Isla St Clair (born 2 May, 1952) is a Scottish singer, actress and former game show co-host.
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Childhood singing
Isla St Clair was born Isabella Margaret Dyce, in Grangemouth, central Scotland, on 2 May 1952. Her mother Zetta sang in folk clubs and wrote songs. The family moved to Aberdeen, where by the age of 12 Isla had appeared on television in "My Kind of Folk". When her parents divorced, Isla adopted her mother's maiden name, Sinclair, adapted slightly. Although Isla St Clair fulfilled a childhood dream by becoming a groom in a holiday riding school, it was meeting Jeannie Robertson,and subsequently adopted much of her repertoire of traditional songs, that convinced her to become a professional singer. Another major influence was seeing The Corries. Hamish Henderson of the Scottish School of Studies hailed the young singer as the best of her generation and by 1971 Isla was voted Folk Singer of the Year by the New Musical Express. In the mid-70s, Isla presented a children's programme on Grampian tv called "Isla's Island". In 1978 St Clair became the assistant to game show host Larry Grayson in The Generation Game. Her Scottish accent was an accompaniment to Larry's camp ambivalence. In 1982, following the demise of The Generation Game, she was chosen to co-host the popular ITV Saturday morning kids' TV show The Saturday Show (ITV TV series) alongside Tommy Boyd. After two series she left in 1984 to concentrate on her music career.
The Song and the Story
In 1981 St Clair was contracted to appear in a series of programmes for BBC children's television, "The Song and The Story". This involved dressing up in historical costume and explaining the history of folk songs. She relished the opportunity to ride a horse again as the highwaywoman "Sovay". Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span was hired as a researcher, primarily for the songs, and was given a researcher's credit. The program won European television's "Prix Jeunesse". (To date, however, the soundtrack has not been reissued on CD.)
Songs of North-East Scotland
For the next ten years Isla St Clair disappeared from the public eye while she raised a family. Then starting with Inheritance in 1993, she produced several albums devoted to Scottish folk songs. In 1997 she had a series on BBC Radio 2, "Tatties and Herrin'", devoted to songs from the North-East of Scotland. She has recorded many of the Child Ballads. In 2003 she released My Generation, a collection of children's songs, many of them remembered from her own time in the playground. Isla St Clair's most recent album is called Looking Forward to the Past'. In 2003 she appeared in, and co-produced, a documentary film called 'When the Pipers Play', about the Great Highland Bagpipe. The film was released by PBS Television in the United States and went on to win four film festival awards. Later that year she was asked to sing her mother's song 'Dunkirk - Lest We Forget' at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2003 Isla St Clair was awarded an honorary degree as a Master of the University of Aberdeen for her life long contribution to the traditional music of Scotland.
Discography
- Isla St Clair (1972)
- 70 Golden Nursery Rhymes (1979) (various artists: Isla St Clair, Martin Carthy, Shirley Collins and Percy Edwards)
- The Song and The Story (1981)
- Inheritance (1993)
- Scenes Of Scotland (1996)
- Tatties and Herrin' - The Land (1997)
- Tatties and Herrin' - The Sea (1997)
- When The Pipers Play (1998)
- Murder and Mayhem (2000)
- Royal Lovers and Scandals (2000)
- My Generation (2002)
- The Lady and The Piper (2002)
- Amazing Grace - anthem to inspire (2003)
- Looking Forward to the Past (2003)
- Scottish Connections - Live DVD (2003)
