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Mr Andy Stewart! APPLAUSE | 0:00:02 | 0:00:04 | |
# When the pipes are ringing and the kilts are swinging | 0:00:04 | 0:00:06 | |
# And your heart is singing as you gaily march along | 0:00:06 | 0:00:10 | |
# You hear the story that is brave and roary | 0:00:10 | 0:00:13 | |
# In the tunes of glory of an old Scots song | 0:00:13 | 0:00:16 | |
# If you're standing near them and you ever hear them... # | 0:00:16 | 0:00:19 | |
Andy Stewart is arguably Scotland's greatest ever entertainer. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:23 | |
He was the...biggest thing... in Scottish music after Harry Lauder. | 0:00:25 | 0:00:31 | |
He just was a complete Scottish minstrel. | 0:00:31 | 0:00:35 | |
Entertainer in Scotland? Numero uno. | 0:00:35 | 0:00:39 | |
# ..In the tunes of glory! # | 0:00:39 | 0:00:46 | |
Hey-hup! | 0:00:46 | 0:00:47 | |
Andy Stewart was born in Glasgow in 1933 | 0:00:58 | 0:01:02 | |
and moved to Arbroath aged 12. | 0:01:02 | 0:01:04 | |
Well, we were a very close family. | 0:01:04 | 0:01:06 | |
You must remember that I was seven when the war began, | 0:01:06 | 0:01:10 | |
and it was like living in a bubble, four of us together. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:14 | |
We were very close, a very, very close family. | 0:01:14 | 0:01:18 | |
My father was a...a musician | 0:01:18 | 0:01:21 | |
and, er...he was a bit of a show-off as well. | 0:01:21 | 0:01:23 | |
We all had a bit of the histrionic touch. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:28 | |
We had no inhibitions right from a very early age. | 0:01:28 | 0:01:31 | |
He enjoyed singing and performing, and my father encouraged him. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:35 | |
Even at school, | 0:01:35 | 0:01:36 | |
Andy showed that he had a talent for entertaining and mimicry. | 0:01:36 | 0:01:40 | |
I was only belted three times at school, | 0:01:40 | 0:01:42 | |
and twice it was for doing impressions. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:45 | |
I can remember being caught | 0:01:45 | 0:01:46 | |
doing an impression of our mathematics teacher. | 0:01:46 | 0:01:49 | |
And he it was whom I heard doing the classic, | 0:01:49 | 0:01:52 | |
"Now, boys, this is a very difficult proposition, | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
"watch the board while I run through it." | 0:01:55 | 0:01:57 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:01:57 | 0:01:58 | |
Andy's parents supported his ambition to perform, | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
and in 1951, he went to the Glasgow College of Dramatic Art, | 0:02:01 | 0:02:05 | |
where he met a fellow student called John Cairney. | 0:02:05 | 0:02:08 | |
He was a wee cheeky fellow from Arbroath, | 0:02:08 | 0:02:13 | |
and I was a skinny element from Parkhead, | 0:02:13 | 0:02:17 | |
but funnily enough we got on well right from the start. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:21 | |
We met at drama college, | 0:02:21 | 0:02:22 | |
and it was one very late night we were going home, | 0:02:22 | 0:02:26 | |
and he was standing at one side of the street, | 0:02:26 | 0:02:28 | |
and I was standing at the other, | 0:02:28 | 0:02:30 | |
and that was the first time ever I heard Andy sing, | 0:02:30 | 0:02:33 | |
and he sang The Bonnie Lass Of Ballochmyle. | 0:02:33 | 0:02:37 | |
I think she was my girlfriend first, Sheila, and he stole her from me. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:43 | |
Andy married Sheila in 1955 | 0:02:43 | 0:02:46 | |
after they had both graduated from drama college. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:48 | |
Despite being trained as a serious actor, Andy fell into the role | 0:02:49 | 0:02:53 | |
of an entertainer and mimic on stage and radio. | 0:02:53 | 0:02:56 | |
LOUIS ARMSTRONG SINGS | 0:02:56 | 0:02:58 | |
HE MOUTHS | 0:02:58 | 0:03:02 | |
# Be-bop-a-lula, she's my granny | 0:03:02 | 0:03:05 | |
# Be-bop-a-lula She's my mammy's mammy... # | 0:03:05 | 0:03:08 | |
-(AS BRUCE FORSYTH) -Good evening and welcome to Sunday Night At The London Palladium. | 0:03:08 | 0:03:13 | |
He was essentially an actor and he acted the part of a comedian. | 0:03:13 | 0:03:18 | |
While working on a radio show at BBC Scotland, | 0:03:18 | 0:03:22 | |
Andy had a chance meeting that would change his career for ever. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:26 | |
I was booked for The White Heather Club in the gents' toilet here. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:30 | |
The gentleman who was producing, Iain McFadyen, | 0:03:30 | 0:03:32 | |
was producing me in radio, | 0:03:32 | 0:03:33 | |
and he said, "I'm starting this show called The White Heather Club, | 0:03:33 | 0:03:36 | |
"and I'm afraid there's no place in it for you." | 0:03:36 | 0:03:39 | |
I was an impressionist at that time. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:42 | |
He said to me, "I know you do comedy voices and all the rest of it - | 0:03:42 | 0:03:45 | |
"what we're looking for is somebody who can do bothy ballads." | 0:03:45 | 0:03:48 | |
Now, I know there are all these apocryphal stories, | 0:03:48 | 0:03:50 | |
when you go for a part in a Western, they say, "Can you ride a horse?" | 0:03:50 | 0:03:53 | |
And whether you've never seen a horse in your life, you say yes! | 0:03:53 | 0:03:56 | |
But I, in actual fact, with a great deal of veracity, | 0:03:56 | 0:03:59 | |
said, "Well, I can sing some bothy ballads." | 0:03:59 | 0:04:02 | |
He said, "Sing one for me now." | 0:04:02 | 0:04:04 | |
And my goodness me, there were people in cubicles | 0:04:04 | 0:04:07 | |
who had forgotten what they went in there for. | 0:04:07 | 0:04:10 | |
And I sang a wee...perhaps unsuitable for a gents' toilet, | 0:04:10 | 0:04:14 | |
I sang a song called The Muckin' O' Geordie's Byre. | 0:04:14 | 0:04:17 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:04:17 | 0:04:19 | |
Whereupon we passed around the shovels and the sawdust, | 0:04:20 | 0:04:23 | |
and I got the job. | 0:04:23 | 0:04:24 | |
Good evening and welcome to the opening of The White Heather Club. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:34 | |
I'm quite sure, if you'd care to stay with us, you'll enjoy it too. | 0:04:34 | 0:04:38 | |
So come on inside and hear Ian Powrie and his band | 0:04:38 | 0:04:42 | |
playing The Gay Gordons. | 0:04:42 | 0:04:44 | |
Come on in! | 0:04:44 | 0:04:45 | |
We would like to pinpoint a town or district in Scotland. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:57 | |
I'll give you a clue. | 0:04:57 | 0:05:00 | |
Have you guessed? Ha-ha, Arbroath! | 0:05:00 | 0:05:02 | |
And we'd also like to pinpoint a personality from Arbroath, | 0:05:02 | 0:05:06 | |
and here he is, Andy Stewart. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:08 | |
# When I want tae lauchin' I think on the scene | 0:05:08 | 0:05:10 | |
# When a'body roun' cam' ower tae clean | 0:05:10 | 0:05:12 | |
# And clairted themsel's richt up tae the e'en | 0:05:12 | 0:05:14 | |
# At the muckin' o' Geordie's byre | 0:05:14 | 0:05:16 | |
# Wee Robbie the Rockie and Willie the Doo | 0:05:16 | 0:05:18 | |
# The auld wife herself and Teeny McCrew | 0:05:18 | 0:05:20 | |
# And a'body else that could labour the pleugh | 0:05:20 | 0:05:22 | |
# At the muckin' o' Geordie's byre... # | 0:05:22 | 0:05:24 | |
After only a year, the now kilted Andy took over as host | 0:05:24 | 0:05:28 | |
and turned The White Heather Club into a hit network show, | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
drawing millions of viewers. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:34 | |
# Come in, come in It's nice tae see you | 0:05:34 | 0:05:39 | |
# How's yoursel'? You're looking grand | 0:05:39 | 0:05:42 | |
# Tak' your ease We'll try tae please you | 0:05:42 | 0:05:46 | |
# Man, you're welcome Here's my hand | 0:05:46 | 0:05:49 | |
# In the land called Caledonia | 0:05:49 | 0:05:52 | |
# There are certain words you say... # | 0:05:52 | 0:05:56 | |
In his other TV shows of the time, Andy was able | 0:05:56 | 0:05:59 | |
to show off his skills as a mimic and character actor. | 0:05:59 | 0:06:02 | |
Three and a half hours late. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:04 | |
Maybe she's missed her bus. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:07 | |
I've never been in here afore. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:10 | |
It's fine, but strange to see | 0:06:10 | 0:06:12 | |
and no' at all the way it looks when you see it on TV. | 0:06:12 | 0:06:17 | |
I met Andy on The White Heather Club. | 0:06:17 | 0:06:20 | |
# The sweetest hours that e'er I spent | 0:06:20 | 0:06:22 | |
# Were spent among the lasses-o... # | 0:06:22 | 0:06:25 | |
That's what I was hoping you'd say. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:28 | |
Andy was a very introspective person as well, you know. | 0:06:28 | 0:06:30 | |
He was very well-read, Andy, and very erudite and he... | 0:06:30 | 0:06:35 | |
Because he knew I was interested in books as well, we had conversations, | 0:06:35 | 0:06:39 | |
but he amazed me, first of all, with his knowledge of Burns. | 0:06:39 | 0:06:43 | |
As sure as three times three maks nine | 0:06:43 | 0:06:46 | |
I see by ilka score and line | 0:06:46 | 0:06:48 | |
This chap will dearly like oor kin' | 0:06:48 | 0:06:51 | |
So leeze me on thee, Robin. | 0:06:51 | 0:06:53 | |
Poetry was never far from Andy's mind, | 0:06:53 | 0:06:57 | |
and he wrote down ideas for songs and poems on his many travels. | 0:06:57 | 0:07:01 | |
He was always creative. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:02 | |
I mean, the guy obviously had a really good brain | 0:07:02 | 0:07:05 | |
and he was creative all the time. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:07 | |
And he was just writing stuff, you know, lines for songs, | 0:07:07 | 0:07:12 | |
and scraps and pieces which he would obviously collate later, | 0:07:12 | 0:07:16 | |
collate at a later date into either a poem or a song. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:20 | |
In 1960, Andrew began as a recording artist for Top Rank International. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:25 | |
His first release of Donald Where's Your Troosers? | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
didn't sell that well, | 0:07:28 | 0:07:29 | |
but the follow-up was a very different story. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:32 | |
Andy Stewart actually got me chucked out a pub, | 0:07:33 | 0:07:37 | |
because, sadly, not everybody shares my taste in music. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:42 | |
I went into a pub and I saw one of these digital jukeboxes, | 0:07:42 | 0:07:46 | |
and joy of joys one of the artistes who was on it, | 0:07:46 | 0:07:50 | |
next to Chumbawamba and Labrinth or whatever, | 0:07:50 | 0:07:53 | |
was Scotland's very own Andy Stewart. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:55 | |
And I just put on his haunting ballad, A Scottish Soldier. | 0:07:55 | 0:07:59 | |
And, er...if only I could say | 0:07:59 | 0:08:01 | |
that we all just kind of gathered, arms in the pub, | 0:08:01 | 0:08:04 | |
and everybody just humming along to A Scottish Soldier. | 0:08:04 | 0:08:08 | |
Sadly, I got chased out of the place by a guy with a pool cue. | 0:08:08 | 0:08:11 | |
A Scottish Soldier was not just a hit in the UK. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:15 | |
It was number one in Canada, Australia and New Zealand | 0:08:15 | 0:08:19 | |
and stayed in the US top 50 for over a year, | 0:08:19 | 0:08:22 | |
something that today's recording artists can only dream of. | 0:08:22 | 0:08:26 | |
I wish I could say | 0:08:26 | 0:08:27 | |
that that was written somewhere in pensive solitude. | 0:08:27 | 0:08:30 | |
It was written in a pub in Byres Road, | 0:08:30 | 0:08:33 | |
and this night I sat down, and the tune of The Green Hills came to me, | 0:08:33 | 0:08:38 | |
and the line came to me, one can only say an inspiration, I suppose, | 0:08:38 | 0:08:42 | |
as I think all song-writing is. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:44 | |
And I wrote down, "There was a soldier, a Scottish soldier," | 0:08:44 | 0:08:47 | |
and wrote two verses and sang it the next day. | 0:08:47 | 0:08:50 | |
# They are not the hills of home... # | 0:08:50 | 0:08:54 | |
Of course, we were watching the White Heather show, | 0:08:56 | 0:08:59 | |
and this song came on, Andy singing Scottish Soldier, | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
and I remember thinking, "Oh, my God, that's going to be a monster," | 0:09:02 | 0:09:07 | |
-and sure enough... -It was. -It was phenomenal. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:12 | |
And it took off not only in the UK but all over the world. | 0:09:12 | 0:09:15 | |
And what do you think's the secret of this phenomenal success, | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
-A Scottish Soldier? -Oh... | 0:09:18 | 0:09:20 | |
I think if I could tell you that and you could bottle it, | 0:09:20 | 0:09:24 | |
we could make a fortune selling it. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:26 | |
I don't think you can tell what is the secret of success, | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
ever, in so many words. | 0:09:29 | 0:09:31 | |
I think it's an intangible thing. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:32 | |
He...was fortunate, if you like, | 0:09:32 | 0:09:36 | |
early on in his career to have the hit record, | 0:09:36 | 0:09:38 | |
but he was only fortunate because he wrote the thing. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:42 | |
-Don't you ever get tired of A Scottish Soldier? -No, no. I don't. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:46 | |
I hear that lovely money falling all around! | 0:09:46 | 0:09:48 | |
It's amazing to think that only 25 years ago, | 0:09:48 | 0:09:51 | |
before the great Puritan revival of 1971, | 0:09:51 | 0:09:54 | |
certain television performers | 0:09:54 | 0:09:56 | |
actually appeared on the screen wearing kilts. | 0:09:56 | 0:09:58 | |
Andy Stewart's naked knees were featured regularly. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:03 | |
The one time I did Andy Stewart | 0:10:03 | 0:10:05 | |
was the one with the ever-lengthening kilt, | 0:10:05 | 0:10:08 | |
and that went down very, very well. | 0:10:08 | 0:10:12 | |
Arthur Blake at the piano! | 0:10:12 | 0:10:14 | |
And yes, it was very, very funny, and I think it was the... | 0:10:14 | 0:10:18 | |
# There was a soldier A Scottish soldier | 0:10:18 | 0:10:22 | |
# Who wandered far away and soldiered far away | 0:10:22 | 0:10:26 | |
# There was none bolder with good broad shoulder | 0:10:26 | 0:10:29 | |
# He'd fought in many a fray | 0:10:29 | 0:10:31 | |
# And fought and won | 0:10:31 | 0:10:33 | |
# He'd seen the glory He'd told the story | 0:10:33 | 0:10:37 | |
# Of battles glorious and deeds victorious | 0:10:37 | 0:10:40 | |
# But now he's sighing His heart is crying... # | 0:10:40 | 0:10:44 | |
Yes, that was a wicked take-off, really. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:50 | |
Another show breaking new ground at the time was Tonight. | 0:10:50 | 0:10:53 | |
Good evening. One of the big awkward questions which everybody... | 0:10:53 | 0:10:57 | |
The Tonight programme, for those who can remember it, | 0:10:57 | 0:11:00 | |
was THE magazine programme, | 0:11:00 | 0:11:01 | |
and it set standards, I think, which have never been surpassed. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:05 | |
And now, let's finish up with something a bit brighter, | 0:11:05 | 0:11:08 | |
Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor, Football Crazy, I think. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:11 | |
# Oh, you all know my wee brother... # | 0:11:12 | 0:11:15 | |
Robin and I sung on it five nights a week for about four years, | 0:11:15 | 0:11:18 | |
and we used to sit in the green room, | 0:11:18 | 0:11:21 | |
The White Heather Club would be on, we'd turn the sound down. | 0:11:21 | 0:11:23 | |
The Tonight programme was run | 0:11:23 | 0:11:25 | |
by really highly sophisticated people, all Oxbridge, | 0:11:25 | 0:11:29 | |
and absolutely top-notch journalists. | 0:11:29 | 0:11:32 | |
They'd come from paper journalism into television. | 0:11:32 | 0:11:35 | |
And they just thought The White Heather Club was a big joke. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:39 | |
They thought it was so couthie and old-fashioned and archaic and comic. | 0:11:39 | 0:11:43 | |
And they used to sit in the green room with the sound switched off | 0:11:43 | 0:11:46 | |
and kind of have a giggle | 0:11:46 | 0:11:48 | |
at Andy twirling his kilt and stuff, stuff like that. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:52 | |
And I have to confess that Robin and I joined in. | 0:11:52 | 0:11:55 | |
# There's the swirl of the kilt and the skirl of the pipes | 0:11:55 | 0:11:59 | |
# And the lilting accordion... # | 0:11:59 | 0:12:01 | |
Andy eventually gave up hosting The White Heather Club | 0:12:01 | 0:12:04 | |
to concentrate on touring, | 0:12:04 | 0:12:06 | |
giving Jimmie Macgregor an awkward decision to make. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:10 | |
Andy had become really big, | 0:12:10 | 0:12:12 | |
and suddenly we were offered the job as hosts! | 0:12:12 | 0:12:15 | |
Of The White Heather Club, | 0:12:15 | 0:12:16 | |
of this programme that we had been sitting giggling about. | 0:12:16 | 0:12:20 | |
But it was a tremendous gig, The White Heather Club. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:23 | |
I mean, it had huge viewing figures in England, | 0:12:23 | 0:12:26 | |
and when it was off the air in the summer, | 0:12:26 | 0:12:29 | |
we took it out as a touring variety show | 0:12:29 | 0:12:32 | |
and we filled theatres from Brighton to Shetland it was fantastic. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:37 | |
Incredible support it got. | 0:12:37 | 0:12:39 | |
After the success of The White Heather Club, | 0:12:39 | 0:12:42 | |
in spite of me, it was a success, | 0:12:42 | 0:12:44 | |
and I was asked down to London to make some programmes. | 0:12:44 | 0:12:47 | |
# I've just come down from the Isle of Skye | 0:12:53 | 0:12:55 | |
# I'm no' very big and I'm awful shy | 0:12:55 | 0:12:57 | |
# And the lassies shout when I go by "Donald, where's your troosers?" # | 0:12:57 | 0:13:01 | |
As his television career made him a household name in the UK, | 0:13:01 | 0:13:05 | |
it was his touring that made him a global star. | 0:13:05 | 0:13:08 | |
The massive Scottish diaspora, many of whom were desperately homesick, | 0:13:08 | 0:13:12 | |
flocked to see Andy's sell-out shows all over the world. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:16 | |
In 1964, Andy bought the business of White Heather tours | 0:13:19 | 0:13:23 | |
and turned impresario, | 0:13:23 | 0:13:25 | |
as well as still being a regular performer himself. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:28 | |
He ran the hugely successful touring shows for 18 years, | 0:13:28 | 0:13:32 | |
hiring Scottish artists such as Joe Gordon and Sally Logan, | 0:13:32 | 0:13:36 | |
the Alexander Brothers and Stanley Baxter. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:39 | |
The last time I saw Andy, I was working for him. | 0:13:39 | 0:13:43 | |
He had taken over the White Heather tour, | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
and I had decided to do my final tour of Canada and America, | 0:13:46 | 0:13:50 | |
largely because I heard that we'd be playing Carnegie Hall. | 0:13:50 | 0:13:54 | |
And I thought, "Oh, that I've got to do." | 0:13:54 | 0:13:57 | |
So when Andy turned up, I said, "What are you doing here?" | 0:13:57 | 0:14:01 | |
He said, "Well, I run The White Heather Club now." | 0:14:01 | 0:14:03 | |
I said, "Oh, you've done awfully well." | 0:14:03 | 0:14:06 | |
Later that year, while performing | 0:14:06 | 0:14:08 | |
in a run of shows at His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen, | 0:14:08 | 0:14:11 | |
Andy hit the headlines when he and Sally Logan agreed to perform | 0:14:11 | 0:14:16 | |
at the World's Fair in New York. | 0:14:16 | 0:14:18 | |
Wonderful experience, outdoors, thousands of people there. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:22 | |
And we went for a day, basically. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:25 | |
A car came for us to the theatre in Aberdeen | 0:14:25 | 0:14:28 | |
after the show on the Saturday night | 0:14:28 | 0:14:32 | |
and drove us to Prestwick. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:34 | |
We arrived at the airport, I think it was called Idlewild Airport, | 0:14:34 | 0:14:39 | |
-and I think it became JFK. -JFK. | 0:14:39 | 0:14:43 | |
We were then taken by car to the venue, | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
and I did about 20 minutes of an act, | 0:14:46 | 0:14:49 | |
and Andy went on and did an hour of an act. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:52 | |
Then he came offstage, and everything was packed for him, | 0:14:52 | 0:14:55 | |
and we just got in a car again and drove to the airport, | 0:14:55 | 0:15:00 | |
back on the plane and arrived at Prestwick. | 0:15:00 | 0:15:04 | |
The car took us to Aberdeen, and we were on stage that night. | 0:15:04 | 0:15:07 | |
I do remember feeling quite odd when I was on stage that night. | 0:15:07 | 0:15:11 | |
I think it was about '64, '65, we did the tour in North America | 0:15:11 | 0:15:16 | |
with Andy, and he was so good to us, because he allowed us | 0:15:16 | 0:15:20 | |
to close the first half, which is a prime spot, you know. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:23 | |
And the business was phenomenal. | 0:15:23 | 0:15:27 | |
-He was so huge. -Och! | 0:15:27 | 0:15:30 | |
He was so well liked, you know, unbelievable. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:33 | |
We played the Carnegie Hall two nights, complete sell-out. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:38 | |
Andy was... | 0:15:38 | 0:15:40 | |
He was on top of the world, really, | 0:15:40 | 0:15:42 | |
because he was touring New Zealand | 0:15:42 | 0:15:43 | |
and he had to come back and do Canada and America. | 0:15:43 | 0:15:46 | |
He was on the road, he wanted to go... | 0:15:46 | 0:15:49 | |
He loved meeting people, he loved going to the different countries. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:54 | |
# Oh, Campbeltown Loch I wish you were whisky | 0:15:54 | 0:15:57 | |
# Campbeltown Loch, och aye | 0:15:57 | 0:15:59 | |
# Oh, Campbeltown Loch I wish you were whisky | 0:15:59 | 0:16:02 | |
# I would drink you dry... # | 0:16:02 | 0:16:03 | |
Andy had frequent health issues, | 0:16:03 | 0:16:05 | |
which were often picked up in the press. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:08 | |
Despite this, his schedule would regularly involve | 0:16:08 | 0:16:11 | |
spring, summer and autumn tours | 0:16:11 | 0:16:14 | |
of Canada, America, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:18 | |
How are you, your health? We heard some strange stories. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:21 | |
Did you get the latest story from Australia? | 0:16:21 | 0:16:24 | |
The whole tour was cancelled, that was published in Scotland. | 0:16:24 | 0:16:28 | |
We phoned the family home about... | 0:16:28 | 0:16:30 | |
I was taken to Brisbane General Hospital...not the general hospital, | 0:16:30 | 0:16:33 | |
one of the hospitals in Brisbane, and I had to be... | 0:16:33 | 0:16:37 | |
I had to have my plumbing temporarily sorted out. | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
And the report went back to Britain that I was stricken once again | 0:16:40 | 0:16:45 | |
and that I wouldn't be probably... | 0:16:45 | 0:16:48 | |
I'd probably be coming home encased in lead | 0:16:48 | 0:16:50 | |
or something like that. | 0:16:50 | 0:16:52 | |
But no, I can't honestly say that I'm 100% certain | 0:16:52 | 0:16:57 | |
of what my...interior's going to do next, | 0:16:57 | 0:17:01 | |
but I'm fairly healthy apart from that. | 0:17:01 | 0:17:04 | |
One way to sort of cut down the wear and tear would be | 0:17:04 | 0:17:07 | |
to knock off this strenuous touring you seem to go in for? | 0:17:07 | 0:17:10 | |
That's right, it would be, | 0:17:10 | 0:17:11 | |
but on the other hand, it's a terribly satisfying way of life. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:14 | |
Is that the time? Already? | 0:17:17 | 0:17:18 | |
Well, it must be because that's the song, | 0:17:18 | 0:17:20 | |
and when you play that song, then it's time. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:23 | |
Back in the UK, Andy was now synonymous with Hogmanay | 0:17:23 | 0:17:27 | |
and for over 20 years, he brought in the bells | 0:17:27 | 0:17:30 | |
with a TV audience of up to 30 million viewers. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:34 | |
I'm away for a pint. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:35 | |
Oh, well, I'll join you and then I'll go straight home. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:38 | |
To me, Andrew Stewart was just part and parcel of growing up. | 0:17:38 | 0:17:41 | |
As a wee guy, every Hogmanay, I can rarely listen to Andy Stewart | 0:17:41 | 0:17:46 | |
without almost smelling the froth fae my da's can of Tartan Export, | 0:17:46 | 0:17:51 | |
because they would be the parties. As a wee boy, | 0:17:51 | 0:17:53 | |
you'd get a wee fly drink at your da's fresh can of beer, | 0:17:53 | 0:17:57 | |
and invariably it would be Andy Stewart that was on in the background. | 0:17:57 | 0:18:01 | |
# And we all gather round the old fireside | 0:18:01 | 0:18:05 | |
# And the old mother kisses her son... # | 0:18:05 | 0:18:10 | |
We used to be allowed to go to bed and then get up | 0:18:10 | 0:18:13 | |
and watch The Hogmanay Show after we'd had a bit of a sleep | 0:18:13 | 0:18:17 | |
and stay up for a fizzy drink and watch him on television. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:21 | |
That's probably the earliest memory I have. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
He wasn't really a family man, was he? | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
Well, he had a big enough family. I think he had five kids. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
Do you know what I mean when I say that? | 0:18:31 | 0:18:32 | |
He wasn't one for being with the family all the time. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:34 | |
Although he was there obviously a few times. | 0:18:34 | 0:18:38 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:18:38 | 0:18:39 | |
Yes, Jack. | 0:18:39 | 0:18:41 | |
Five daughters and one son. And proud of their dad, no doubt. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:45 | |
I never really ask them. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:47 | |
You've heard of Scots love, you know... | 0:18:47 | 0:18:50 | |
we don't go about asking, "Are you proud of me?" | 0:18:50 | 0:18:54 | |
Not till they say, "We're proud of you." | 0:18:54 | 0:18:55 | |
Was he a good dad? | 0:18:55 | 0:18:57 | |
Yes, when he was there. A lot of the time he wasn't there. | 0:18:57 | 0:19:01 | |
So, that's not such a good dad. So, there's a balancing out. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:04 | |
My dad was away all the time - all through our childhood. | 0:19:04 | 0:19:09 | |
My dad was away from the family home. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:13 | |
He used to write to us all, and we'd get our blue airmails through. | 0:19:13 | 0:19:19 | |
It was quite nice, really, because his writing was so bad | 0:19:19 | 0:19:22 | |
that we had to spend weeks literally deciphering what he said. | 0:19:22 | 0:19:26 | |
I think it was just what dad did. That was his job. | 0:19:26 | 0:19:31 | |
People used to ask what it's like having a famous father. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:35 | |
We didn't know anything different. | 0:19:35 | 0:19:37 | |
Many of Andy's children | 0:19:37 | 0:19:38 | |
and grandchildren have followed in his footsteps onto the stage. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:43 | |
There were five of us within six and a half years. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:46 | |
There was Tara, Andrew, Debbie, Lindsay and Melanie. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:49 | |
A big gap of 14 years, and my little sister, Magdalene, was born. | 0:19:49 | 0:19:54 | |
I think I would have been a dancer whatever, | 0:19:54 | 0:19:58 | |
because my mother was absolutely determined that was what I would do. | 0:19:58 | 0:20:03 | |
She decided I was going to be a ballet dancer very early on. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:07 | |
I wasn't really interested in acting to start with. | 0:20:07 | 0:20:10 | |
The stage and variety was what I wanted to do first, yeah. | 0:20:10 | 0:20:15 | |
I used to love singing and I still do. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:19 | |
And, when I was 16, he was working at Ayr, | 0:20:19 | 0:20:24 | |
in Ayr Gaiety. And he asked if I wanted to go along | 0:20:24 | 0:20:27 | |
and sing a spot. So, I did, just for a couple of shows there, | 0:20:27 | 0:20:32 | |
and that was really the start of it. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:34 | |
That's what I really wanted to do, I thought, at the time. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:37 | |
Quite a few of the grandchildren are entertainers. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:40 | |
I'm in a band called White Heath. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:46 | |
I'm not sure if I would say that it's in the blood. | 0:20:46 | 0:20:49 | |
Some people would say these things are, | 0:20:49 | 0:20:51 | |
but I think it's probably more to do with the fact that he was such | 0:20:51 | 0:20:55 | |
a huge presence and sort of influence, in a way, | 0:20:55 | 0:21:01 | |
as an elder statesman in the family | 0:21:01 | 0:21:03 | |
that's led to so many of his children and grandchildren. | 0:21:03 | 0:21:08 | |
There are lots of grandchildren. I think probably half or more | 0:21:08 | 0:21:11 | |
of them dance, sing, make music, act. | 0:21:11 | 0:21:17 | |
So, I think that he's sort of paved the way | 0:21:17 | 0:21:20 | |
for that being an accepted thing to do. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:22 | |
# Oh, it's nice to be a grandpa | 0:21:22 | 0:21:24 | |
# When you're getting kind of older | 0:21:24 | 0:21:26 | |
# For there's bonnie bairns to cuddle and stories to be told... # | 0:21:26 | 0:21:30 | |
We were all conscious, as time passed, that dad - | 0:21:30 | 0:21:34 | |
his punishing schedule, which it really was - was taking its toll. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:39 | |
And often he had spells in hospital. | 0:21:39 | 0:21:42 | |
But, although he would pay lip service to retiring | 0:21:42 | 0:21:46 | |
and taking it easy, he only had to be asked to do something | 0:21:46 | 0:21:51 | |
and he was right there. | 0:21:51 | 0:21:52 | |
Leaving hospital early often to go start and working again, | 0:21:52 | 0:21:57 | |
never giving himself a long enough time for recuperation. | 0:21:57 | 0:22:01 | |
I remembered going to visit him | 0:22:01 | 0:22:04 | |
and my granny in their house in Arbroath when I was quite young. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:08 | |
I remembered just spending time with him in the house, | 0:22:08 | 0:22:11 | |
just chatting and having a laugh. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:14 | |
And I remember quite often when we went to visit, | 0:22:14 | 0:22:17 | |
he was in quite poor health. Quite often. | 0:22:17 | 0:22:21 | |
But I remember being told, "Go and see him upstairs, go and say hi." | 0:22:21 | 0:22:25 | |
When I went up, he was always... No matter how ill he was, | 0:22:25 | 0:22:28 | |
he was always completely sparkling and life and soul. | 0:22:28 | 0:22:31 | |
Just great to be around. | 0:22:31 | 0:22:33 | |
I did hear that when Andy was very, very ill indeed... | 0:22:33 | 0:22:40 | |
he was...tubes up his nose, I mean, terribly ill and in hospital. | 0:22:40 | 0:22:45 | |
And he had a show to do. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:47 | |
He'd get up, pull out all the tubes and things, and go and do the show. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:51 | |
That's how daft performers are. | 0:22:51 | 0:22:54 | |
Andy retired from regular touring in the 1980s and was surprised | 0:22:54 | 0:22:59 | |
by a public campaign in 1989 | 0:22:59 | 0:23:01 | |
to re-release one of his earliest records. | 0:23:01 | 0:23:04 | |
'It is the most happening record at the moment. This is Andy Stewart. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:07 | |
'Donald Where's Your Troosers?' | 0:23:07 | 0:23:09 | |
# I've just come down... # | 0:23:09 | 0:23:10 | |
"I just can't believe this," I said. | 0:23:10 | 0:23:13 | |
"It's quite flabbergasting. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:17 | |
I said, "My flabber has never been so gasted, in fact. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:20 | |
"I just can't believe this is happening to me." | 0:23:20 | 0:23:24 | |
# ..Donald, where's your troosers? # | 0:23:24 | 0:23:26 | |
I love it because... | 0:23:26 | 0:23:28 | |
it's the only record of its kind. | 0:23:28 | 0:23:30 | |
The atmosphere on it is so good. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:32 | |
It's so funny and it's such an uplifting record. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:35 | |
# ..Let the wind blow high Let the wind blow low... # | 0:23:36 | 0:23:40 | |
By the 1990s, despite poor health, | 0:23:40 | 0:23:42 | |
Andy continued to fulfil periodic concert and charity commitments. | 0:23:42 | 0:23:47 | |
# Amazing Grace | 0:23:47 | 0:23:51 | |
# How sweet the sound... # | 0:23:51 | 0:23:56 | |
One typical occasion was in 1993, when Andy was asked to star | 0:23:56 | 0:24:00 | |
at a charity event at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. | 0:24:00 | 0:24:04 | |
That evening, we sat in our dressing room for ages and ages, talking. | 0:24:04 | 0:24:08 | |
It was the longest and the deepest conversation I had with him. | 0:24:08 | 0:24:12 | |
I really warmed to the guy a lot on that occasion. | 0:24:12 | 0:24:15 | |
I was shocked by how he looked. | 0:24:15 | 0:24:17 | |
The Usher Hall came for us to appear at. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:21 | |
We knew it was Andy who was the star of the show, | 0:24:21 | 0:24:24 | |
but we didn't know how many people were going to be in the show. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:27 | |
It was a huge show. | 0:24:27 | 0:24:28 | |
Of course, we all knew he'd been ill for ages | 0:24:28 | 0:24:31 | |
and been warned by the doctors to stop touring. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:34 | |
People used to say to me, "Why does he keep doing that? | 0:24:34 | 0:24:38 | |
"He's ill, he knows he's ill, he obviously doesn't need the money. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:41 | |
"Why does he keep to it?" I said, "Because that's who he is, | 0:24:41 | 0:24:44 | |
"that's what he is." | 0:24:44 | 0:24:46 | |
There's no way he can just stop. You can't do it. | 0:24:46 | 0:24:48 | |
But, anyway, we did the show, | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
and Andy went on as top of the bill - | 0:24:51 | 0:24:53 | |
absolutely slaughtered them. | 0:24:53 | 0:24:56 | |
Absolutely slaughtered them. | 0:24:56 | 0:24:58 | |
He'd total dynamism and energy - gave 101%. | 0:24:58 | 0:25:02 | |
We picked up the paper in the morning, and he died a few hours later. | 0:25:02 | 0:25:05 | |
Went home to bed and died. | 0:25:05 | 0:25:08 | |
It was quite a shock. | 0:25:08 | 0:25:10 | |
Performing made him more satisfied than not. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:13 | |
So, he would have been very frustrated if he couldn't have gone | 0:25:13 | 0:25:16 | |
and done it when he promised to. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:18 | |
That's what kept him driven to perform when he said he would, yes. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:22 | |
It wasn't a complete shock, actually, at all. Far from it. | 0:25:22 | 0:25:26 | |
It was the end of a long kind of anticipation. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:33 | |
There was always this sense that we knew | 0:25:33 | 0:25:35 | |
that his time was limited, really. | 0:25:35 | 0:25:38 | |
He'd had two bypass operations. | 0:25:38 | 0:25:41 | |
And nobody really would have presumed to try and tell him | 0:25:41 | 0:25:46 | |
what to do. | 0:25:46 | 0:25:49 | |
I was in New Zealand when it happened. | 0:25:49 | 0:25:51 | |
And it broke my heart, of course. | 0:25:53 | 0:25:56 | |
Because I was so sorry that his total promise was never realised. | 0:25:56 | 0:26:02 | |
Of course, his superficial promise as an entertainer | 0:26:02 | 0:26:07 | |
was immediately recognised. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:09 | |
His skill as an actor was there, in those performances. | 0:26:09 | 0:26:13 | |
But he would have given Scotland another dimension | 0:26:13 | 0:26:17 | |
to the character actor status. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:19 | |
I know he would have done. And who knows? | 0:26:19 | 0:26:22 | |
His writing might have extended, and he might have written his own play. | 0:26:22 | 0:26:26 | |
If he got to my hoary age that I am now, | 0:26:26 | 0:26:30 | |
he might have written a masterpiece. | 0:26:30 | 0:26:32 | |
But in himself, he was a masterpiece, | 0:26:32 | 0:26:36 | |
because he was a total work of art. | 0:26:36 | 0:26:39 | |
From his wee snub nose to his cheeky little voice, he was a work of art. | 0:26:39 | 0:26:45 | |
And I'm glad to have known him. | 0:26:45 | 0:26:49 | |
# I returned to the field of glory | 0:26:49 | 0:26:53 | |
# Where the green grass and flowers grow | 0:26:53 | 0:26:58 | |
# And the wind softly sings the story | 0:26:58 | 0:27:02 | |
# Of the brave lads of long ago... # | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
My dad was, I think, | 0:27:05 | 0:27:09 | |
very much epitomises a particular time in our social history. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:14 | |
There's part of me that's really proud of that, but part of me | 0:27:14 | 0:27:18 | |
that wants to defend what is sometimes seen | 0:27:18 | 0:27:21 | |
as a kind of kilt and heather sort of image. | 0:27:21 | 0:27:25 | |
Andy Stewart, philosopher. | 0:27:27 | 0:27:30 | |
Singer. | 0:27:32 | 0:27:34 | |
Impersonator. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:37 | |
Comedian. Songwriter. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:40 | |
Genius. | 0:27:40 | 0:27:41 | |
We're very, very proud to have known him | 0:27:41 | 0:27:46 | |
-and to have worked with him. -Mm-hm. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:49 | |
-He was just a marvellous entertainer. -He sure was. Andy. | 0:27:49 | 0:27:54 | |
Warm, generous. | 0:27:54 | 0:27:57 | |
Flawed. You know. | 0:27:57 | 0:28:00 | |
No doubt, I think his drive into the theatre was too encompassing | 0:28:00 | 0:28:06 | |
to be entirely good for your health. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:09 | |
# Sleep in peace | 0:28:09 | 0:28:11 | |
# Now the battle's o'er... # | 0:28:11 | 0:28:22 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:28:36 | 0:28:38 |