Alex Glasgow
Encyclopedia
Alex Glasgow was a singer/songwriter from Low Fell
, Gateshead
, England
. He was educated at Gateshead Grammar School
where he founded the Caprians, a choir that, 55 years on and still counting, is thriving. He graduated in German at the University of Leeds
. He wrote the songs and music for the successful musical play Close the Coal House Door by Alan Plater
and scripts for the TV drama When the Boat Comes In
, the theme song of which he sang. He also worked in Germany
and emigrated to Australia
in 1981.
singer-songwriter
. His style would be regarded as solidly within the British (and wider) folk music
tradition. He became widely known for his own style of Geordie
folk songs, often on political topics, generally socialist and/or trades union-focused. He wrote his own songs, not all political, and earlier in his career sang versions of other popular Geordie folk and socialist political tunes and some of the best of these can be found on albums such as Songs of (Alex Glasgow) and Now and Then. His songs included "The Sunsets, Bonny Lad (the sunsets, that will drive your breath away)", "Any Minute Now", "Wor Nanny's a Mazer", "Cushie Butterfield", "(They're) Turning the Clock Back (he could hear his granny say)", "The Mary Baker City Mix", "In My Town" and "When It's Ours"(Jackie Boy, when it's ours...), with John Woodvine from the play he wrote Joe Lives.
He is particularly well remembered for the song cycle "The Tyne Slides By" written in the 1970s for the BBC series The Camera and the Song. The cycle covers the life of a working person in Newcastle when there was still work to be had in the shipyards, from childhood and schooling, early experience of work, the exuberance of free Saturday afternoons and going to see Newcastle F.C.
play, musing on a working life as the ship goes down the slipway, grandparenthood and death.
with whom he starred in a 1971 comedy sketch series for BBC2 Get The Drift, based on their stage show, The Northern Drift. This included a riotous version of "As Soon as This Pub Closes (The Revolution Starts)". In 1980, with Livings he appeared at the Perth Festival in Western Australia in The Northern Drift. Glasgow fell in love with the country and emigrated the following year.
miner's family. As a result, he became an ardent socialist, to some extent wearing his pain, anger and politics on his sleeve, but also mirroring twentieth century post-war Britain. That world, however, finally disappeared and, perhaps finally succumbing to modern living, Alex moved with his family and spent his last years in a new life in Fremantle
, Western Australia
. He died in 2001, against expectations perhaps, in Australia rather than in the (English) North East.
Alex moved to Australia because he suffered from arthritis
and the climate in Perth was expected to give him some relief - and enable him to continue playing the guitar.
Low Fell
Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are...
, Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was educated at Gateshead Grammar School
Gateshead Grammar School
Gateshead Grammar School was a school in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, abolished by the Wilson government of the 1960s.-History:The private school Gateshead High School For Boys opened in 1883 at the junction of Durham Road and Prince Consort Road...
where he founded the Caprians, a choir that, 55 years on and still counting, is thriving. He graduated in German at the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
. He wrote the songs and music for the successful musical play Close the Coal House Door by Alan Plater
Alan Plater
Alan Frederick Plater, CBE, FRSL was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s.-Career:...
and scripts for the TV drama When the Boat Comes In
When the Boat Comes In
When the Boat Comes In is a British television period-drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981.The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken town of Gallowshield in the North East of England in the 1920s.The memorable traditional...
, the theme song of which he sang. He also worked in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and emigrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1981.
Personal life
Glasgow was a traditional working classWorking class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. His style would be regarded as solidly within the British (and wider) folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
tradition. He became widely known for his own style of Geordie
Geordie
Geordie is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitants...
folk songs, often on political topics, generally socialist and/or trades union-focused. He wrote his own songs, not all political, and earlier in his career sang versions of other popular Geordie folk and socialist political tunes and some of the best of these can be found on albums such as Songs of (Alex Glasgow) and Now and Then. His songs included "The Sunsets, Bonny Lad (the sunsets, that will drive your breath away)", "Any Minute Now", "Wor Nanny's a Mazer", "Cushie Butterfield", "(They're) Turning the Clock Back (he could hear his granny say)", "The Mary Baker City Mix", "In My Town" and "When It's Ours"(Jackie Boy, when it's ours...), with John Woodvine from the play he wrote Joe Lives.
He is particularly well remembered for the song cycle "The Tyne Slides By" written in the 1970s for the BBC series The Camera and the Song. The cycle covers the life of a working person in Newcastle when there was still work to be had in the shipyards, from childhood and schooling, early experience of work, the exuberance of free Saturday afternoons and going to see Newcastle F.C.
Newcastle F.C.
Newcastle F.C. is a Northern Irish football club playing in Division 1B of the Northern Amateur Football League . It is based in Newcastle, County Down...
play, musing on a working life as the ship goes down the slipway, grandparenthood and death.
Careers
Glasgow was also a writer and radio and television broadcaster; he presented the BBC 2 arts programme New Release in 1967, amongst other series. He was reportedly even a 'house husband' for a while, (while his wife retrained as a social worker) and known among his friends and neighbours as a fine baker of fresh bread! In addition, he once had a hit in the German pop charts and his theme music from When the Boat Comes In reached the UK pop charts. Some of Glasgow's songs are furthermore ones with real pain and sorrow and are said to be able to make the listener cry. These include songs like "Time Enough Tomorrow (for a sad song...)", "The Harlequin (turn up your coat collar ...to the wind)" and "And I Shall Cry Again (but I'll know why again)". He was a long-time friend and collaborator of the playwright and actor Henry LivingsHenry Livings
Henry Livings was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television and theatre from the 1960s to the 1990s.-Early life and career:...
with whom he starred in a 1971 comedy sketch series for BBC2 Get The Drift, based on their stage show, The Northern Drift. This included a riotous version of "As Soon as This Pub Closes (The Revolution Starts)". In 1980, with Livings he appeared at the Perth Festival in Western Australia in The Northern Drift. Glasgow fell in love with the country and emigrated the following year.
Politics
Glasgow was born in the 1930s Depression in a North East EnglandNorth East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
miner's family. As a result, he became an ardent socialist, to some extent wearing his pain, anger and politics on his sleeve, but also mirroring twentieth century post-war Britain. That world, however, finally disappeared and, perhaps finally succumbing to modern living, Alex moved with his family and spent his last years in a new life in Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. He died in 2001, against expectations perhaps, in Australia rather than in the (English) North East.
Alex moved to Australia because he suffered from arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
and the climate in Perth was expected to give him some relief - and enable him to continue playing the guitar.
External links
- http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=34292 Folk music discussion thread at www.mudcat.org on his life and work
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2001/may/17/guardianobituaries1 Obituary by Alan PlaterAlan PlaterAlan Frederick Plater, CBE, FRSL was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s.-Career:...
in the Guardian 17 May 2001 - http://www.mawson-wareham.com/artists.php?artid=30&sename=Alex+Glasgow Alex Glasgow CDs from MWM, including list of songs
- http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/int/abc.htm Alex Glasgow's Socialist ABC