Andrew Graham Cameron MBE (born 13 October 1940) is a Scottish comedian, television and radio broadcaster. He entered show business in the 1970s, working in clubs. He performed " Ally's Tartan Army", the anthem for the Scotland national football team's appearance in the 1978 World Cup. He continued to work in the entertainment industry and as an after dinner speaker.

Early life

He was born in London while his father, Hugh Cameron, was serving in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Cameron was raised by his grandmother, Isabella 'Bella' Cameron, in the

Royal Burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

Rutherglen Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...

, south-east of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland.Andy Cameron on Johnny Hubbard's historic hat-trick against Celtic
The National, 30 August 2019 Prior to pursuing this career he had worked for a time with the Glasgow-based structural engineering firm, Sir William Arrol & Co. and for Glasgow Corporation Transport.

Career

He entered

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

when he was 32, initially working in clubs. His act as a

football hooligan Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviors perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism typically involves ...

led to him becoming a popular in Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

clubs. He is probably best known for performing the song " Ally's Tartan Army" for the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. They compete in three major professional tournaments: the FIFA World Cup, UEFA ...

's appearance at the

1978 World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...

. It reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart and led to two appearances on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' in 1978. Cameron promptly put all of the profits from his

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

into producing an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, which he hoped to release while the World Cup fever in Scotland was still going strong. He was too late - Scotland were knocked out of the World Cup early and Cameron's album fared equally badly. In 1975 he came second in ''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: ...

'', leading to several appearances on variety shows such as ''Live at Her Majesty’s'' with

Jimmy Tarbuck James Joseph Tarbuck (born 6 February 1940) is an English comedian, singer, actor, entertainer and game show host. Tarbuck was a host of '' Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' in the mid-1960s and hosted numerous game shows and quiz shows on ...

and ''Tarby and Friends''. In 1979, soon after the establishment of

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...

, he was given a thirteen-week contract to present a programme of

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

humour Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

. The show eventually ran for fifteen years. He was voted Radio Personality of the year in 1984. He had his own series on

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

in 1979 and again in 1982. He was awarded Scottish Television Personality of the Year for his 1983 series called ''It’s Andy Cameron''. In the early 1980s he was invited to speak in debates at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and Oxford Universities alongside Arnold Brown and

James Naughtie Alexander James Naughtie (surname pronounced ; born 9 August 1951) is a British radio presenter and journalist, known for presenting on BBC Radio 4. From 1994 to 2015, he was one of the main presenters of the ''Today'' programme. In his 21 yea ...

. In 1984, Cameron presented STV's ''

Hogmanay Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots language, 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 ...

'' show. The following year he presented the BBC Scotland Hogmanay show, and continued to do so until 1989. His last Hogmanay appearance was in 1990, in a short programme called ''Andy's Scottish Filling'' which preceded the live BBC Hogmanay Show. In 1995 Cameron joined the cast of ''

Take the High Road ''Take the High Road'' (renamed ''High Road'' from 1994 to 2003) was a Scottish soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV (TV network), ITV daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in ...

'', the STV

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

. He played a character called Chic Cherry, until the last episode in 2003.

Rangers FC

Cameron is a well-known

supporter In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's free choice and were assu ...

Rangers F.C. Rangers Football Club is a professional football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football. The club is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers, though this has never been i ...

In the early 1980s he caused some controversy by attacking the club's anti-catholic signing policies at an

Annual General Meeting An annual general meeting (AGM, also known as the annual meeting) is a meeting of the general membership of an organization. These organizations include membership associations and companies with shareholders. These meetings may be required ...

of the club. He has a 'stand-up' act before Rangers' home league matches. In 1999, a follower of

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

club

Aberdeen F.C. Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional Association football, football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the and have List of unrelegated association football clubs, never been relegated from the top division of th ...

ran from the away section at

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...

to assault Cameron as he performed a routine on the pitch prior to kick-off – the assailant was banned by the club and fined at court.

Current activity

He currently works as an after dinner speaker. He presented a show on Clyde 2 on Sunday afternoons until late 2009.

Honours

Cameron was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity in Glasgow.2015 New Year Honours List
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References

External links

at Speak Out, a division of TMC Corporate Events & Entertainment Ltd {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Andy Living people 1940 births People from Rutherglen People educated at Rutherglen Academy Scottish radio personalities Scottish male songwriters Scottish stand-up comedians Scottish male television actors Scottish television presenters People from Thorntonhall Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish male soap opera actors