| Jimmie Macgregor | |
| Birth Date: | 10 March 1930 |
| Birth Place: | Glasgow, Scotland |
Jimmie Macgregor (born 10 March 1930) is a Scottish folksinger and broadcaster, best known as half of a singing duo with Robin Hall.[1]
Jimmie Macgregor was born in Springburn, Glasgow, Scotland,[2] and grew up in a tenement and then a council house, about which he has said: "Our house was a focus for people to gather and make music.... I had aunties and cousins who were chorus girls."[3] After doing his national service, he studied at Glasgow School of Art, graduating in the mid-1950s and becoming a potter and teacher.[2]
In 1960, he formed a musical partnership with Robin Hall that would last 20 years.[4] They appeared extensively on BBC Television – both on the Tonight programme and on the White Heather Club.[5] Both also played as part of The Galliards with Leon Rosselson and Shirley Bland.[2]
Hall and Macgregor recorded over 20 albums during their partnership, which ended in 1981.[6] One of their most successful singles was the anthem "Football Crazy", released in 1960 on Decca Records.
Macgregor went on to make television programmes for BBC Scotland, many on long-distance walking, including In the Footsteps of Bonnie Prince Charlie, On The West Highland Way, and Macgregor Across Scotland. He also made Macgregor's Gathering, a long-running show for Radio Scotland.[2] He has been involved in various conservation organisations, among them the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland,[7] and was awarded the MBE in 1994 for services to Scottish heritage and culture.[8]