Kenneth McKellar (singer)

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Kenneth McKellar (born June 23, 1927 in Paisley , Scotland , † April 9, 2010 in South Lake Tahoe , California ) was a British singer ( tenor ).

Life

Early years

McKellar originally studied forestry at Aberdeen University and after graduating worked for the Scottish Forestry Council . He later began training as an opera singer at the Royal College of Music . Not satisfied with his training with the Carl Rosa Opera Company , he separated from the association and began a career as a singer of Scottish folk songs and similar material. He received critical acclaim for his interpretations of Robert Burns ' songs . In 1960 four of his EPs hit the UK EP charts, including Handel's arias and Road to the Isles in the top 10.

In 1964 the singer went on tour through New Zealand . In the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared alongside Jimmy Shand and Andy Stewart frequently on the " Hogmanay " festival programs of the BBC .

Participation in the Eurovision Song Contest

In 1966 McKellar was selected internally by the BBC to represent Great Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest . As was customary at the time, the British representative presented five titles in a television program entitled A song for Europe . Viewers were asked to vote for their favorite title by postcard. The song A man without love , composed by Cyril Ornadel and texted by Peter Callander , emerged as the winner.

Contributions to the preliminary round
No. title space
1. As long as the sun shines 3
2. Country girl 2
3. A touch of the tartan 5
4th A man without love 1
5. Comes the time 4th

At the Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg in 1966 , he ended up in midfield. With eight points - three from Luxembourg and five from Ireland  - he came ninth out of 18 participants.

After the competition

Although his competition entry was the only song with which he could reach the UK single charts (at number 30), he stopped recording singles and instead focused on more EPs and albums, which paid off: in 1969 he hit the album charts with The world of Kenneth McKellar , 1970 with Ecco di Napoli .

various

  • The song of the clyde was the first song played by Scotland's first private radio station, Radio Clyde, in 1973. The song was also the theme song for the film Billy Liar .
  • McKellar was the first and is still the only singer to wear a Scottish kilt at the Eurovision Song Contest .

Web links

  • Bio on esctoday.com

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ geocities.ws
  2. ↑ charts-surfer.de
personal data
SURNAME McKellar, Kenneth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British singer (tenor)
DATE OF BIRTH June 23, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Paisley , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH April 9, 2010
Place of death South Lake Tahoe , California