Hamish Imlach (1940-1996)-info, songs, etc.

Subject: RE: Hamish Imlach (1940-1996)-info, songs, etc.
From: GUEST,Les Center
Date: 05 Apr 13 - 07:50 AM

I was looking for the lyrics to what I called "The Ballad of Invertoddie" by Hamish Imlach, and discovered this thread. Thank you all for keeping Hamish's memory alive. I was fortunate enough to have known Hamish in the early 70s, he had dinner in my house, and I performed on more than one stage with him.

He was a larger than life character, but he always laughed at life and himself, and lived life on his terms. I was deeply saddened by passing, there's a hole in the folk world where Hamish once stood, but as long as good folks such as yourselves keep his memory alive, he'll always be with us, in story and song.

Les

Subject: RE: Hamish Imlach (1940-1996)-info, songs, etc.
From: Kenny B (inactive)
Date: 05 Apr 13 - 12:50 PM

Hi Les is this what you are looking for?

It was Down in Old Invertoddie? .... Coppers song

Subject: RE: Hamish Imlach (1940-1996)-info, songs, etc.
From: Kenny B (inactive)
Date: 05 Apr 13 - 12:54 PM

Coppers Song

Subject: RE: Hamish Imlach (1940-1996)-info, songs, etc.
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Apr 13 - 11:06 AM

refersh

Subject: RE: Hamish Imlach (1940-1996)-info, songs, etc.
From: GUEST,Eddie1 (sans cookie)
Date: 07 Apr 13 - 07:28 AM

Great to read this thread which brought back many happy memories of Hamish.
My favourite was singing on stage with him at – if I remember correctly – Paisley Town Hall and someone sent me a pic of the two of us sharing a mike. I'm a good foot taller than Hamish was. Archie Fisher saw it and nearly had an accident in his pants! Hamish's tag was "The Big Man of Scottish Folk Music". He gave me a copy of his book and signed it "To the Really Big Man of Scottish Folk Music."

The Levi jeans/jacket story was nicked from Spike Milligan but lost nothing in the re-telling!

One other story involving a runny bowel movement, verified by Hamish, was when he was doing a concert in a hotel in Jersey. A lot of the summer staff were Scottish and after the gig, invited Hamish back to the staff quarters, a separate house in the grounds where a lot of drink was partaken of. On the way back to the main building, Hamish was "caught short" and, in the absence of a convenient toilet, made use of a clump of bushes and used his undergarments as toilet paper, a carefully covering them with leaves. Next morning Hamish was enjoying a leisurely breakfast in the dining room with the French windows open to the morning air. Through the French windows appeared a Labrador, bearing a disgusting pair of obviously Hamish-sized Y-fronts between its jaws. It headed straight for Hamish, deposited the odorous burden in front of him and stood back, wagging its tail frantically and awaiting praise! It could only happen to Hamish!

I miss the bugger!

Eddie

Subject: RE: Hamish Imlach (1940-1996)-info, songs, etc.
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Oct 19 - 05:43 PM

Took the cork from the first bottle, had a little drink.
Kissed the bottle tenderly then poured it down the sink
Uncorked the second, did the same as before
Before he poured it down the sink, he drank a little more.
Uncorked the third and then gave a little toast
Tae the losing of the ten friends he really liked the most.
Stood to attention had another little drink
Threw the cork in the bucket and the whisky down the sink
The fourth drink was different as the glass was very slack
So he held it down with one hand as he knocked the bottler back
The next three bottles they were very quickly swilled
As I uncorked them each and only drank a gill
The next bottle hurt because the cork was very tight
The room was going round and round which didn't help me plight
I fought to gain me balanced as I leaned against the wall
I couldn't sort myself from the damned thing at all
I tried to count the empties as the Dancer before me eyes
I'd only counted 23 when much to my surprise
There were 10 sinks of whisky, every one uncorked
The drain at the bottom it was very badly blocked
Then I heard me Wife as on the door she knocked
I fell in the bathtub and drank the bloody lot

Hampshire imlach often said whisky improves with age. The older he got, the more he liked it

Subject: RE: Hamish Imlach (1940-1996)-info, songs, etc.
From: GUEST,akenaton
Date: 22 Oct 19 - 06:31 PM

Knew Hamish quite well in the sixties, he is well known for his comedy stuff and was a born entertainer like Connolly, but at heart he was a blues man as Al has noted. I loved Hamish's live performances of "black is the colour and his blues style guitar...there was a blues thread through everything he did even the traditional Irish and Scottish stuff. I miss his booming laugh, the fags stuck in the neck of the guitar and the cold twinkling eyes. Larger than life and one of the old time minstrels, only a very few left and they are fading fast.
While we argue about semantics that generation of entertainers WERE the revival to everyone except the inner circle.

Subject: RE: Hamish Imlach (1940-1996)-info, songs, etc.
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 25 Oct 19 - 12:22 PM

'While we argue about semantics that generation of entertainers WERE the revival to everyone except the inner circle.'

couldn't have put it better.