Isla St Clair
Her first public appearance, at the Aberdeen Folk Club, was at the tender
age of ten and from that moment Isla proved she had inherited the rich
singing tradition of her native North-East Scotland. Isla is one of the
best exponents of Scottish traditional songs and her early recordings of
the ballads are still used as reference at the School of Scottish Studies.
Isla was soon in the top rank of British folksingers, winning several
awards including `Best Female Folk Singer', and touring the world. She
became known to millions for her numerous television appearances which
included all the top entertainment and chat shows, including The Royal
Variety Show, The Morcambe and Wise Show and most notably as co-host on the
BBC's long running The Generation Game which won her `Best Female TV
Personality'. Her BBC television series The Song and the Story won the
coveted European award `Prix Jeunesse'. For children's television, Isla
appeared in such series as Isla's Island for STV, Let's See and The Farm on
the Hill for the BBC, and Central TV's long running Saturday Show which
topped the children's television chart for its entire run.
Isla retired briefly from the industry during the late eighties to raise a
family but her love of singing drew her back into the studios to record the
songs that have been so much part of her life. Her BBC Series `Tatties &
Herrin' showed her voice was as strong as ever - The Scotsman newspaper
wrote "Her singing has acquired a new sense of dramatic emphasis, her
distinctly warm clear tone and exuberance brings songs to life".
Although the essence of Isla's performances reflect her traditional roots
in Scotland, her talent has matured to encompass other aspects of the
entertainment business. Her career has now taken a different and more
challenging direction. Forming her own production company, Story Shop
Productions, Isla is co-producing music and films for a wider international
audience.
Recently she co-produced and sung on the film When the Pipers Play, the
story of the great Highland bagpipe. The Sunday Times wrote "The powerful
and evocative voice of Isla St Clair has produced an album and film of
enchanting and original tunes". The film went on to win four awards at
international Film Festivals. This was followed by two Special Edition CDs
of traditional Scottish and English ballads, Royal Lovers & Scandals and
Murder & Mayhem, both albums received international acclaim and was best
summed up by Tony Barrell of the Sunday Times Magazine, "This is Scottish
minstrelling at its best, Isla St Clair's voice is beautifully pure".
Isla continues to be busy producing documentary films, as well as appearing
on radio and television programmes. Her love of live performance can be
seen in her one-woman show `An evening with Isla' and she is hosting and
singing in an exciting new show of Scottish and Irish music called `Celtic
Legends'.
If you want to know more about Isla's projects visit the feedback form and
mail us with your enquiry.
For details about the Isla St Clair International Fan Club and all the
advantages of joining, including free CDs and tour dates, e-mail Remarkable
Records.
Welcome to The Isla Files
The Isla Files is an audio visual magazine hosted by Isla St. Clair and
made specially for the new webcasting site Celtic Online TV. By clicking
onto www.celticonlinetv.com you will, over the coming months, be able to
watch and listen to interesting material about film making, music and many
other topics.
On this page you can read about Isla St. Clair and listen to an audio
sample of The Isla Files. Isla explains why she made the award winning film
When The Pipers Play.
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