this new collection depends on people coming forward. Don’t be shy.”
