Biography

123

30 mini biographies of women who have made their mark in politics, entertainment, literature the arts and sport

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Scotland has never been short of talent. Much has been written about its heroes - men of vision, entrepreneurs and businessmen, writers and ex­plorers, doctors, divines and philanthropists. But what about the women, the legion of unsung heroines who sustained and supported them? Accord­ing to Elspeth King, we are initiated into a culture where women have no visible past, with very little credit being given to them, their role in our history denigrated or dismissed. Few women have been satisfied with the role of encourager and supporter, which has been assigned to them, but even fewer have been able to break out of that role and achieve recog­nition of their own talents. Thankfully, the contribution to society of to­day's generation of women will not be so easily overlooked.
In 1997, women's right to their place in history received a tremendous boost with the election of over a hundred women to parliament and the ap­pointment of five female cabinet ministers. In 1999, with Scotland's first parliament for nearly three hundred years, almost half of its members are women. Never again should anyone be able to say, as Hugh McDiarmid did, that Scotswomen of any historical interest are rare and that our coun­try has produced women who are" almost entirely destitute of exceptional endowments of any sort."

Excerpt
Singing was al­ways part of Barbara's life, and she taught herself to play the guitar, began sing­ing at school concerts at the age of fourteen and started performing in folk clubs in Dunfermline soon after leaving school.
Joining the Civil Service Barbara worked at Rosyth Dockyard and spent her evenings singing at folk clubs in the Brucefield Hotel and "The Howfi", in Chalmers Street in Dunfermline. There she teamed up with Jack Beck and together they performed traditional Scots music in clubs and concert halls throughout Scotland. At seventeen, Barbara moved to Edinburgh and for the next four years worked in the Registrar General's Office and contin­ued to sing in the evenings. She was a member of the Great Fife Road Show and sang with Rab Noakes and Archie Fisher.
The decision to turn professional came with the offer of a six week engage­ment in Copenhagen. Unable to take so much time off work, she resigned from the Civil Service and embarked on her singing career. Recording con­tracts followed and her first solo LPs included "From The Beggar's Mantle" and "Do Right Woman".
Barbara spent five years touring clubs in Scotland and England before meeting Bernard Theobald', who gave up his job to become her manager, after spotting her in a W olverhampton folk club. Barbara's mother came from Liverpool, she had lots of friends and family there, loved the Beatles and the Mersey sound, so was thrilled when, in 1973, the writer Willy Rus­sell asked her to be the musical narrator in his play, "John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert", which had an extended run in Liverpool before transfer­ring to London's West End. According to the Penguin Dictionary of Popular Music, Barbara's beautiful voice was the best thing in it.
Her first hit single, "Answer Me" in 1976 was followed by "Another Suit­case in Another Hall." from the Webber-Rice musical "Evita" which was re­leased and became a top twenty hit before the show opened. Barbara didn't want to be In the stage show of "Evita" with a cameo role and only one song but Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber asked her to be on the al­bum. Other hits followed, "The Caravan Song" from the film "Caravans" and "January, February. "
Barbara received her first gold disc for "The Barbara Dickson Album" and this was followed by a successful tour and a sell-out concert at London's Al­bert Hall. In 1982, her album "All for a Song" stayed in the charts for thirty six weeks and sold over half a million copies in Britain alone.