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''The White Heather Club'' was a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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TV
Scottish variety show that ran on and off from 7 May 1958 to 11 April 1968
History
It was an early evening BBC television programme. It started at 6.20, and
Jimmy Shand
Sir James Shand (28 January 1908 – 23 December 2000) was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion. His signature tune was "The Bluebell Polka".
Life and career
James Shand was born in East Wemyss i ...
composed a melody "The Six Twenty Twostep" as the theme tune. This was usually followed by
Andy Stewart singing "Come in, come in, it's nice to see you...." The show always ended with Andy Stewart and the cast singing, "Haste ye Back":
Robert Wilson, who in 1957 had been leading ''The White Heather Group'', was an early presenter of the club and recorded with them. The show was so successful that in the early 1960s there was a company touring Scottish theatres, containing many of the performers. The show was broadcast from Glasgow, at that time the only large TV studio in Scotland, and produced by Iain MacFadyen, who went on to become the Head of Light Entertainment for
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Irela ...
.
[Andy Stewart – The White Heather Club]
Retrieved 23 December 2016 By the Spring 1961 the series was given a wider audience when the series started broadcasting across the UK.
During the same period (1957–68) a
New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
television programme, also called ''The White Heather Club'', was used to herald in the
Hogmanay
Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 January) or i ...
celebrations. The show contained many of the same performers plus special guests such as
Jimmy Logan and
Stanley Baxter in comedy sketches. From 1957 to 1963 there was another programme called ''The Kilt is My Delight'', along similar lines.
Hosts
*
Robert Wilson 1957 - 1958
*
Andy Stewart 1958 - 1964
* Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor 1964 - 1968
Performers
The performers were Jimmy Shand and his band,
Ian Powrie
Ian Powrie (26 May 1923 - 5 October 2011) was a Scottish country dance musician and fiddle player best known for his performances on the BBC show the '' White Heather Club''.
Early life
Ian Powrie was born at Bridge of Cally ( near Blairgowr ...
and his band,
Robin Hall
Robin Hall (27 June 1936 – 18 November 1998) was a Scottish folksinger, best known as half of a singing duo with Jimmie Macgregor. Hall was a direct descendant of the famous Scottish folk hero and outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor as well as of th ...
and
Jimmie Macgregor
Jimmie Macgregor (born 10 March 1930) is a Scottish folksinger and broadcaster, best known as half of a singing duo with Robin Hall.
Biography
Jimmie Macgregor was born in Springburn, Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in a tenement and the ...
, Scottish country dancers: Dixie Ingram and the Dixie Ingram Dancers, the stars of the show: Heather Hall, Heather Wright, Heather Roberts, and Heather Hobbs, who is known affectionately as "Hobbit".
The Corries
The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne continued ...
, who performed on location rather than in the studio, were also staples of the show and later they were joined by singers
Moira Anderson
Moira Anderson (born 5 June 1938) is a Scottish singer.
Life and career
Moira Anderson was born on 5 June 1938 in Kirkintilloch, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. She was educated at Lenzie Academy, She then attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Musi ...
, Jimmy Urquhart (singer) and
Kenneth McKellar. Andy Stewart was the master of ceremonies. He also sang songs and told jokes. All the male dancers, and Andy Stewart, wore
kilt
A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish ...
s, and the women dancers wore long white dresses with tartan sashes. However, in the first show Stewart wore trousers and in the second he rented a kilt before having them tailored.
[
In 1965, ]Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label.
History
Fontana started in the 1950s as a sub ...
issued an album called ''The White Heather Club'', featuring Hall and McGregor. The duo issued dozens of folk albums, and even had a hit single "Football Crazy
"Football Crazy" is a song written by James Curran, originally titled as "The Dooley Fitba' Club", in the 1880s. The song is the earliest-known song that references association football, and it later became a minor hit in the 1960s for Scottish f ...
" (1960) during the period that show was broadcast. Andy Stewart had several hit singles, and The Corries albums continue to sell well today.
Criticism
The Penguin TV companion in 2006 voted ''The White Heather Club'' one of the 20 worst TV shows ever. Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English broadcaster, journalist, author, and television presenter. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate new ...
, who gave the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture
The Edinburgh International Television Festival is an annual media event held in the United Kingdom each August which brings together delegates from the television and digital world to debate the major issues facing the industry.
The Festival ...
at the 2007 Edinburgh International Television Festival
The Edinburgh International Television Festival is an annual media event held in the United Kingdom each August which brings together delegates from the television and digital world to debate the major issues facing the industry.
The Festival ...
cited ''The White Heather Club'' as evidence that there was no "Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...
" of British television
Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
. Although popular in its day, and in some respects competently made, it put forward a tartanised view of Scotland that was becoming very dated by the late 1960s.[Jeremy Paxman: How can we trust TV?]
References
External links
The White Heather Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:White Heather Club, The
Dance television shows
1958 Scottish television series debuts
1968 Scottish television series endings
BBC Scotland television shows
Hogmanay
Scottish music
British variety television shows
1950s Scottish television series
1960s Scottish television series