Jimmie Macgregor (born 10 March 1930) is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

folksinger and broadcaster, best known as half of a singing duo with Robin Hall.

Biography

Jimmie Macgregor was born in Springburn,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, Scotland, and grew up in a

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

and then a council house, about which he has said: "Our house was a focus for people to gather and make music.... I had aunties and cousins who were chorus girls."Tom Shields, "He’s set to celebrate his 80th birthday but Jimmie Macgregor is far from over the hill"
''The Herald'', 8 March 2010. After doing his national service, he studied at

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

, graduating in the mid-1950s and becoming a potter and teacher.

Partnership with Hall

In 1960, he formed a musical partnership with Robin Hall that would last 20 years.Craig McQueen, "Folk legend Jimmie Macgregor: I'm still going strong at 80 with no plans to retire"
''Daily Record'', 29 November 2010. They appeared extensively on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced t ...

– both on the '' Tonight'' programme and on the '' White Heather Club''. Both also played as part of The Galliards with Leon Rosselson and Shirley Bland. Hall and Macgregor recorded over 20 albums during their partnership, which ended in 1981. One of their most successful singles was the anthem "

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 fo ...

", released in 1960 on Decca Records.

Television and radio work

Macgregor went on to make television programmes for BBC Scotland, many on long-distance walking, including ''In the Footsteps of Bonnie Prince Charlie'', ''On The

West Highland Way The West Highland Way ( gd, Slighe na Gàidhealtachd an Iar) is a linear long-distance route in Scotland. It is long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in the ...

'', and ''Macgregor Across Scotland''. He also made ''Macgregor's Gathering'', a long-running show for Radio Scotland. He has been involved in various conservation organisations, among them the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, and was awarded the MBE in 1994 for services to Scottish heritage and culture.Jimmie Macgregor biography
Shetland Folk Festival.

References

External links

archive of official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macgregor, Jimmie Scottish folk singers Scottish television presenters 1930 births Living people 20th-century Scottish male singers People from Springburn Musicians from Glasgow Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Members of the Order of the British Empire