Colin Lamont

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

Colin Lamont
Lamont as Scottie McClue in 2021
Born (1956-06-20) 20 June 1956 (age 68)[1]
Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland[1]
Alma materRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland
Occupation(s)Radio presenter and executive

Colin Lamont (born 20 June 1956),[1] better known by his shock jock on-air radio persona of Scottie McClue, is a broadcaster and former newscaster.

Career

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Lamont was educated at Greenock Academy, the University of Glasgow, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the 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. His roles including Touring Manager, Marketing Officer and Director of Education Programmes, working alongside directors John Cox and Graham Vick.[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 in Aberdeen,[2] before moving to Scottish Television in Glasgow (1985–88) and Border Television in Carlisle (1985–89)[3]

In September 1989 Lamont set up the radio station CentreSound 96.7 in Stirling - now Central 103.1 FM - as its founding managing director.[4] In 1992 he moved to Red Rose Gold in Preston to become a senior producer and presenter for the station, creating the on-air persona Scottie McClue. McClue 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-five 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, Mark Page, was on the brink of returning the licence to Ofcom.[5] Businessman Alan Shields acquired the station from Page, hiring Lamont as a presenter under his Scottie McClue persona.[6] Lamont invested more than £62,000 of his own money into the business.[7] Lamont left the station accusing Shields of failing to contribute his share of funding.[8]

Scottie McClue

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Lamont has hosted talk radio shows in the persona of Scottie McClue since the 1990s.[9]

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.[10] 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 children's 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.[11]

In 1994 McClue moved to Scot FM in Edinburgh, to present a new late night phone in. He was fined by the Radio Authority on three occasions for breaching the 1990 Broadcasting Act on taste and decency, in comments made about single mothers and gay people.[12][13] In January 1997 McClue left the station after talks about a new contract broke down[14] 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.[15]

McClue 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,[16] with his show being networked to cover The Midlands on Century 106 in Nottingham in 1999.

In 2001 McClue returned to Scotland on Q96 with his shows being simulcast and networked across the UK.[citation needed] 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.

McClue had, as analyst Mary Talbot observes, achieved "a degree of infamy as a highly confrontational talk radio host".[17] Scottie joined Q96 in 2006,[18][19] before moving to its 24-hour talk radio sister station of Talk 107, later that year.[17] He remained as a presenter[20][21] until March 2008 where Talk 107 replaced him with a simulcast of The James Whale Show from London on sister station Talk Sport.[22][23]

In July 2008 McClue participated in a special edition of BBC Radio's Fighting Talk at the Radio Academy's Radio Festival in Glasgow.[24]

McClue also presented on many mainstream Scottish radio stations including Radio Forth & Radio Clyde.[25] From 2008, he worked on L107 where he also served in a shareholder and management role at the station.[26] 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.[27][28]

A live video, "An Audience With Scottie McClue" was released in 1996.[1][29] While working with Century 105 in Salford in 1999, he also released a CD called The Best of Scottie McClue.[30]

In September 2018, McClue joined Nation Radio Scotland to present a late night phone-in show which aired three nights a week.[31][32] Since his absence from the radio, McClue has been live streaming daily on TikTok. He started throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.[33]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Colin Lamont, Esq's Biography". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  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 25 May 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  5. ^ "Radio duo eye station buyout bid". Scottish Business Insider. Scotland: Insider Publications Limited. 19 December 2008. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2021. Page had already returned his broadcasting licence for Lanarkshire to regulator Ofcom before Shields came in with an offer for the station. However, CMG managed to get the operation back on air in a week.
  6. ^ "Lanarkshire Station Saved from Closure". All Media Scotland. Edinburgh, Scotland. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2021. L107 was started by former Radio 1 DJ, Mark Page, following the demise of a previous, local station, 107 The Edge. Now, Alan Shields is the new owner.
  7. ^ Rowbotham, John (19 November 2009). "L107 boss Shields left 'trail of debt' in his other businesses". Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. Airdrie and Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland: Scottish & Universal Newspapers Limited. Archived from the original on 22 November 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2021. Mr Fulston invested £52,500 in L107 and Scottie McClue, whose real name is Colin Lamont, left the station two months ago. He had sunk £62,000 into the company and guaranteed overdrafts.
  8. ^ Rowbotham, John (5 November 2009). "L107 Radio Station Owners In Battle Over Control". Hamilton Advertiser. Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland: Scottish & Universal Newspapers Limited. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2021. In a letter last month to Companies House, urging an investigation into Mr Shields' business dealings, Mr Lamont accuses his former partner of failing to honour financial commitments.
  9. ^ Dow, Ian (10 January 1997). "Shove Off Scottie!; Campaign to save sacked DJ flops". Daily Record. Glasgow, Scotland. The Free Library. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2021. McClue - real name Colin Lamont - left on Wednesday after bosses refused to let him have a late-night slot.
  10. ^ Red Rose Gold was transmitted on AM, while Rock FM was broadcast on the FM frequency.
  11. ^ Myers, John (2012). Team, It's Only Radio. Kenton Books. pp. 89–92. ISBN 978-0954622398.
  12. ^ "Radio host fined for bad language". The Herald. Glasgow, Scotland: Newsquest Media Group. 20 June 1996. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Third time unlucky for controversial radio broadcaster". The Herald. Glasgow, Scotland: Newsquest Media Group. 24 June 1996. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  14. ^ "DJ McClue silenced by Scot FM after talks". The Herald. Glasgow, Scotland: Newsquest Media Group. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  15. ^ Lowe, Jim (26 April 1998). "The Jim Lowe Editorial 1998 - Local Radio". Concept Radio News UK. Archived from the original on 13 May 2002. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Degsy Rides Again", Trouble at the Top, BBC Two, March 1999
  17. ^ a b Talbot, Mary (2007). Media Discourse: Representation and Interaction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 157–8. ISBN 978-0-7486-2348-8.
  18. ^ "Dinky Doo it's Scottie on Q". Radio Today. 6 March 2006. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Q96 - Renfrewshire's Best Variety of Hits". Q96. Renfrewshire, Scotland: UTV plc. Archived from the original on 13 April 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2021. Scotties here for the 'Mega-Phone-In'. Get your opinions into the wee-big man of radio...
  20. ^ "Scottie McClue". Talk 107. Edinburgh, Scotland: UTV plc. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2021. Scottie McClue is back on east coast radio, only on talk107. The nations biggest talk radio show can be heard Sunday to Thursday between 10.00pm and 1.00am with his unique mix of discussion and banter in the nations liveliest and funniest late night phone-in.
  21. ^ "talk107, local radio, news and sport for Edinburgh, Fife and the Lothians - Schedule". Talk 107. Edinburgh, Scotland: UTV plc. Archived from the original on 18 November 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  22. ^ Tryhorn, Chris (17 March 2008). "Third DJ leaves Talk 107". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2021. His 10pm slot will now be filled by a simulcast of James Whale's show from Talk 107's UTV stablemate, the national station TalkSport.
  23. ^ Dalgetty, Lee (17 January 2022). "The short-lived 00s Edinburgh talk radio show that debuted as UK's biggest ever flop". Edinburgh Live. Edinburgh, Scotland: Reach plc. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  24. ^ "Programme 08". The Radio Academy. Glasgow, Scotland. 30 June 2008. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2021. Fighting Talk. Hosted by Colin Murray. with John Myers, Phil Riley, Scottie McClue.
  25. ^ "Scottie McClue returns to talk about radio". Radio Today. 22 April 2013. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2021. Since Red Rose, he has hosted phone-ins at a number of stations including Scot FM, Hallam FM, Magic, the Century Radio network, Signal2, Forth2, Clyde 2 and BBC Radio Scotland.
  26. ^ Drum, The (2 October 2008). "Scottie McClue: Back from the Brink". The Drum. Carnyx Group Limited. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2021. Another undeniable truth about Scottie is that he's back and this time he owns the station (well, co-owns it actually).
  27. ^ Rowbotham, John (5 November 2009). "L107 Radio Station Owners In Battle Over Control". Hamilton Advertiser. Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland: Scottish & Universal Newspapers Limited. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  28. ^ Rowbotham, John (19 November 2009). "L107 boss Shields left 'trail of debt' in his other businesses". Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. Airdrie and Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland: Scottish & Universal Newspapers Limited. Archived from the original on 22 November 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  29. ^ An Audience With Scottie McClue. 1996. Pearson New Entertainment
  30. ^ The Best of Scottie McClue Century Radio: B0034PAMQA
  31. ^ Martin, Roy (17 September 2018). "Scottie McClue to join Nation Radio in Scotland". Radio Today. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  32. ^ "Schedule - Nation Radio Scotland". Nation Radio Scotland. Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  33. ^ @ScottieMcClue (15 March 2021). "Try to never miss Scottie McClue. #TikTok #Live" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 July 2021 – via Twitter.

Further reading

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