The Alexander Brothers - A Look Back at the Extraordinary Career of Scotland’s International Entertainers
by
Bill Brown
B&F October 2008
On Friday 27th June 1958 a young Tom and Jack Alexander made their first professional stage appearance at the Webster Memorial Hall in the idyllic Scottish fishing town of Arbroath. On that summer’s evening in 1958 not even Tom and Jack Alexander in their wildest dreams could possibly have foreseen the tremendous success and longevity they would go on to achieve throughout their musical career, not only in their native Scotland, but also around the world. Now 55 years later, the Alexander Brothers, who have sadly retired, have quite rightly achieved legendary status in the Scottish show business hall of fame and in the process have deservedly won a treasured place in the hearts and minds of Scottish people both at home and abroad.
The long hard road to musical fame and fortune began for Tom and Jack Alexander in the family home in Cambusnethan near Wishaw in the industrial heartland of Lanarkshire. The boys were two of a family of three and enjoyed a very normal childhood growing up in the family home with their sister Betty. It was apparent early on that Tom and his younger brother Jack had inherited a great love for music and at nights the family would often sit around the piano singing and playing the popular songs of the day. Those impromptu music sessions were invariably led by their mother Helen, who was a gifted pianist and singer in her own right. At the age of nine Tom acquired his first accordion and started having lessons with a succession of local teachers. After reaching a level of proficiency on the instrument Tom was invited by Bill Brown to have lessons at the Brown School of Accordionists, which he did for around fourteen months. In 1952 Tom was entered for the classical section of the NAO Championships at the Christian Institute in Glasgow and won the title playing the test pieces Bats at Sunset by Frosini and Spanish Holiday by Eugene Ettore. Meanwhile, Jack had developed a love for the piano and was also making great progress with his chosen instrument after taking piano lessons twice a week from a local music teacher. Jack also discovered that he had developed a strong and powerful tenor voice of an outstanding and distinctive quality.
During those very early formative years Tom and Jack received great help, support and encouragement from both their parents in pursuit of their musical ambitions. Their father, Jimmy Alexander, who was a steel worker with Clyde Alloy in Motherwell, was very much the driving force behind the family and was insistent, as most parents would, that Tom and Jack learned a trade they could fall back on should their musical ambitions not work out. So it was that the boys, on leaving school, embarked upon learning the trade of painting and decorating by day with Torrance the Painters in Motherwell, while still entertaining as amateur performers by night.
By this time The Alexander Brothers were entering talent contests and “Go as you Please” competitions, which in those days, were held in Miners Welfare Clubs throughout Scotland. Tom changed from his Hohner accordion to a Galanti Super Dominator box for those talent contests as the Galanti was better suited to the classical material he was playing, pieces such as The Poet, Peasant Overture and the Carnival of Venice etc. This was definitely not the era of the fast track television talent shows of the like we see today, but a generation where musical success only came through hard work, dedication and a talent which the young brothers had in abundance. Often Tom and Jack would return home from talent contests having secured First Prize and the associated monies which went with it, which initially was £3, £2 or £1, much to the joy and delight of their mother Helen.
Gradually the prize money improved and increased to the extent that the family could afford to buy their first car, a 1939 Flying Standard, which enabled the boys and their father Jimmy to travel longer distances entering much larger talent contests. By their early twenties, the boys were well aware of their unique talent and potential, but if they were to reach their ultimate goal, it would still demand continued hard work and sacrifice. This was not a time for back tracking on their dream and no doubt their father Jimmy kept them highly motivated, focussed and grounded. Having won numerous amateur talent contests, the Alexander Brothers were beginning to be talked about, especially throughout their home County of Lanarkshire. However, their inevitable progression to the professional stage had to take a back seat when Jack was called up to do his National Service with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. Due to medical reasons, Tom missed out on National Service and continued learning the painting and decorating trade while Jack was away serving his country. During his National Service Jack served in Aden, joined the regimental band and learned to play bass and trombone in addition to using his obvious singing talents.
On his return from National Service the boys picked up where they had left off and once again the talent and charisma of The Alexander Brothers were rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with throughout Scotland. Having by this stage won most of the talent contests they entered and having spent a period of time perfecting and polishing their act, the boys decided in 1958 to take the plunge and turn professional. They contacted their friend, George Clarkson Senior, who at the time was a highly respected Producer. George was eager to help his young friends and subsequently arranged an audition with George Bowie Senior, who was the father of Ross Bowie, who ultimately became their sole agent and personal manager until his retirement some 35 years later. As part of the audition process, George Bowie Senior was keen to see the boys perform in front of a live audience, so he arranged a special show for the inmates at Barlinnie Prison! This unusual show was arguably the most important of Tom and Jack’s career as in many ways all the hard work and sacrifice they had put in during the previous few years was now being put to the test. In the end the boys did not have to worry as their performance went down really well with the ready made audience, which resulted in them being booked to make their first professional stage appearance in George Bowie’s summer production at the Webster Memorial Hall in Arbroath.
The show was billed as “The Arbroath Entertainers of 1958” and opened for the summer season on Friday 27th June. The show was produced by George Clarkson and was held twice nightly at 6.45pm and 8.45pm. The top of the bill was Pete Martin, who was supported by Tom and Jack, Myra Crichton, John McIver, George Clarkson, Alice Davidson, George Rex, Kathleen Stanley, Lilian Collins, The Debutantes, Dave Moffat and Margaret May. There was a complete change of programme on Monday and Thursday and the admission price was three shillings, two shillings and one shilling. Tom and Jack’s act, as we came to know it, was very different when they opened in Arbroath 55 years ago. Like most performers they wore the latest fashion of the day, which was long Teddyboy style jackets, drainpipe trousers, string ties and crepe soled shoes. Tom at the time was playing accordion pieces such as The Carnival of Venice while Jack was playing classical piano and singing the standards of the day.
After some friendly advice from the comedian and entertainer Roland Smith they rapidly altered their repertoire and started performing Scottish material. Jack singing songs such as The Road and the Miles to Dundee and The Muckin’ O’ Geordie’s Byre and Tom playing tunes such as The High Level Hornpipe. They also changed their style of dress, moving firstly to tartan tuxedo jackets before making the obvious transition to kilts. The Alexander Brothers, as we have come to know and love them, were now well and truly born and on the way to something much greater than they had previously. The transformation and public reaction from this point on was absolutely staggering and soon the whole of Scotland was talking about the most exciting new act to emerge in Scottish show business for some time.
The boys were now well on the way to continuing the great tradition of producing Scottish acts in the mould of Sir Harry Lauder, Andy Stewart, Sir Jimmy Shand, Will Fyfe, Will Starr and Robert Wilson to name but a few, while at the same time, laying the foundations of what was to become their own Scottish show business dynasty. Such was the popularity and impact of The Alexander Brothers on the Scottish show business scene that requests for their services flooded in. In the winter of 1958 they spent a season at the old Metropole Theatre in Glasgow and in the spring of 1959 they toured the Scottish Highlands with the late and very much missed Calum Kennedy.
By now the brightest new act to come out of Scotland for many years was continuing to grow in stature and popularity which resulted in Tom and Jack being invited to appear at the now defunct Metropolitan Theatre in London during the winter season of 1959. It was during this spell in London that one of their first big breaks was to occur, when the boys were introduced to Louis Benjamin, who was the then owner of Pye Records. Louis Benjamin was so impressed with the sound, excitement and energy of the new Scottish kids on the block that he instantly offered them a five year recording contract with Pye Records, who had up and coming names such as Lonnie Donegan, Petula Clark and The Searchers on their books.
By this stage the boys were so busy with theatre work that fitting recording sessions into their increasingly hectic schedule was proving extremely problematic and, as a result, it was some nine months before Tom and Jack found the time to record their first album.
A young Tony Hatch was appointed as their Recording Manager to oversee the project and there began an association that was to become a highly successful and fruitful relationship for all concerned. Tony Hatch at this early stage in his career was of course very much into recording the latest pop hits of the day so an act such as The Alexander Brothers was a major deviation from his usual production work. Keen to learn as much as he could about his new recording protégées the young and enthusiastic Tony Hatch took himself off to Scotland to see the boys perform. Some 55 years later, Tony Hatch looks back on his first experience of seeing The Alexander Brothers perform live with great affection and remembers how spellbound he was by their tremendous appeal, musical ability and talent. Tom and Jack’s very first vinyl LP recording, Highland Fling, was released in September 1961 on the Pye Golden Guinea label, catalogue number GGL 0093. Even at this early stage in their career The Alexander Brothers were already extremely popular in Scotland, ensuring that the boy’s first release became one of the top selling LPs in Scotland that year.
Throughout the sixties, Tom and Jack released a new album every year to the great delight of their rapidly increasing fan base. Highland Fling was followed by Haste Ye Back (GGL 0124) in 1962, Bonnie Scotland (GGL 0215) in 1963, Let’s Have a Ceilidh (GGL 0271) in 1964, Two Highland Lads (GGL 0329) in 1965, Nobody’s Child (GGL 0359) in 1966, These Are My Mountains (GGL 0375) in 1966, Sing Country Hits (GGL 0386) in 1967, Live at the Opera House Blackpool (GGL 0402) in 1967, Tom and Jack’s Sing-In (GSGL 10411) in 1968 and so the list goes on and on. During their time with Pye Records, Tom and Jack were to record over thirty successful albums and countless singles for the label, who were quick to recognise the international appeal of The Alexander Brothers. Despite the many fine albums and singles that Tom and Jack recorded down through the years, the one song that will live with them forever and is now an inherent part of their DNA is the song Nobody’s Child. The boys first heard it being sung in the early sixties by a lady called Peggy Smith while attending a ceilidh in an Arbroath hotel on a rare night off while appearing in Perth.
Tom and Jack liked the song so much they were convinced it could be a defining number for them and started to include it in their act. Such was the audience response to the song they decided they had to record it, much against the advice of their Recording Manager Tony Hatch. However, the boys were equally determined and insistent so the song was duly recorded and released as a single in 1964 along with Why Did You Make Me Care? as the B side (Pye Number 7N 15738). The song became an instant hit, catapulting The Alexander Brothers to even greater public attention and fame.
Tom and Jack were now selling out theatres wherever they played, including Perth City Hall and the massive Caird Hall in Dundee, which at the time, had only previously been filled to capacity by Danny Kaye and The Beatles.
Even the recording exploits of John, Paul, George and Ringo were no match for The Alexander Brothers as the boys records were well outselling The Beatles in Scotland. Jack, when walking down the street in Dundee city centre, noticed newspaper billboards that read “Alexander Brothers do Beatles business” which moved him to coin the immortal phrase “Nae bad for two painters fae Wishae”. This was indeed adoration time for Cambusnethan’s favourite sons who were selling out venues, sometimes twice nightly, everywhere they played. They were even in great demand on Sundays, travelling south to appear in places such as Blackpool and Scarborough alongside such big names as Sandie Shaw, Dickie Henderson and The Bachelors.
The fledging television industry was also now beginning to attract the public’s interest and imagination and Scotland’s brightest new act was also attracting the attention of programme executives running this exciting new medium. Around this time the boys started receiving many requests to do television and radio work, but due to their many commitments, they were unable to take on as much of this as they would have liked. They did however make a few random appearances on Scottish Television, which resulted in the adoring Scottish public writing to STV by the sack load demanding to see more of the boys on Channel 10 which was the frequency STV transmitted on during those early romantic pioneering days of black and white television. Due to the huge public demand, the boys were signed up for a series of four programmes called Theatre Royal. The series was an overnight success with thousands of admiring viewers calling the STV switchboard demanding to see more of their musical heroes. This huge public reaction resulted in Tom and Jack being given their own television series simply titled The Alexander Brothers Show which consisted initially of five episodes and was transmitted as part of Scottish Television’s winter schedule in December 1965. The public reaction to this series was unprecedented with the show reaching the number one spot in Central Scotland for four consecutive weeks.
Francis Essex, the then Director of Programmes at Scottish Television, was so impressed with the boys performance that he persuaded Tom and Jack to sign an exclusive twelve month contract with STV and also commissioned a further series, this time for thirteen episodes rather than the previous five. Well aware of the outstanding talent they had in their midst, Scottish Television deployed their best production talent to work on the series under the artistic and skilful direction of up and coming Programme Director Clarke Tait, who had directed the earlier programmes. Bruce McClure, Scotland’s top chorographer, was hired to arrange the dance routines. Clarke Tait was very much the inspiration behind the concept of filming the boys performing on location in front of some well known Scottish beauty spots which added greatly to the production value of the show and also very cleverly gave the series international sales value.
There was no finer example of this than the first colour Alexander Brothers Show which was shot on film on the beautiful Island of Arran in 1968. No expense was spared for this production, which featured The Kay Gordon Singers and The George Keenan Orchestra. Peter Knight was brought in as the Musical Arranger with the chorography once again masterminded by the extremely talented Bruce McClure. The late Clarke Tait, who creatively was well ahead of his time, again directed this one-off special.
The new thirteen part weekly series, which was studio based with the addition of the odd insert recorded on location, was shot in the summer of 1966 and started transmission in October 1966. During the summer of that year the boys were co-starring with Jack Milroy in the Five Past Eight Show at the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh, which allowed them to record their new television series in Glasgow during the day before dashing through to Edinburgh for the evening performance. Such was the appeal of The Alexander Brothers and their ability to deliver good viewing figures, Scottish Television scheduled the new thirteen part series in their peak time schedule following the high-rating Peyton Place which provided a springboard for such famous names as Ryan O’Neal and Mia Farrow. The programmes were in a thirty minute slot and featured dancers and star guest names each week such as Dave Allen and Roger Whittaker.
The Alexander Brothers were to achieve their next big UK television break while on the other side of the Atlantic. Tom and Jack were booked to appear at the world famous Carnegie Hall, New York in November 1965. It was during this trip that their talent and infectious stage performance came to the attention of a show business agent who was in the States looking for potential acts to book for Val Parnell’s famous Sunday Night at the London Palladium show. Such was the impact the boys made that night in the Carnegie Hall, ironically in a venue named after another very famous Scotsman, that they were booked to appear on Sunday Night at the London Palladium. The Palladium show featuring The Alexander Brothers was hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck and transmitted on the ITV Network on 2nd January 1966 with Shirley Bassey starring as top of the bill. Tom and Jack’s television appearances brought them even more into the public’s consciousness. As a result they were increasingly recognised wherever they went which helped ticket sales in the theatres and venues they played the length and breadth of the country.
Throughout their career, which spanned a staggering fifty-four years, The Alexander Brothers clocked up many appearances on television. As well as hosting their own highly successful television series they have been star guests many times down through the years on Scottish Television productions such as Studio A Star Time, Thingummyjig, Shindig and Northern Lights as well as welcoming in many a New Year as star guests on countless Hogmanay shows. Such was the long association that Tom and Jack had with Scottish Television that they were invited to appear as special guests on Scottish Television’s 21st Anniversary Show, which was screened from the Theatre Royal, Glasgow in 1978.
During the early nineties, Scottish Television turned their back on traditional Scottish variety shows which resulted in Tom and Jack’s television appearances becoming fewer and fewer, although they did continue to appear on televised Hogmanay shows. After all, Hogmanay would not be Hogmanay without The Alexander Brothers! I’m sure many readers will recall Hogmanay nights when you could catch Andy Stewart on the BBC before switching over to STV to catch Tom and Jack, or the great days of Scottish variety theatre when Andy Stewart would be playing to a capacity audience at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow while Tom and Jack were playing to full houses just up the road at the Pavilion?
You can’t keep a great act of our screens for too long and Tom and Jack did once again rise to the ascendancy on television in 1998 when Scottish Television decided to make the boys the subject of an Artery Special to mark their 40th Anniversary in professional show business. This programme was given the subtitle So You All Thought We We’re Deid and was scheduled at tea-time, up against the extremely popular Australian soap Neighbours, which at the time, was cleaning up on BBC One. It came as no surprise that the special on Tom and Jack won hands down, achieving much better ratings in Central Scotland than the high rating Australian soap. From that experience, Scottish Television realised that The Alexander Brothers could still pull in good viewing figures which resulted in Tom and Jack appearing more on our screens than during the last decade on shows such as The Alexander Brothers & Friends, Northern Nights, and of course, yet more Hogmanay shows, if only on location from an invariably very cold and windswept Edinburgh!
Tom and Jack waggled their kilts with great success, respect and professionalism for over fifty years throughout the length and breadth of Scotland and painted a wonderful picture of the musical heritage of their native homeland countless times throughout their long and illustrious career in places as diverse as England, Toronto, Montreal, Nova Scotia, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Calgary, Vancouver Island, Boston, New York, Baltimore, Australia and New Zealand. They also experienced many highlights in a glorious and glittering career such as continually selling out theatre dates throughout Scotland, hosted their own highly successful television series, appearing on the prestigious and highly rating Sunday Night at the London Palladium television show, welcomed in many a New Year on countless television Hogmanay shows, toured Australia and New Zealand with Sir Jimmy Shand and recorded countless award winning singles, vinyl LPs, CDs and DVDs with Pye Records, RCA, Lismor and Scotdisc.
However, the ultimate accolade and more formal recognition of Tom and Jack’s outstanding musical career came in 2005 when they were both awarded a much welcomed and long overdue MBE by Her Majesty the Queen in the 2005 New Year’s Honours List. Tom and Jack received their well deserved MBE’s for Services to the Entertainment Industry at an investiture held at Holyrood House, Edinburgh in July 2005.
Tom and Jack’s easy listening brand of Scottish music charmed and delighted audiences the world over for a wonderful 54 years, but unfortunately nothing lasts forever and so it was that Tom and Jack very reluctantly and sadly announced on the 30th May 2012 to a surprised and shocked Scotland that they had taken the decision to retire from show business with immediate effect.
The extensive television and media coverage they received on making the announcement demonstrated and validated their outstanding contribution to Scottish show business and reinstated how much they were still loved by Scotland and their adoring supporters and admirers, if ever that confirmation was ever really needed!
Tom and Jack Alexander have now entered the Scottish show business Hall of Fame and rightly take their place amongst the great names of Scottish variety such as Sir Harry Lauder, Will Fyfe, Robert Wilson, Andy Stewart, Jimmy Logan, Sir Jimmy Shand, Will Starr, Jack Milroy, Ricki Fulton and of course their old friend of many years standing Johnny Beattie.
I’m sure readers of this magazine will raise a glass and wish Tom and Jack a very happy and healthy retirement and join me in thanking the boys for entertaining us so consistently and professionally for 54 fabulous years and for leaving us with so many heartfelt musical memories!
The long hard road to musical fame and fortune began for Tom and Jack Alexander in the family home in Cambusnethan near Wishaw in the industrial heartland of Lanarkshire. The boys were two of a family of three and enjoyed a very normal childhood growing up in the family home with their sister Betty. It was apparent early on that Tom and his younger brother Jack had inherited a great love for music and at nights the family would often sit around the piano singing and playing the popular songs of the day. Those impromptu music sessions were invariably led by their mother Helen, who was a gifted pianist and singer in her own right. At the age of nine Tom acquired his first accordion and started having lessons with a succession of local teachers. After reaching a level of proficiency on the instrument Tom was invited by Bill Brown to have lessons at the Brown School of Accordionists, which he did for around fourteen months. In 1952 Tom was entered for the classical section of the NAO Championships at the Christian Institute in Glasgow and won the title playing the test pieces Bats at Sunset by Frosini and Spanish Holiday by Eugene Ettore. Meanwhile, Jack had developed a love for the piano and was also making great progress with his chosen instrument after taking piano lessons twice a week from a local music teacher. Jack also discovered that he had developed a strong and powerful tenor voice of an outstanding and distinctive quality.
During those very early formative years Tom and Jack received great help, support and encouragement from both their parents in pursuit of their musical ambitions. Their father, Jimmy Alexander, who was a steel worker with Clyde Alloy in Motherwell, was very much the driving force behind the family and was insistent, as most parents would, that Tom and Jack learned a trade they could fall back on should their musical ambitions not work out. So it was that the boys, on leaving school, embarked upon learning the trade of painting and decorating by day with Torrance the Painters in Motherwell, while still entertaining as amateur performers by night.
By this time The Alexander Brothers were entering talent contests and “Go as you Please” competitions, which in those days, were held in Miners Welfare Clubs throughout Scotland. Tom changed from his Hohner accordion to a Galanti Super Dominator box for those talent contests as the Galanti was better suited to the classical material he was playing, pieces such as The Poet, Peasant Overture and the Carnival of Venice etc. This was definitely not the era of the fast track television talent shows of the like we see today, but a generation where musical success only came through hard work, dedication and a talent which the young brothers had in abundance. Often Tom and Jack would return home from talent contests having secured First Prize and the associated monies which went with it, which initially was £3, £2 or £1, much to the joy and delight of their mother Helen.
Gradually the prize money improved and increased to the extent that the family could afford to buy their first car, a 1939 Flying Standard, which enabled the boys and their father Jimmy to travel longer distances entering much larger talent contests. By their early twenties, the boys were well aware of their unique talent and potential, but if they were to reach their ultimate goal, it would still demand continued hard work and sacrifice. This was not a time for back tracking on their dream and no doubt their father Jimmy kept them highly motivated, focussed and grounded. Having won numerous amateur talent contests, the Alexander Brothers were beginning to be talked about, especially throughout their home County of Lanarkshire. However, their inevitable progression to the professional stage had to take a back seat when Jack was called up to do his National Service with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. Due to medical reasons, Tom missed out on National Service and continued learning the painting and decorating trade while Jack was away serving his country. During his National Service Jack served in Aden, joined the regimental band and learned to play bass and trombone in addition to using his obvious singing talents.
On his return from National Service the boys picked up where they had left off and once again the talent and charisma of The Alexander Brothers were rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with throughout Scotland. Having by this stage won most of the talent contests they entered and having spent a period of time perfecting and polishing their act, the boys decided in 1958 to take the plunge and turn professional. They contacted their friend, George Clarkson Senior, who at the time was a highly respected Producer. George was eager to help his young friends and subsequently arranged an audition with George Bowie Senior, who was the father of Ross Bowie, who ultimately became their sole agent and personal manager until his retirement some 35 years later. As part of the audition process, George Bowie Senior was keen to see the boys perform in front of a live audience, so he arranged a special show for the inmates at Barlinnie Prison! This unusual show was arguably the most important of Tom and Jack’s career as in many ways all the hard work and sacrifice they had put in during the previous few years was now being put to the test. In the end the boys did not have to worry as their performance went down really well with the ready made audience, which resulted in them being booked to make their first professional stage appearance in George Bowie’s summer production at the Webster Memorial Hall in Arbroath.
The show was billed as “The Arbroath Entertainers of 1958” and opened for the summer season on Friday 27th June. The show was produced by George Clarkson and was held twice nightly at 6.45pm and 8.45pm. The top of the bill was Pete Martin, who was supported by Tom and Jack, Myra Crichton, John McIver, George Clarkson, Alice Davidson, George Rex, Kathleen Stanley, Lilian Collins, The Debutantes, Dave Moffat and Margaret May. There was a complete change of programme on Monday and Thursday and the admission price was three shillings, two shillings and one shilling. Tom and Jack’s act, as we came to know it, was very different when they opened in Arbroath 55 years ago. Like most performers they wore the latest fashion of the day, which was long Teddyboy style jackets, drainpipe trousers, string ties and crepe soled shoes. Tom at the time was playing accordion pieces such as The Carnival of Venice while Jack was playing classical piano and singing the standards of the day.
After some friendly advice from the comedian and entertainer Roland Smith they rapidly altered their repertoire and started performing Scottish material. Jack singing songs such as The Road and the Miles to Dundee and The Muckin’ O’ Geordie’s Byre and Tom playing tunes such as The High Level Hornpipe. They also changed their style of dress, moving firstly to tartan tuxedo jackets before making the obvious transition to kilts. The Alexander Brothers, as we have come to know and love them, were now well and truly born and on the way to something much greater than they had previously. The transformation and public reaction from this point on was absolutely staggering and soon the whole of Scotland was talking about the most exciting new act to emerge in Scottish show business for some time.
The boys were now well on the way to continuing the great tradition of producing Scottish acts in the mould of Sir Harry Lauder, Andy Stewart, Sir Jimmy Shand, Will Fyfe, Will Starr and Robert Wilson to name but a few, while at the same time, laying the foundations of what was to become their own Scottish show business dynasty. Such was the popularity and impact of The Alexander Brothers on the Scottish show business scene that requests for their services flooded in. In the winter of 1958 they spent a season at the old Metropole Theatre in Glasgow and in the spring of 1959 they toured the Scottish Highlands with the late and very much missed Calum Kennedy.
By now the brightest new act to come out of Scotland for many years was continuing to grow in stature and popularity which resulted in Tom and Jack being invited to appear at the now defunct Metropolitan Theatre in London during the winter season of 1959. It was during this spell in London that one of their first big breaks was to occur, when the boys were introduced to Louis Benjamin, who was the then owner of Pye Records. Louis Benjamin was so impressed with the sound, excitement and energy of the new Scottish kids on the block that he instantly offered them a five year recording contract with Pye Records, who had up and coming names such as Lonnie Donegan, Petula Clark and The Searchers on their books.
By this stage the boys were so busy with theatre work that fitting recording sessions into their increasingly hectic schedule was proving extremely problematic and, as a result, it was some nine months before Tom and Jack found the time to record their first album.
A young Tony Hatch was appointed as their Recording Manager to oversee the project and there began an association that was to become a highly successful and fruitful relationship for all concerned. Tony Hatch at this early stage in his career was of course very much into recording the latest pop hits of the day so an act such as The Alexander Brothers was a major deviation from his usual production work. Keen to learn as much as he could about his new recording protégées the young and enthusiastic Tony Hatch took himself off to Scotland to see the boys perform. Some 55 years later, Tony Hatch looks back on his first experience of seeing The Alexander Brothers perform live with great affection and remembers how spellbound he was by their tremendous appeal, musical ability and talent. Tom and Jack’s very first vinyl LP recording, Highland Fling, was released in September 1961 on the Pye Golden Guinea label, catalogue number GGL 0093. Even at this early stage in their career The Alexander Brothers were already extremely popular in Scotland, ensuring that the boy’s first release became one of the top selling LPs in Scotland that year.
Throughout the sixties, Tom and Jack released a new album every year to the great delight of their rapidly increasing fan base. Highland Fling was followed by Haste Ye Back (GGL 0124) in 1962, Bonnie Scotland (GGL 0215) in 1963, Let’s Have a Ceilidh (GGL 0271) in 1964, Two Highland Lads (GGL 0329) in 1965, Nobody’s Child (GGL 0359) in 1966, These Are My Mountains (GGL 0375) in 1966, Sing Country Hits (GGL 0386) in 1967, Live at the Opera House Blackpool (GGL 0402) in 1967, Tom and Jack’s Sing-In (GSGL 10411) in 1968 and so the list goes on and on. During their time with Pye Records, Tom and Jack were to record over thirty successful albums and countless singles for the label, who were quick to recognise the international appeal of The Alexander Brothers. Despite the many fine albums and singles that Tom and Jack recorded down through the years, the one song that will live with them forever and is now an inherent part of their DNA is the song Nobody’s Child. The boys first heard it being sung in the early sixties by a lady called Peggy Smith while attending a ceilidh in an Arbroath hotel on a rare night off while appearing in Perth.
Tom and Jack liked the song so much they were convinced it could be a defining number for them and started to include it in their act. Such was the audience response to the song they decided they had to record it, much against the advice of their Recording Manager Tony Hatch. However, the boys were equally determined and insistent so the song was duly recorded and released as a single in 1964 along with Why Did You Make Me Care? as the B side (Pye Number 7N 15738). The song became an instant hit, catapulting The Alexander Brothers to even greater public attention and fame.
Tom and Jack were now selling out theatres wherever they played, including Perth City Hall and the massive Caird Hall in Dundee, which at the time, had only previously been filled to capacity by Danny Kaye and The Beatles.
Even the recording exploits of John, Paul, George and Ringo were no match for The Alexander Brothers as the boys records were well outselling The Beatles in Scotland. Jack, when walking down the street in Dundee city centre, noticed newspaper billboards that read “Alexander Brothers do Beatles business” which moved him to coin the immortal phrase “Nae bad for two painters fae Wishae”. This was indeed adoration time for Cambusnethan’s favourite sons who were selling out venues, sometimes twice nightly, everywhere they played. They were even in great demand on Sundays, travelling south to appear in places such as Blackpool and Scarborough alongside such big names as Sandie Shaw, Dickie Henderson and The Bachelors.
The fledging television industry was also now beginning to attract the public’s interest and imagination and Scotland’s brightest new act was also attracting the attention of programme executives running this exciting new medium. Around this time the boys started receiving many requests to do television and radio work, but due to their many commitments, they were unable to take on as much of this as they would have liked. They did however make a few random appearances on Scottish Television, which resulted in the adoring Scottish public writing to STV by the sack load demanding to see more of the boys on Channel 10 which was the frequency STV transmitted on during those early romantic pioneering days of black and white television. Due to the huge public demand, the boys were signed up for a series of four programmes called Theatre Royal. The series was an overnight success with thousands of admiring viewers calling the STV switchboard demanding to see more of their musical heroes. This huge public reaction resulted in Tom and Jack being given their own television series simply titled The Alexander Brothers Show which consisted initially of five episodes and was transmitted as part of Scottish Television’s winter schedule in December 1965. The public reaction to this series was unprecedented with the show reaching the number one spot in Central Scotland for four consecutive weeks.
Francis Essex, the then Director of Programmes at Scottish Television, was so impressed with the boys performance that he persuaded Tom and Jack to sign an exclusive twelve month contract with STV and also commissioned a further series, this time for thirteen episodes rather than the previous five. Well aware of the outstanding talent they had in their midst, Scottish Television deployed their best production talent to work on the series under the artistic and skilful direction of up and coming Programme Director Clarke Tait, who had directed the earlier programmes. Bruce McClure, Scotland’s top chorographer, was hired to arrange the dance routines. Clarke Tait was very much the inspiration behind the concept of filming the boys performing on location in front of some well known Scottish beauty spots which added greatly to the production value of the show and also very cleverly gave the series international sales value.
There was no finer example of this than the first colour Alexander Brothers Show which was shot on film on the beautiful Island of Arran in 1968. No expense was spared for this production, which featured The Kay Gordon Singers and The George Keenan Orchestra. Peter Knight was brought in as the Musical Arranger with the chorography once again masterminded by the extremely talented Bruce McClure. The late Clarke Tait, who creatively was well ahead of his time, again directed this one-off special.
The new thirteen part weekly series, which was studio based with the addition of the odd insert recorded on location, was shot in the summer of 1966 and started transmission in October 1966. During the summer of that year the boys were co-starring with Jack Milroy in the Five Past Eight Show at the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh, which allowed them to record their new television series in Glasgow during the day before dashing through to Edinburgh for the evening performance. Such was the appeal of The Alexander Brothers and their ability to deliver good viewing figures, Scottish Television scheduled the new thirteen part series in their peak time schedule following the high-rating Peyton Place which provided a springboard for such famous names as Ryan O’Neal and Mia Farrow. The programmes were in a thirty minute slot and featured dancers and star guest names each week such as Dave Allen and Roger Whittaker.
The Alexander Brothers were to achieve their next big UK television break while on the other side of the Atlantic. Tom and Jack were booked to appear at the world famous Carnegie Hall, New York in November 1965. It was during this trip that their talent and infectious stage performance came to the attention of a show business agent who was in the States looking for potential acts to book for Val Parnell’s famous Sunday Night at the London Palladium show. Such was the impact the boys made that night in the Carnegie Hall, ironically in a venue named after another very famous Scotsman, that they were booked to appear on Sunday Night at the London Palladium. The Palladium show featuring The Alexander Brothers was hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck and transmitted on the ITV Network on 2nd January 1966 with Shirley Bassey starring as top of the bill. Tom and Jack’s television appearances brought them even more into the public’s consciousness. As a result they were increasingly recognised wherever they went which helped ticket sales in the theatres and venues they played the length and breadth of the country.
Throughout their career, which spanned a staggering fifty-four years, The Alexander Brothers clocked up many appearances on television. As well as hosting their own highly successful television series they have been star guests many times down through the years on Scottish Television productions such as Studio A Star Time, Thingummyjig, Shindig and Northern Lights as well as welcoming in many a New Year as star guests on countless Hogmanay shows. Such was the long association that Tom and Jack had with Scottish Television that they were invited to appear as special guests on Scottish Television’s 21st Anniversary Show, which was screened from the Theatre Royal, Glasgow in 1978.
During the early nineties, Scottish Television turned their back on traditional Scottish variety shows which resulted in Tom and Jack’s television appearances becoming fewer and fewer, although they did continue to appear on televised Hogmanay shows. After all, Hogmanay would not be Hogmanay without The Alexander Brothers! I’m sure many readers will recall Hogmanay nights when you could catch Andy Stewart on the BBC before switching over to STV to catch Tom and Jack, or the great days of Scottish variety theatre when Andy Stewart would be playing to a capacity audience at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow while Tom and Jack were playing to full houses just up the road at the Pavilion?
You can’t keep a great act of our screens for too long and Tom and Jack did once again rise to the ascendancy on television in 1998 when Scottish Television decided to make the boys the subject of an Artery Special to mark their 40th Anniversary in professional show business. This programme was given the subtitle So You All Thought We We’re Deid and was scheduled at tea-time, up against the extremely popular Australian soap Neighbours, which at the time, was cleaning up on BBC One. It came as no surprise that the special on Tom and Jack won hands down, achieving much better ratings in Central Scotland than the high rating Australian soap. From that experience, Scottish Television realised that The Alexander Brothers could still pull in good viewing figures which resulted in Tom and Jack appearing more on our screens than during the last decade on shows such as The Alexander Brothers & Friends, Northern Nights, and of course, yet more Hogmanay shows, if only on location from an invariably very cold and windswept Edinburgh!
Tom and Jack waggled their kilts with great success, respect and professionalism for over fifty years throughout the length and breadth of Scotland and painted a wonderful picture of the musical heritage of their native homeland countless times throughout their long and illustrious career in places as diverse as England, Toronto, Montreal, Nova Scotia, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Calgary, Vancouver Island, Boston, New York, Baltimore, Australia and New Zealand. They also experienced many highlights in a glorious and glittering career such as continually selling out theatre dates throughout Scotland, hosted their own highly successful television series, appearing on the prestigious and highly rating Sunday Night at the London Palladium television show, welcomed in many a New Year on countless television Hogmanay shows, toured Australia and New Zealand with Sir Jimmy Shand and recorded countless award winning singles, vinyl LPs, CDs and DVDs with Pye Records, RCA, Lismor and Scotdisc.
However, the ultimate accolade and more formal recognition of Tom and Jack’s outstanding musical career came in 2005 when they were both awarded a much welcomed and long overdue MBE by Her Majesty the Queen in the 2005 New Year’s Honours List. Tom and Jack received their well deserved MBE’s for Services to the Entertainment Industry at an investiture held at Holyrood House, Edinburgh in July 2005.
Tom and Jack’s easy listening brand of Scottish music charmed and delighted audiences the world over for a wonderful 54 years, but unfortunately nothing lasts forever and so it was that Tom and Jack very reluctantly and sadly announced on the 30th May 2012 to a surprised and shocked Scotland that they had taken the decision to retire from show business with immediate effect.
The extensive television and media coverage they received on making the announcement demonstrated and validated their outstanding contribution to Scottish show business and reinstated how much they were still loved by Scotland and their adoring supporters and admirers, if ever that confirmation was ever really needed!
Tom and Jack Alexander have now entered the Scottish show business Hall of Fame and rightly take their place amongst the great names of Scottish variety such as Sir Harry Lauder, Will Fyfe, Robert Wilson, Andy Stewart, Jimmy Logan, Sir Jimmy Shand, Will Starr, Jack Milroy, Ricki Fulton and of course their old friend of many years standing Johnny Beattie.
I’m sure readers of this magazine will raise a glass and wish Tom and Jack a very happy and healthy retirement and join me in thanking the boys for entertaining us so consistently and professionally for 54 fabulous years and for leaving us with so many heartfelt musical memories!