Billy Raymond
Encyclopedia
Billy Raymond was born Raymond Jamieson Hubner on 6 January 1938 in Paisley
, Renfrewshire, Scotland, the second son of May and Lawrence Hubner.
choirboy and was called "Scotland's Wonder Boy Soprano" before his voice broke. Young Raymond gathered theatrical experience by performing locally during the 1950s while studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
(RSAMD). His first two records, first print 78 r.p.m. discs, second print 45 r.p.m., "Makin' Love/I Would" and "One In Particular/"Seven Daughters", were released in 1958, when he also appeared in his first networked BBC TV series, The Night and the Music. In 1959 he recorded another single on 45 r.p.m., "Charlie Is Their Darling"/"Loch Lomond". He made several guest appearances in the BBC Television
pop series Six-Five Special
.
In 1960 he was the compere of a touring pop show starring Eddie Cochran
and Gene Vincent
, during which Cochran was killed in a car accident. He also compered the summer season pop show at the Queen's Theatre, Blackpool, starring Marty Wilde
, Billy Fury
et al.
In 1961 he got his big break on TV when he became the youngest-ever compere of Granada Television
's musical quiz "Spot The Tune", starring Marion Ryan
. He also compered 6 episodes of "International Variety Show" and starred in his second Blackpool
Summer Show at the Orion Theatre, Cleveleys.
In 1963 he was compere of "The Vera Lynn
Show" which toured Australia
and New Zealand
. He extended his stay in Australia after the tour ended by starring at Chequers, Sydney, and made guest appearances in the ATN-7
Channel TV series Startime before returning to Scotland.
In 1964 he returned to Australia to appear in ATN-7
's two daytime series, The Golden Show and the quiz Jigsaw. Raymond also starred in seasons at Chequers, The Silver Spade, Latin Quarter with major American and British stars such as Kathryn Grayson
and Shirley Bassey
. He also released his first Australian album for the Festival label, Shamrocks and Heather.
In 1965 he returned to Scotland
and compered the BBC Radio series On Tour and Grampian Television
's quiz series Try For Ten.
In 1966 he made a second series of Grampian's Try For Ten, was the compere of Scottish Television
's beauty pageant A Search for Beauty and was one of the regional comperes for BBC
TV's Come Dancing.
In 1967 Raymond made a third series of Try For Ten and won the Scottish Television Personality of the Year award for his work on the show. He also released a 45 r.p.m. disc for the Scotia label with the songs "Royal Telephone" and "Will the Angels Play Their Harps For Me?"
During 1968 Raymond made two further series of Try For Ten for Grampian Television.
Raymond returned to Australia and co-starred with Reg Varney
in Australia's Channel 10 TV series Rose and Crown. When Varney returned to the UK for a further series of On The Buses
, Raymond starred in the remainder of the 56-part series. He also hosted Late Night Extra on Network 10. Raymond won the "Penguin" Award for "Best Support in a Television Variety Series" for The Rose and Crown.
In 1970 Billy took over as compere of The Generation Gap, a quiz show which had already been running for two years, that pitted the younger generation against the older generation, who answered questions relating to the opposing generation's events and interests. The show was networked throughout Australia. In 1971 Raymond again returned to Scotland to host a 12-part series for BBC TV Scotland of The Generation Gap.
During the 1970s Raymond spent six to nine months each year in Australia starring in stage shows. He also appeared in three networked TV series for NBN Television
in Newcastle, Australia, hosted ABC TV (Australia) Winner Takes All, starred in his own stage production of Scotland The Brave and A Touch of Tartan, and wrote and produced three TV specials of A Touch of Tartan for QTQ9 Brisbane, which was also screened nationally. Raymond was also a frequent guest on all major national and interstate variety and panel TV shows. However, Billy paid the price of such a heavy workload by suffering a heart attack whilst performing at the Fairfield RSL Club. He was back at work six weeks later, compering Winner Takes All. During 1979 he toured the UK, Europe and the US during June, July and August. Also during the 1970s Raymond recorded five albums released in Australia on the Festival Records (Australia)
and CBS
labels. The album A Toast to the Tartan reached Gold Record sales two and a half days after it was released and resulted in a total of four Gold albums. "The Kilt is My Delight" was released in April 1979.
In 1980 Raymond's eighth LP, A Touch of Tartan, was released and the stage production of Scotland The Brave continued to be one of Clubland's greatest draws. Raymond produced a 13-week series of "Tonight" variety shows for NBN TV through his production company, Glen-Martin Associated.
During 1981 Raymond appeared in TV and radio shows - the top-rating radio station 2CH
featured him in a "Nine O'Clock Special" and he had a smash-hit season at the Manly Music Loft Theatre Restaurant with a specially devised revue, A Toast to the Tartan, which also played an eight-week season in the Sir Joseph Banks Room Theatre Restaurant at Bankstown RSL.
During 1981–84, Raymond and his company (GMA) were asked to continue producing shows for the extremely competitive new "Club" theatre restaurant market. In late 1983 Raymond started working with the new FM radio station 2BCR
-FM (Bankstown City Radio), featuring a reciprocal Australian–Scotland request programme heard by 1.5 million listeners each Sunday morning on Radio Forth in Scotland. The success of this show resulted in the management of 2BCR
asking Raymond to have his own three-hour per day, Monday to Friday show called Showstoppers, which ran until mid-1987. Raymond was invited to join the Board of 2BCR, which he declined but accepted a position on the station's Programming Committee. In September 1984 Raymond underwent a five-valve heart bypass operation to repair the damage caused by his near-fatal heart attack in 1976. Also during 1984 Raymond received a Golden Hand award by the Apex Club for his fund-raising performances for the Leukaemia Foundation
at the Burdekin Theatre, North Queensland.
In 1985 Raymond again returned to Scotland to make a BBC Radio appearance and also had interviews on Scottish Television. On his return to Australia Billy continued to work for 2BCR-FM until June 1987 as well as appearing on TV and touring with his new stage production "Sounds of Scotland". The show toured Sydney
, New South Wales
, Victoria
and South Australia
. At the end of June 1987, Billy took the position of Director of the Burdekin Theatre in Ayr, Queensland
, a position which he held for 15 years.
In 1994 Billy underwent a second five-valve heart bypass operation.
In 2003 Billy moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland
and in 2007 he became the Front of House Manager and Jazz Co-ordinator at the Gold Coast Arts Centre, Surfers Paradise, Queensland
, interspersed with the occasional appearances with his stage show, Scotland The Brave. At the end of December 2009 Billy resigned on amicable terms from the Gold Coast Arts Centre in order to concentrate on his upcoming tour of Australia in the Spring of 2010.
In 2010 Billy released a new compilation CD album, "The Pride of Scotland", which is available hard copy in Australia and in downloadable format from www.Allcelticmusic.com. The album has 25 tracks of well-known Scottish songs.
In the Autumn of 2010 Billy premiered his one-man show "Get A Life!!" which is a retrospective look at his 60-year career in show business.
1970 - Australian Penguin Award, Best Support, Variety Series (The Rose and Crown);
1974 - 3 Gold Discs for "Toast to the Tartan" LP, Australia;
1984 - Apex Club Golden Hand Award for Leukaemia Fundraising, Australia;
1993 - Variety Award, Australia;
2002 - Australia Day Achievement Award, Burdekin Shire Council, Australia;
2003 - Centenary Medal Award by the Governor-General of Queensland, Australia.
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, Renfrewshire, Scotland, the second son of May and Lawrence Hubner.
Early career
Raymond became a Paisley AbbeyPaisley Abbey
Paisley Abbey is a former Cluniac monastery, and current Church of Scotland parish kirk, located on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, in west central Scotland.-History:...
choirboy and was called "Scotland's Wonder Boy Soprano" before his voice broke. Young Raymond gathered theatrical experience by performing locally during the 1950s while studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is a conservatoire of music, drama, and dance in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Educational Association, it is the busiest performing arts venue in Scotland...
(RSAMD). His first two records, first print 78 r.p.m. discs, second print 45 r.p.m., "Makin' Love/I Would" and "One In Particular/"Seven Daughters", were released in 1958, when he also appeared in his first networked BBC TV series, The Night and the Music. In 1959 he recorded another single on 45 r.p.m., "Charlie Is Their Darling"/"Loch Lomond". He made several guest appearances in the BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
pop series Six-Five Special
Six-Five Special
The Six-Five Special is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain.-Description:...
.
In 1960 he was the compere of a touring pop show starring Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
and Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
, during which Cochran was killed in a car accident. He also compered the summer season pop show at the Queen's Theatre, Blackpool, starring Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
, Billy Fury
Billy Fury
Billy Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
et al.
In 1961 he got his big break on TV when he became the youngest-ever compere of Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
's musical quiz "Spot The Tune", starring Marion Ryan
Marion Ryan
Marion Ryan was a popular British singer in the 1950s.-Career:Born Marian Ryan in Middlesbrough, England, and once called "the Marilyn Monroe of popular song", Marion Ryan was a pop singer of the 1950s in the early years of British Independent Television...
. He also compered 6 episodes of "International Variety Show" and starred in his second Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
Summer Show at the Orion Theatre, Cleveleys.
In 1963 he was compere of "The Vera Lynn
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
Show" which toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He extended his stay in Australia after the tour ended by starring at Chequers, Sydney, and made guest appearances in the ATN-7
ATN-7
ATN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of Fairfax, was one of the first four licences to be issued for commercial television stations in Australia...
Channel TV series Startime before returning to Scotland.
In 1964 he returned to Australia to appear in ATN-7
ATN-7
ATN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of Fairfax, was one of the first four licences to be issued for commercial television stations in Australia...
's two daytime series, The Golden Show and the quiz Jigsaw. Raymond also starred in seasons at Chequers, The Silver Spade, Latin Quarter with major American and British stars such as Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson was an American actress and operatic soprano singer.From the age of twelve, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to MGM by the early 1940s, soon establishing a career principally through her work in musicals...
and Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
. He also released his first Australian album for the Festival label, Shamrocks and Heather.
In 1965 he returned to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and compered the BBC Radio series On Tour and Grampian Television
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
's quiz series Try For Ten.
In 1966 he made a second series of Grampian's Try For Ten, was the compere of Scottish Television
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
's beauty pageant A Search for Beauty and was one of the regional comperes for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV's Come Dancing.
In 1967 Raymond made a third series of Try For Ten and won the Scottish Television Personality of the Year award for his work on the show. He also released a 45 r.p.m. disc for the Scotia label with the songs "Royal Telephone" and "Will the Angels Play Their Harps For Me?"
During 1968 Raymond made two further series of Try For Ten for Grampian Television.
Raymond returned to Australia and co-starred with Reg Varney
Reg Varney
Reginald Alfred "Reg" Varney was an English actor, most notable for his role as Stan Butler in 1970s TV sitcom On the Buses.-Early life:...
in Australia's Channel 10 TV series Rose and Crown. When Varney returned to the UK for a further series of On The Buses
On The Buses
On the Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney which was broadcast in the UK from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the Corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential...
, Raymond starred in the remainder of the 56-part series. He also hosted Late Night Extra on Network 10. Raymond won the "Penguin" Award for "Best Support in a Television Variety Series" for The Rose and Crown.
In 1970 Billy took over as compere of The Generation Gap, a quiz show which had already been running for two years, that pitted the younger generation against the older generation, who answered questions relating to the opposing generation's events and interests. The show was networked throughout Australia. In 1971 Raymond again returned to Scotland to host a 12-part series for BBC TV Scotland of The Generation Gap.
During the 1970s Raymond spent six to nine months each year in Australia starring in stage shows. He also appeared in three networked TV series for NBN Television
NBN Television
NBN Television is a television station based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The station was inaugurated on 4 March 1962 as the first regional commercial television station in New South Wales, and has since expanded to 39 transmitters throughout the northern half of New South Wales and...
in Newcastle, Australia, hosted ABC TV (Australia) Winner Takes All, starred in his own stage production of Scotland The Brave and A Touch of Tartan, and wrote and produced three TV specials of A Touch of Tartan for QTQ9 Brisbane, which was also screened nationally. Raymond was also a frequent guest on all major national and interstate variety and panel TV shows. However, Billy paid the price of such a heavy workload by suffering a heart attack whilst performing at the Fairfield RSL Club. He was back at work six weeks later, compering Winner Takes All. During 1979 he toured the UK, Europe and the US during June, July and August. Also during the 1970s Raymond recorded five albums released in Australia on the Festival Records (Australia)
Festival Records (Australia)
Festival Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005....
and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
labels. The album A Toast to the Tartan reached Gold Record sales two and a half days after it was released and resulted in a total of four Gold albums. "The Kilt is My Delight" was released in April 1979.
In 1980 Raymond's eighth LP, A Touch of Tartan, was released and the stage production of Scotland The Brave continued to be one of Clubland's greatest draws. Raymond produced a 13-week series of "Tonight" variety shows for NBN TV through his production company, Glen-Martin Associated.
During 1981 Raymond appeared in TV and radio shows - the top-rating radio station 2CH
2CH
2CH is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia, at 1170 kHz AM. It broadcasts an oldies format, and is aimed to an older age demographic...
featured him in a "Nine O'Clock Special" and he had a smash-hit season at the Manly Music Loft Theatre Restaurant with a specially devised revue, A Toast to the Tartan, which also played an eight-week season in the Sir Joseph Banks Room Theatre Restaurant at Bankstown RSL.
During 1981–84, Raymond and his company (GMA) were asked to continue producing shows for the extremely competitive new "Club" theatre restaurant market. In late 1983 Raymond started working with the new FM radio station 2BCR
2BCR
BFM , is one of three Australian broadcasters currently sharing the frequency 100.9 FM. It operates under a Temporary Community Broadcasting Licence.The licence area is Bankstown and Auburn in Sydney.-History:...
-FM (Bankstown City Radio), featuring a reciprocal Australian–Scotland request programme heard by 1.5 million listeners each Sunday morning on Radio Forth in Scotland. The success of this show resulted in the management of 2BCR
2BCR
BFM , is one of three Australian broadcasters currently sharing the frequency 100.9 FM. It operates under a Temporary Community Broadcasting Licence.The licence area is Bankstown and Auburn in Sydney.-History:...
asking Raymond to have his own three-hour per day, Monday to Friday show called Showstoppers, which ran until mid-1987. Raymond was invited to join the Board of 2BCR, which he declined but accepted a position on the station's Programming Committee. In September 1984 Raymond underwent a five-valve heart bypass operation to repair the damage caused by his near-fatal heart attack in 1976. Also during 1984 Raymond received a Golden Hand award by the Apex Club for his fund-raising performances for the Leukaemia Foundation
Leukaemia Foundation
The Leukaemia Foundation is the only Australian not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the care and cure of patients and families living with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and related blood disorders....
at the Burdekin Theatre, North Queensland.
In 1985 Raymond again returned to Scotland to make a BBC Radio appearance and also had interviews on Scottish Television. On his return to Australia Billy continued to work for 2BCR-FM until June 1987 as well as appearing on TV and touring with his new stage production "Sounds of Scotland". The show toured Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. At the end of June 1987, Billy took the position of Director of the Burdekin Theatre in Ayr, Queensland
Ayr, Queensland
Ayr is a town in Queensland, Australia near the delta of the Burdekin River, named after the Scottish town of Ayr by the settlers from the United Kingdom...
, a position which he held for 15 years.
In 1994 Billy underwent a second five-valve heart bypass operation.
In 2003 Billy moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
and in 2007 he became the Front of House Manager and Jazz Co-ordinator at the Gold Coast Arts Centre, Surfers Paradise, Queensland
Surfers Paradise, Queensland
Surfers Paradise is a suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 Census, Surfers Paradise had a population of 18,501....
, interspersed with the occasional appearances with his stage show, Scotland The Brave. At the end of December 2009 Billy resigned on amicable terms from the Gold Coast Arts Centre in order to concentrate on his upcoming tour of Australia in the Spring of 2010.
In 2010 Billy released a new compilation CD album, "The Pride of Scotland", which is available hard copy in Australia and in downloadable format from www.Allcelticmusic.com. The album has 25 tracks of well-known Scottish songs.
In the Autumn of 2010 Billy premiered his one-man show "Get A Life!!" which is a retrospective look at his 60-year career in show business.
Awards
1968 - Grampian TV Personality of the Year Award for "Try For Ten" and "People and Places";1970 - Australian Penguin Award, Best Support, Variety Series (The Rose and Crown);
1974 - 3 Gold Discs for "Toast to the Tartan" LP, Australia;
1984 - Apex Club Golden Hand Award for Leukaemia Fundraising, Australia;
1993 - Variety Award, Australia;
2002 - Australia Day Achievement Award, Burdekin Shire Council, Australia;
2003 - Centenary Medal Award by the Governor-General of Queensland, Australia.