Isla St Clair is a Scottish singer, actress and former television game show co-host from Grangemouth, Scotland. Born in 1952, she begins performing in folk settings as a child and goes on to build a career closely associated with Scottish traditional music.

Early life and beginnings

St Clair is born Isabella Margaret Dyce. After her parents separate, she takes a version of her mother’s maiden name, Sinclair, and performs as Isla St Clair. Her mother, Zetta, sings in folk clubs and writes songs. The family moves to Aberdeen, where St Clair sings with the Aberdeen Folk Singing Club from the age of 10. By the age of 12, she appears on television in My Kind of Folk.

Folk music career

In 1971, St Clair is voted Folk Singer of the Year by the New Musical Express. She later presents a children’s programme on Grampian TV called Isla's Island in the mid-1970s. From 1993, beginning with Inheritance, she releases a series of albums devoted to Scottish folk songs. She also records many of the Child Ballads and, in 1997, presents a BBC Radio 2 series, Tatties and Herrin', focused on songs from the North-East of Scotland.

Television and film work

St Clair becomes widely known in 1978 when she serves as assistant to Larry Grayson on the BBC game show The Generation Game. Her Scottish accent becomes a notable part of the programme’s presentation. In 2003, she appears in and co-produces the documentary film When the Pipers Play, which looks at the Great Highland Bagpipe.

Recognition

In 2003, the University of Aberdeen awards St Clair an honorary degree as a Master for her contribution to the traditional music of Scotland.

Later recordings

St Clair releases My Generation in 2003, a collection of children’s songs drawn in part from songs remembered from her own childhood. Her later album Looking Forward to the Past is also listed among her recordings.