Each week, The Herald publishes obituaries of notable figures in Scottish life. These include sports stars, business people, those from the arts world, the public sector, the education world and the professions - as well as people who have made a difference to the country in any field. Here, we catch up with some of those we lost this summer.
We have lost 'the finest Scots singer of our generation'
The death of Rod Paterson at the age of 70 has occasioned many such admiring tributes. An outstanding interpreter of the songs of Robert Burns, he was also an acclaimed singer of traditional Scottish folk songs, as well as a gifted guitarist and a key figure in the folk revival of the 1970s...
Bestselling author who wrote about growing up in Glasgow dies
THIRTY years ago Meg Henderson, a noted journalist and TV documentary maker, published a bestselling biography, Finding Peggy. It was not only an evocative account of growing up in 1950s Glasgow but was also an tenacious investigation into what had caused the death, at the age of 36, of her beloved aunt Peggy...
Frank Pignatelli: Educationalist & Apostrophe Protection Society chair
Frank Pignatelli ran run Western Europe's biggest education authority (Image: free)
FEW can claim to have run Western Europe's biggest education authority, stood up for the put-upon apostrophe and earned their badge as deputy sheriff of Bud Neill's Calton Creek. In fact, none other than Frank Pignatelli, who has died aged 77, could in an outstanding career that straddled the worlds of learning, business and the wider public sector...
'One of the nice ones': Linchpin of Scottish comedy scene dies
Ron Bain, who has died aged 79, was an actor and a theatre and television director. But more importantly he was an almost unique person in showbusiness in that he was universally loved. Taggart star Alex Norton recalls a tale which highlights his friend Ron Bain’s character...
He battled Big Oil and won Scottish island an unparalleled oil deal
When Scotland's North Sea oil boom commenced in the 1970s, one man stood against Big Oil to secure legislation which protected the Shetland Islands and remains unparalleled to this day. With a population of just 17,500, the Shetland Islands faced an immediate orgy of property speculation and a race among oil majors to develop and run their own terminals. Ian Clark, who has died at the age of 85, saw the imminent risk of unplanned chaos which would result in the local economy and rich Shetland culture being overwhelmed...
Glasgow conductor triumphed at Last Night of the Proms
James Loughran, who has died aged 92, was a much-admired Scottish conductor who gained a reputation worldwide for his fine musicianship, mostly in the concert hall. Loughran was in charge of 47 Proms at the Albert Hall between 1965 and ’85 and five Last Nights. In 1977 he was the first Scot to conduct the Last Night and caused a storm when he performed Rule Brittania without a soloist and allowed two encores of Land of Hope and Glory. He ended with the Prommers singing Auld Lang Syne after his farewell speech. Loughran remained proud of his Scottish heritage and spoke with a delightful Scottish lilt...
1970s rock star 'was a sweet and gentle soul'
THE folk-rock boom that began in the late Sixties achieved a fair degree of popular chart hits in Britain, with pioneering bands such as Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Pentangle and the Strawbs all enjoying success. Another act, Stealers Wheel, released three albums during their brief lifespan - Stealers Wheel (1972), Ferguslie Park (1973), and Right or Wrong (1975). Despite the often sublime songwriting on display, the albums’ UK chart placings were modest, even if the first album peaked at number 50 in the US Billboard charts...
At The Herald, we carry obituaries of notable people from the words of business, politics, arts and sport but sometimes we miss people who have led extraordinary lives. That's where you come in. If you know someone who deserves an obituary, please consider telling us about their lives. Contact garry.scott@heraldandtimes.co.uk
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