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Kenneth McKellar

 
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iwarburton



Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 2133
Location: Northumberland

PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 5:04 pm    Post subject: Kenneth McKellar Reply with quote

Scottish singer Kenneth McKellar has died at the age of 82.

Though he has hardly been a household name in recent years, he was very much part of the scene in the days of the Light Programme and indeed the early days of R2. He had his own series, A Song for Everyone, and guested on shows like Melodies for You, in the days when some of its output came direct from the studio rather than on records. He also made something like 45 albums between about 1955 and 1980 but did not too impressively with the UK's 1966 entry into the Eurovision Song Contest, a Man without Love (placed ninth).

Much of his repertoire was to be found at the lighter end of popular classical and also embraced popular Scottish folk songs. But he also recorded Messiah and other pieces by Handel and was described by no less a person than veteran conductor Sir Adrian Boult as 'the best Handel singer of the 20th century.'

The obituary in yesterday's Telegraph speculates over whether his overall contentment to remain based in Scotland might have prevented him from becoming a really big international name.

My sympathy to his family.

Ian.
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Helen May



Joined: 10 Dec 2006
Posts: 19373
Location: Cheshire

PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 5:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sad news Ian. Desmond mentioned it on his Friday show.

My mum was a big fan of his and I can remember as a child being taken (not my choice at the time!) to see him at the Theatre Royal.

H
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RockitRon



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 7646

PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 9:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/7579002/Kenneth-McKellar.html

He was a favourite of my mum's as well - she even pursuaded me to invest some of my pocket money in the single of The Tartan (The Telegraph's obituary writer has obviously never heard it, because it's certainly no ballad; The Royal Mile is the B-side) and that was the first record I bought (I still have it!).

I think saying he lacked ambition was a bit harsh, and we could have done without the sneering paragraphs about The White Heather Club - in its way it was no worse (in fact it was a darn sight better) than many another hugely popular light entertainment television programme.

A nice photo of him and Andy Stewart. They weren't exactly a double act, but he was the more serious entertainer of the two, although he did have many light and witty songs in his repertoire.

A fine tenor and a prolific recording artist. Very little of his work - the 45 LPs recorded for Decca, or the more recent ones for the local Lismor label - has been available on CD up to now, and I hope someone sees fit to remedy that pretty soon.
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John W



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 3367
Location: Warwickshire, UK

PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

McKellar had a truly beautiful voice. Our family (in Scotland then) watched him regularly, great favorite of my dad's.

There are quite a few CDs of his output if you look at Amazon. I have two LP albums which I bought in a charity shop a long time ago.


John
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MadeinSurrey



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 3130
Location: The Beautiful South

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The White Heather Club - memories of my childhood, I think it was on Friday nights. What a different world we lived in - black and white telly, 3 channels, Chris Evans yet to be born...
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iwarburton



Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 2133
Location: Northumberland

PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 11:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some of the White Heather Club's run was on a Tuesday. My mum was a great fan, though, as an archetypal moody teenager, I didn't find it much to my taste.

Thanks for the additional information, Ron. I agree that some of the Telegraph's comments ranged from ill-informed to sneering. For example, far from being a ballad, the Tartan is quite a swinger. But the Telegraph does go in for some peculiar obituary styles. It did one of Lady Susana Walton (widow of composer Sir William) the other week and it seemed to consist mainly of recycled ancient gossip about her husband's alleged womanising.

Ian.
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