“Growing up, my interest in Robert Burns was minimal, if not non-existent,” she confessed. “I thought his work was for the highbrow – something rich people celebrated at posh Burns’ suppers. “It was not for the likes of me … the hardly educated, council estate, overspill girl. “Burns wasn’t something which seemed part of my life. But neither was going to university or having more intellectual pursuits. “Now, I see that I was wrong. I am precisely the kind of person Burns wrote for.” In 1975, the Reader family relocated to Irvine, as part of the Glasgow housing overspill. “At 16, I attended Greenwood Academy in Irvine – the same school Nicola Sturgeon later went to – and there was a female teacher, who was really into Burns,” said Eddi.
“Growing up, my interest in Robert Burns was minimal, if not non-existent,” she confessed. “I thought his work was for the highbrow – something rich people celebrated at posh Burns’ suppers. “It was not for the likes of me … the hardly educated, council estate, overspill girl. “Burns wasn’t something which seemed part of my life. But neither was going to university or having more intellectual pursuits. “Now, I see that I was wrong. I am precisely the kind of person Burns wrote for.” In 1975, the Reader family relocated to Irvine, as part of the Glasgow housing overspill. “At 16, I attended Greenwood Academy in Irvine – the same school Nicola Sturgeon later went to – and there was a female teacher, who was really into Burns,” said Eddi.
NEWS that one of Scotland’s greatest pop legends has been booked for North Berwick’s Fringe by the Sea will make you wanna shout! Singer Lulu (pictured below, by R Purvis) is set to appear at the annual festival on August 7 – 57 years after releasing her debut single Shout, which catapulted her to international fame at the age of 15. In 1969, she was part of a four-way tie winner of that year’s Eurovision Song Contest with her song Boom Bang-a-Bang, and in 2015 she wowed young crowds when she appeared at the Glastonbury Festival. Also booked for Fringe by the Sea this year is perennial favourite Eddi Reader, former lead singer with Fairground Attraction who released her acclaimed solo album The Songs of Robert Burns in 2003.
Simon Mayo returns to Drivetime radio with GHR
Greatest Hits Radio’s new networked Drivetime show with Simon Mayo launched on Monday with Gary Barlow, Marti Pellow, Midge Ure, Tony Hadley and many more artists wishing him well.
Kicking off the programme with Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’, Simon welcomed in listeners both new and old.
The show is broadcast from London across the Greatest Hits Radio network in England and Wales, and features split ads/jingles, regional news and local travel news for each licence the show is broadcast on.
Simon also has new sung jingles to use on the show, which are produced with VO mentions for local areas.