The Alexander Brothers | |
|---|---|
 The Alexander Brothers on tour in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, in the 1990s | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Scotland |
| Genres | Folk music, country and western |
| Years active | 1950–2012 |
| Labels | Pye Records |
| Members | Tom Alexander Jack Alexander |
The Alexander Brothers were an easy-listening folk-music duo from Scotland, who had a long career beginning in the 1950s.
Thomas Armit "Tom" Alexander (25 June 1934 – 9 January 2020) and John "Jack" Armit Alexander (11 November 1935 – 2 November 2013) were born at Thrashbush Avenue in Cambusnethan, near Wishaw. Encouraged by their musical mother, they started instrument lessons at an early age, with Tom favouring the accordion and Jack the piano. On leaving school in the early 1950s, the brothers pursued a trade as painters and decorators by day, and entertainers by night, and spent most of their spare time performing for elderly people in hospitals and for various charitable institutions in and around their hometown. In the spring of 1958, they entered a talent contest which was held in their local cinema. They easily won the contest and one of the judges (who was a well known Scottish theatrical agent) was so impressed, he placed the boys under contract that summer. They made their professional debut at the Webster Hall, Arbroath. It was during this season that they received their first long term contract for five winter seasons at Glasgow's Metropole Theatre. Following Arbroath they were engaged to appear at the Metropolitan Theatre, Edgware Road, London, and it was during this season they were spotted and signed to Pye Records. They cut their first LP six weeks later.
Their most popular recording was "Nobody's Child" in 1964, which is said to have "sold more than The Beatles in Scotland". [1] Their other popular songs include "These Are My Mountains", "The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen", "Bonnie Wee Jeannie McColl", and "Two Highland Lads". Their 1966 album, These Are My Mountains was their only chart success, peaking at #29 in the UK Albums Chart. [2] Though their popularity had peaked, the duo enjoyed a long touring career. They toured Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. They appeared at the Sydney Opera House with Jimmy Shand as a guest, and also played in Carnegie Hall in New York City. A famous fan was Charlton Heston, who regularly saw them in Los Angeles. [3] In the mid 1990s, The Alexander Brothers began to release music videos, and later DVDs, to supplement their live performances. These new recordings contained many religious or devotional songs. Their most recent CDs and DVDs were produced by Bill Garden and Dougie Stevenson of the Kilsyth based company Scotdisc. [4]
In recognition of their contributions to the world of music, they received MBEs from the Queen in the 2005 New Year Honours List. [5] The ceremony took place in Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.
On 2 November 2013, Jack died aged 77. [6] Tom continued to occasionally perform as a solo act. [7] Tom died on 9 January 2020 aged 85. [8] [3]
Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some 16 miles (26 km) east-northeast of Dundee and 45 miles (72 km) south-southwest of Aberdeen.
Anthony James Donegan, known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the "King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotland and brought up in England, Donegan began his career in the British trad jazz revival but transitioned to skiffle in the mid-1950s, rising to prominence with a hit recording of the American folk song "Rock Island Line" which helped spur the broader UK skiffle movement.
Priscilla Maria Veronica White, better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter.
Barbara Ruth Dickson is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include "I Know Him So Well", "Answer Me" and "January February". Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK Albums Chart from 1977 to date, and had a number of hit singles, including four which reached the top 20 on the UK Singles Chart. The Scotsman newspaper has described her as Scotland's best-selling female singer in terms of the numbers of hit chart singles and albums she has achieved in the UK since 1976.
The Proclaimers are a Scottish rock duo formed in 1983 by twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid. They came to attention with their 1987 single "Letter from America", which reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom, and the 1988 single "I'm Gonna Be ", which topped charts in Australia, Iceland and New Zealand. The duo's biggest album, Sunshine on Leith (1988) has been certified multi-Platinum in Australia and Canada, selling over 2 million copies worldwide, including around 700,000 in the United States. The Proclaimers have sold over 5 million albums worldwide.
Pearl Lavinia Carr and Edward Victor "Teddy" Johnson were English husband-and-wife entertainers who were best-known during the 1950s and early 1960s. They were the UK's Eurovision entrants at the 1959 contest with "Sing, Little Birdie", which came second.
Sir James Shand was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion. His signature tune was "The Bluebell Polka".
Andrew Stewart MBE was a Scottish singer and entertainer. He presented the BBC TV variety show The White Heather Club throughout the 1960s, and his song "Donald Where's Your Troosers?" was a hit in both 1960 and 1989. Internationally, the song most closely associated with Stewart is "A Scottish Soldier".
William Pollock McLaren was a Scottish rugby union commentator, teacher, journalist and one time rugby player. Known as "the voice of rugby", he retired from commentating in 2002. Renowned throughout the sport, his enthusiasm and memorable turn of phrase endeared him to many.
Bud Flanagan, was a British music hall and vaudeville entertainer and comedian, and later a television and film actor. He was best known as being one half of the comedy and music act Flanagan and Allen with his partner Chesney Allen. Flanagan was famous as a wartime entertainer and his achievements were recognised when he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1959.
Eve Graham is a retired Scottish singer who found fame in the early 1970s with the pop group The New Seekers.
Andrew Paton Welsh was a Scottish politician. He was the Scottish National Party Member of Parliament (MP) for South Angus from October 1974 to 1979, East Angus from 1987 to 1997, and Angus from 1997 to 2001. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the constituency of Angus from 1999 to 2011.
Sydney Devine was a Scottish singer. He sold 15 million albums during his career, reached the UK's top 20 albums chart and was part of the White Heather Club troupe.
Philip Martin Cunningham, MBE is a Scottish folk musician and composer. He is best known for playing the accordion with Silly Wizard, as well as in other bands and in duets with his brother, Johnny. When they played together, they would egg each other on to play faster and faster, and try, light-heartedly, to trip each other up.
Nicola Joy Nadia Benedetti is an Italian-Scottish classical solo violinist and festival director. Her ability was recognised when she was a child, including the award of BBC Young Musician of the Year when she was 16. She works with orchestras in Europe and America as well as with Alexei Grynyuk, her regular pianist. Since 2012, she has played the Gariel Stradivarius violin. In 2019, she founded the music education charity The Benedetti Foundation and became the first woman to lead the Edinburgh International Festival when she was made Festival Director on 1 October 2022.
Steven James Doris is a Scottish retired footballer. His previous clubs include St Johnstone, Montrose, Arbroath, Dundee, Stirling Albion and Forfar Athletic. Although generally regarded as a midfielder, he could also play as a striker.
The 2011–12 season is the 115th season of competitive football in Scotland.
The 2013–14 season was the 117th season of competitive football in Scotland. The season began on 13 July 2013, with the start of the Challenge Cup.
Scott Gallacher is a Scottish professional footballer, who used to play for Alloa Athletic as a goalkeeper. Gallacher has previously played for Rangers, Cowdenbeath, Forfar Athletic, Airdrieonians, Heart of Midlothian, Alloa Athletic, St Mirren, Hibernian, Dumbarton, Arbroath and East Fife. He also played five times for the Scotland under-21 team between 2008 and 2010.
The 2020–21 season was the 124th season of competitive football in Scotland. The domestic season began on 1 August 2020 with the first round of matches in the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership. The start of all other domestic competitions were delayed until at least October 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and most games were played behind closed doors due to Scottish Government restrictions.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
