Scott Fitzgerald (singer)
{{Short description|Scottish singer and actor (born 1948)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name = Scott Fitzgerald
|image =
|caption = Scott Fitzgerald in 1988
|image_size = 250px
|background = solo_singer
|birth_name = William McPhail
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|04|28|df=y}}
|birth_place = Glasgow, Scotland
|instrument = Vocals
|genre = Musical theatre, glam rock, pop
|occupation = Musician, actor
|years_active = 1970s–present
|label = GTO, United Artists, RCA
|associated_acts = Yvonne Keeley, Ronnie Hazlehurst
|website =
}}
Scott Fitzgerald (born William McPhail; 28 April 1948) is a Scottish singer and musical actor, who experienced international music chart success in the 1970s and later represented the UK at the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest where he finished second, only on e point behind Celine Dion.
Career
Fitzgerald was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and began his career on the GTO label, releasing the singles "Judy Played The Jukebox" in 1974 and the title track to glam rock movie Never Too Young To Rock in 1975, where he featured alongside glam rock acts Mud, The Glitter Band and The Rubettes.{{cite web |url=http://www.timeout.com/film/newyork/reviews/63244/never-too-young-to-rock.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914024732/http://www.timeout.com/film/newyork/reviews/63244/never-too-young-to-rock.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-09-14 |title=Never Too Young to Rock Review. Movie Reviews - Film - Time Out London |publisher=Timeout.com |access-date=2012-12-28 }}
="If I Had Words"=
Fitzgerald's greatest success was with "If I Had Words", a duet with Yvonne Keeley and also featuring the St. Thomas More School Choir.{{YouTube|klCvrpy8LwU|Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne KeeleyIf singing " I Had Words"" in 1977 video recording}}. Accessed January 2009 The lyrics and arrangement were by Jonathan Hodge, a prolific writer of television jingles and movie themes, who also produced the single. The tune was taken from the main theme of the Maestoso from Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 in C minor (Symphony with organ) with an added reggae beat. It reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1978,{{cite book |first=David |last=Roberts |year=2006 |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |edition=19th |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |location=London |isbn=1-904994-10-5 |page=201}} and later went on to be a hit in Australia,{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=112}} Ireland, New Zealand, Belgium, the Netherlands and Scandinavia, selling more than one million copies.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}
The song also featured in the score for the 1995 film Babe, sung both by Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) and by a trio of mice (a sped-up version of Fitzgerald's original). It was partially incorporated into the film's suite (instrumental). In 1999, the band Westlife collaborated with the Vard Sisters to record the song.
=Eurovision=
In 1988, he was the first ever artist chosen by telephone vote to sing the UK's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Go". The song was written and composed by Julie Forsyth, daughter of the entertainer Sir Bruce Forsyth.{{cite web|url=http://www.journallive.co.uk/culture-newcastle/music-in-newcastle/2004/04/06/stars-met-their-waterloo-61634-14121766/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307112725/http://www.journallive.co.uk/culture-newcastle/music-in-newcastle/2004/04/06/stars-met-their-waterloo-61634-14121766/|archive-date=7 March 2012|title=Stars met their Waterloo |publisher=Journallive.co.uk |date=6 April 2004 |access-date=2012-12-28|url-status=dead}} Forsyth joined Fitzgerald on stage at the contest in Dublin, alongside her husband Dominic Grant (also of Guys 'n' Dolls) and Des Dyer (formerly of Jigsaw), to perform backing vocals.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} Ronnie Hazlehurst conducted the live orchestration. Fitzgerald came second in the contest, by one point, to Switzerland's winning entry performed by Celine Dion. "Go" reached number 52 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1988.
Fitzgerald reunited with Yvonne Keeley in 1992 for the single "United We Stand", which was released on Red Bullet Records. In 2010 Fitzgerald and Keeley reunited for the final time in an all star version of
Personal life
Fitzgerald is married to Shereen Fitzgerald and has three children – Liam Paul Patrick McPhail (from a previous relationship), Neeley Fitzgerald, and the singer-songwriter Ki Fitzgerald, an original member of the UK boy band Busted{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7264939.stm|title=Busted members in royalties fight|publisher=BBC News|access-date=21 August 2009 | date=26 February 2008}} and hit songwriter to artists around the world. His son co-wrote Monsters for Saara Aalto's Finland 2018 entry into Eurovision Song Contest, adding to the family's Eurovision history.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.diggiloo.net/?info.1988uk Eurovision fansite information on Scott Fitzgerald]
{{s-start}}
{{s-ach}}
{{succession box |
| before=Rikki
with "Only the Light"
| title=United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
| years=1988
| after= Live Report
with "Why Do I Always Get it Wrong?"
}}
{{S-end}}
{{United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest|state=collapsed}}
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1988|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Scott}}
Category:Scottish male singer-songwriters
Category:Scottish singer-songwriters