Isla st clair biography of abraham

Musical artist

Isla St Clair (born 2 May ^{[citation needed]} as Isabella Margaret Dyce) is a Scottish singer.

Life

Isla St Clair was born in Grangemouth, Central Scotland, on 2 May Her family came from Northeast Scotland have a word with it was here that she spent her inauspicious years. It was in Findochty that she gave her first stage performances, aged three years, warrant her mother's Brownie concerts^[1] and with the shut down Salvation Army.

In the family moved to Bradfield Green, near Crewe in Cheshire, before moving go downhill to Scotland in Zetta Sinclair, Isla's mother, was a talented songwriter and poet, and became regular founding member of the Aberdeen Folk Club. Illustriousness young Isla accompanied her mother to the cudgel where they would both sing. At the baton she came to the attention of a BBC producer.^[1] She was twelve years old when she sang on her first television programme Talk be in command of the North, followed by the radio series Stories are for Singing. She was a regular company on many other television and radio shows containing Hoot'nanny, My Kind of Folk, Corriefolk, On Tour and Heather Mixture.

Isla was a pupil presume Aberdeen Academy and from Buckie High School. Appropriately Clair sang at the opening night of rank Buckie and District Folk-Song Club, run by supreme mother Zetta, in ^[2] It was on Zetta's remarriage, in , that Isla adopted the primary form of her mother's maiden name, St Clair.^{[citation needed]}

In , St Clair moved to Edinburgh drawback pursue her singing career. During her teenage era she was influenced by her mother's friend Jeannie Robertson, the traditional ballad singer. Another influence was family friend Hamish Henderson of the University exert a pull on Edinburgh's School of Scottish Studies. He first evidence St Clair when she was twelve.^{[citation needed]} Pulsate , St Clair released her first LP Isla St Clair sings Traditional Scottish Songs and she was voted "Female Folk Singer of the Year" by the New Musical Express.

St Clair was offered programmes as diverse as To Scotland Sound out Love for light entertainment and Let's See act BBC educational television. There followed numerous appearances, both as singer and presenter, on series such orang-utan Isla's Island (34 programmes), Welcome to the Ceilidh (2 series), The Great Western Musical Thunderbox station Thingummyjig. St Clair also managed to fit confine concert tours of the British Isles, continental Continent, the United States, and the Soviet Union (2 tours).

In the late s, St Clair went to STV and asked for a job because a continuity announcer, they gave her a co-presenting job with Peggy O'Keefe on a series named Birthday Honours instead.^[3]

St Clair's rise to national distinction was in when she became co-host with Larry Grayson in BBC Television's The Generation Game. She won a number of awards including the Pye Colour Television Award for "TV Personality of glory Year". During her four years on the Generation Game St Clair made television appearances on Morecambe and Wise, Max Bygraves Show, The Royal Session Show, Parkinson, Blue Peter, Blankety Blank as lob as her own series The Farm On Loftiness Hill.

In , the BBC offered St Clair the chance to do a series of pass own. She decided to make The Song avoid The Story which involved dressing up in sequential costume and explaining the social history behind rectitude folk songs. The series was a success near won The Roses Award "Best Television Programme" predominant in Munich, the coveted "Prix Jeunesse for Important Light Entertainment".

In , she was also reception to co-present The Travel Show with Des Lynam for BBC2 and the following year she was chosen to co-host Central Television's The Saturday Show with Tommy Boyd. Despite her success as on the rocks presenter St Clair wanted more singing roles, champion in she was offered the part of Region in The Sound of Music at Worthing, write down Edmund Hockridge. Rather than tour with the lilting she decided to retire from the business liberation a while to bring up her young descent.

Recordings

During the s St Clair returned to converge with guest appearances on BBC Television's Songs be fond of Praise and ITV's Highway. She began by pick up Inheritance in , an album of Scottish ethnic group songs. This was followed a year later secondhand goods a BBC Radio series about folk music dubbed Kindlin' the Fire. In , she devised straighten up series called Tatties and Herrin, commissioned by BBC Radio, which told the story of the white and farming communities of Scotland's north east. Goodness songs from the series were released on combine albums: The Land and The Sea. In , St Clair recorded Scenes of Scotland, a collecting of her mother's songs. The album was nifty personal tribute to her mother who had fresh died.

In , St Clair appeared in shaft co-produced When the Pipers Play a documentary coating about the great Highland bagpipe. The film was first aired on PBS television in the Combined States and went on to win four husk festival awards. The accompanying CD was also floating the same year. Two years later they co-produced, and she presented, the documentary Millennium Pipes look at Marie Curie Cancer Care. The same year she was asked to sing her mother's song Metropolis – Lest We Forget' at the Festival friendly Remembrance, in the Royal Albert Hall. The ditty was released on the album Amazing Grace – anthems to inspire.

In , St Clair was awarded an honorary degree as Master of class University of Aberdeen for her lifelong contribution harmonious the traditional music of Scotland. During the yr she released two more albums: the critically identifiable The Lady and The Piper with Gordon Walker; and My Generation a collection of children's songs. Other albums followed including Looking Forward To Magnanimity Past, a collection of timeless love songs; Across the Waters, recorded in Los Angeles with sweet-sounding support from Eric Rigler; and Great Songs current Ballads of Scotland.

St Clair was invited discriminate sing the lament "Flowers of the Forest" rest Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium, in , be commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle pageant Passchendaele, in the First World War. The outfit year she released Highland Laddie a CD extra DVD tribute to Scotland's soldiers. The DVD featured her award-winning music video The Scottish Soldier filmed at Edinburgh Castle. This was followed by Remember, another tribute album to all servicemen and squad. In , St Clair was asked to write Flowers of Forest again, this time for rank Scots Guards album From Helmand to Horse Guards.

Isla St Clair continued to work on put on the air and stage. In – she performed Eyes Front! with Isla St Clair an audio visual control about songs and film in wartime.^[4][5] In she appeared at Deal Folk Club.^[6]

Publications

• St Clair, Isla & Turnbull, David The Song and the Story. London: Pelham Books ISBN&#; (to accompany the Boob tube series)

Discography

• Dowie Houms of Yarrow () Scottish School holiday Studies recording at Pollock Halls, Edinburgh
• Isla St Clair Sings Traditional Scottish Songs Tangent TGS ()^[7][8]
• Isla (Christmas Carols) Columbia SKL ()^[8]
• 70 Golden Nursery Rhymes () (various artists: Isla St Clair, Martin Carthy, Shirley Collins and Percy Edwards)
• The Song and The Story Clare ISLA 1 ()^[8]
• Shape Up and Dance ()
• Inheritance ()
• Scenes Of Scotland ()
• Tatties and Herrin' – Glory Land ()
• Tatties and Herrin' – The Sea ()
• When The Pipers Play ()
• When the Pipers Play DVD ()
• Murder and Mayhem ()
• Royal Lovers and Scandals ()
• Pipers on Parade DVD () (also marketed as Millenary Pipes)
• Amazing Grace – anthems to inspire () (re-mastered )
• My Generation ()
• The Lady and The Piper ()
• Looking Forward to the Past ()
• Scottish Connections DVD ()
• Highland Laddie ()
• Highland Laddie DVD ()
• Across The Waters ()
• Great Songs and Ballads of Scotland ()
• Another Version ()
• Remember ()

TV, film, radio and stage appearances

A selection clever her numerous appearances:

• Jim McLeod Show (Grampian TV) , Singer
• Regular Features (BBC TV Scotland) , Singer/Presenter
• Isla's Island – series (Grampian TV) /74, Singer/Presenter
• Welcome to authority Ceilidh – series (Grampian TV) /75, Singer/Presenter
• Let's Sway – series (BBC Scotland Educational), Singing/Presenting
• The Great D\'amour Musical Thunderbox (HTV) , Singer
• Scotland on Parade – 3 month Tour of USA , Singing
• The Country Rovers Show (CBS/Granada) , Singer
• Thingummy Jig (Scottish TV) , Singer
• Two Tours of USSR /77, Singing
• Birthday Distinctions (Scottish TV) , Presenter
• The Generation Game (BBC TV) –82, Co-Host/Singer
• Speak For Yourself (BBC1 Educational), Acting/Presenting
• Children's Videotape (Longmans) , Singer
• Farm on the Hill (BBC1 children) /80, Presenter
• Max Bygraves Show (Thames) , Acting/Singing
• Morecambe & Wise Show (Thames) , Acting/Singing
• Royal Variety Show (BBC1)
• The Song and The Story – own group (BBC1) (2 awards) , Acting/Singing (see also release & book to accompany the series)
• The Saturday Agricultural show (Central TV) /84, Presenting/Singing
• Sound Of Music – Custom Musical, , Leading Lady
• Highway (HTV) various dates, Singer
• Songs of Praise (BBC1) various dates, Presenter
• Various Christmas shows and Pantomimes, /, Acting/Singing

Documentaries

• When the Pipers Play, (4 awards) , Singer/Producer/Producer
• Marie Curie, , Presenter/Producer
• Scots Box, , Presenter/Producer
• Highland Laddie, (Platinum Award) , Singer/Presenter/Producer

Films

References

External links