Colin Lamont

Colin Lamont is a media consultant, actor, writer, broadcaster, academic and educationist, with a media career spanning over thirty-five years to date. He is also known as the man behind the on-air persona of radio host Scottie McClue.

This article is about the radio host. For the Australian politician, see Colin Lamont (politician).

Colin Lamont
Born (1956-06-20) 20 June 1956[1]
Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland [1]
OccupationRadio presenter and executive

Career

Lamont was educated at Greenock Academy The University of Glasgow, The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and Jordanhill College of Education, where he trained as a secondary school teacher.

He started his career working as a trainee manager for the Clydesdale Bank before joining Scottish Opera in 1980 working in a number of roles including Touring Manager, Marketing Officer and Director of Education Programmes.[1] In 1981 he became Assistant General Manager at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.[1]

In 1984 he became a continuity announcer and newscaster for Grampian Television (1984–85),[2] before moving to Scottish Television (1985–88) and Border Television (1985–1989)[3]

In September 1989 he set up the radio station CentreSound 96.7 in Stirling - now Central 103.1 FM - as its founding managing director [4] In 1992 Colin Lamont moved to Red Rose Gold in Preston,[5] to become a senior producer and presenter for the station creating the on-air persona Scottie McClue who became a controversial but highly popular figure, attracting substantial listening audiences and subsequently presenting on a variety of UK stations across Scotland (including Scot FM and Q96, The North East of England, The North West of England, Yorkshire and The Midlands including national station Talk Radio UK in London and in syndication throughout the UK over the next twenty years.

In August 2008, he became a shareholder of the Scottish independent local radio station L107 saving it from imminent closure as the former owner was on the brink of returning the licence to OFCOM. The manager was former Q96 manager Alan Shields.[6] Lamont invested more than £62,000 of his own money into the business and ran L107's programming broadcasting on the station mid-mornings 10.00–12.00 under his Scottie McClue persona.

Even with Lamont's substantial investment the station experienced management and stewardship issues and Lamont left the station accusing Shields of failing to contribute his share of funding. The station closed shortly afterwards.

In recent years Lamont has taught and lectured widely in communications, performance, acting, media and theatre, presenting his 'Scottie McClue Hogmanay Bash' at New Year on local radio stations. He also appeared on national radio during the Scottish independence referendum and is often sought out as a commentator and contributor for important public events. He has become a pioneer for PAR (Public Access Radio) broadcasting Worldwide on the internet and for The Commonwealth.

Scottie McClue
Scottie McClue
Scottie McClue at the Radio Festival 2008
Born
Colin Lamont[1]

(1956-06-20) 20 June 1956[1]
Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland[1]
OccupationRadio presenter and executive
Websitewww.scottie-mcclue.com

Scottie McClue is the on-air persona of Colin Lamont.[7]

When Lancashire independent radio station Red Rose Radio was split into two frequencies, programme director John Myers wanted distinctive programming for the medium wave service, Red Rose Gold.[8] Myers encouraged Colin Lamont to present the station's late-night phone-in. They believed, however, that the name 'Colin' did not connote showbusiness. Inspired by Scottie Buccleugh, the host of a weekly kids' film club in Carlisle known as 'Uncle Scottie', Myers suggested that Lamont's on-air identity should be 'something mad like this' that would be memorable. The pair eventually came up with Scottie McClue.[9]

In 1994 Scottie McClue moved to Scot FM in Edinburgh, to present a new late night phone in. The show received sufficient calls to cause BT to limit the number of calls on the number.[10] He incurred the wrath of radio watchdogs on three occasions about his views about gay men and women and use of language.[11][12] In January 1997 Scottie left the station after talks about a new contract broke down[13] and moved to Hallam FM in Sheffield and by April 1998,his show was syndicated across TFM in Middlesbrough and all Magic stations then owned by EMAP in Liverpool, Yorkshire and North East England.[14]

Scottie also presented on Border Television-owned stations including 100-102 Century FM in Newcastle, becoming the late night phone-in presenter on its Salford Quays-based sister regional station 105.4 Century FM when it launched in September 1998,[15] with his show being networked to cover The Midlands on Century 106 in Nottingham in 1999.

In 2001 Scottie returned to Scotland on Q96 with his shows being simulcast and networked across the UK. He then returned to EMAP's Magic stations in Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds and Hull also broadcasting for SRH on Clyde 2 Glasgow on Saturday evenings and Forth 2 Edinburgh on Sunday mornings and also a stint co-hosting with Lesley Riddoch sitting in for Fred MacAulay on BBC Radio Scotland.

Scottie McClue had, as analyst Mary Talbot observes, achieved "a degree of infamy as a highly confrontational talk radio host".[16] Scottie joined Q96 in 2005 before moving to its UTV sister station Talk 107, the 24-hour talk radio station based in Edinburgh, in 2006.[16] He presented his last show for Talk 107 in March 2008 and was replaced with a simulcast of The James Whale Show from London on sister station Talk Sport, which after a few weeks was in turn replaced by another show. In July 2008 Scottie McClue participated in a special edition of BBC Radio's Fighting Talk at the Radio Academy's Radio Festival in Glasgow.[17] In his introduction, presenter Colin Murray described McClue as "A Scottish broadcasting legend, he claims to have the world record for calls into his phone-in show, I think it was 460,000 in one week, he's been fired or has resigned on the odd occasion from virtually every station in Scotland and the North of England, and how he hasn't developed a show yet for BBC Radio Scotland called "I'm Sorry I Haven't A McClue" I have no idea."[17]

Scottie McClue also presented on many mainstream Scottish radio stations including Forth & Clyde and from 2008 L107 where he also served in a shareholder and management role at the station. The station lasted just over a year until reported company debts caused an ownership dispute which led to the breakdown of the partnership, and McClue's withdrawal from the station's output.[18][19]

A live video, "An Audience With Scottie McClue" was released in 1996.[1][20] While working with Century 105 in Salford in 1999, he also released a CD called The Best of Scottie McClue.[21]

In September 2018, McClue joined Nation Radio Scotland to present a late night phone-in show which currently airs 3 nights a week.[22]

References
  1. "Colin Lamont, Esq.", Debrett's website
  2. "The Grampian Television Studios". Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  3. "The Ultimate ITV Continuity Announcer List". Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  4. "The Continuity Booth". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  5. North West Radio
  6. Rowbotham, John (19 November 2009). "Business owner left trail of debt". Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  7. North West Radio
  8. Red Rose Gold was transmitted on AM, while Rock FM was broadcast on the FM frequency.
  9. Myers, John (2012). Team, It's Only Radio. Kenton Books. pp. 89–92. ISBN 0954622391.
  10. Chat's yer Lot, BT tell DJ Scottie
  11. "Radio host fined for bad language". Herald Scotland.
  12. "Third time unlucky for controversial radio broadcaster". Herald Scotland.
  13. "DJ McClue silenced by Scot FM after talks". Herald Scotland.
  14. Lowe, Jim. "The Jim Lowe Editorial 1998". Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  15. "Degsy Rides Again", Trouble at the Top, BBC Two, March 1999
  16. Talbot, Mary (2007). Media Discourse: Representation and Interaction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 157–8. ISBN 0-7486-2348-5.
  17. "The Radio Festival 2008 headed to Glasgow" Archived 10 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Radio Academy
  18. Rowbotham, John (5 November 2009). "Radio Station Owners in battle over control". Hamilton Advertiser. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  19. Rowbotham, John (19 November 2009). "Business owner left trail of debt". Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  20. An Audience With Scottie McClue. 1996. Pearson New Entertainment
  21. The Best of Scottie McClue Century Radio: B0034PAMQA
  22. https://radiotoday.co.uk/2018/09/scottie-mcclue-to-join-nation-radio-in-scotland/

Further reading
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