Robin Hall  (b. June 27, 1936; d. November 18, 1998)

Robin was born in Edinburgh in 1936, but spent most of his early years in Glasgow and was a direct descendant of Rob Roy Macgregor, and of Mungo Park, the explorer. His mother had been an opera singer and Robin was nurtured on a generous diet of classical music and music hall songs. Robin contracted polio as a child and during his lengthy convalescence his interest in all types of music flourished.

As a teenager, he played with a traditional jazz group, studied the piano, and spent his spare time digging up American folk songs and investigating the folk material of his native Scotland. Hall studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and worked briefly as in actor in repertory theatres. Robin went to London in 1957, armed with a large repertoire of folk songs and a guitar. While in England he recorded a series of EP's for "Collector Records", which are now very hard to find and highly priced. In the 60's, Robin became a bit notorious and controversial for insisting on wearing his Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament badge on the BBC's Tonight Show, for which he was widely criticized. Sadly, Robin died on November 18, 1998, at the age of 61. Another great folk singer that lived life to excess, lost at an early age. Robin married and divorced twice and was survived by three children.


Jimmie MacGregor (b. March 10, 1930, Springburn, Glasgow, Scotland)

Jimmie came from a working class family in Glasgow. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art, and worked as an art teacher and studio potter. His interest in folk music began in the mid 50's. House parties were very popular at the time, and Jimmie regularly attended. His first musical influences included Burl Ives, Josh White and Ewan MacColl. Starting in 1956, he often hitchhiked to London to visit the folk clubs, eventually settling there around 1958. Jimmie briefly joined the Chas McDevvitt Skiffle Group, made a number of solo appearances, and was a member of the Steve Benbow Folk Four and The City Ramblers before meeting up with Robin Hall.

Robin Hall and Jimmie MacGregor are remembered asone of Scotland's most popular folk duos. They first teamed up in January 1959 after meeting in Vienna, where the two were given much encouragement by Paul Robeson, who was playing at the same concert.

After making their first appearance on BBC's Tonight, they subsequently appeared five nights weekly for the next 14 years. The release of the Decca single Football Crazy in 1960 received a great deal of airplay and became one of their most popular songs, which they In the early sixties Robin and Jimmie regularly (though not exclusively) performed as part of the Galliards, a quartet made up of Hall, MacGregor, Shirley Bland and Leon Rosselson. Jimmie and Shirley married in the mid 50's and subsequently were both members of the City Ramblers. Leon Rosselson was responsible for all of the of the group's arrangements. Leon went on to become one the UK's best songwriters and solo performers. From 1961 to 1964, Robin and Jimmie performed (with and without The Galliards), appearing regularly on radio, and are particularly remembered for the series Hullabaloo. They went on to tour the world, record more than 20 albums, and appear on countless television programs. Other series' that brought them great acclaim and recognition were The White Heather Club, which they hosted for five years, and Out and About with Robin and Jimmie. With superbharmonies, Hall and MacGregorslarge repertoire of songs, many of which they introduced during this period, have gone on to become folk standards; and yet their contribution to the folk scene has gone seemingly unnoticed in many circles.

In 1981 the duo called it quits, primarily Robins decision; he had never enjoyed good health, and didnt really like performing. After the split, Robin and Jimmie both enjoyedsuccessful careers in broadcasting, Jimmie in particular. Robin won two national radio awards, for best presenter and best documentary, for Radio Clydes The Sing Song Streets, a program about Glasgow told through songs, stories and children's games. Meanwhile MacGregor wrote three folk song books, did some solo work, and become very prolific in television with shows that include The West Highland Way, MacGregors Gathering and Macgregor Across Scotland.