time. It has, in his own words been “one hell of a
journey.” “ My father was a great one for instilling the
good old Scottish work ethic in his children,” he said.
“When I was 10 years old he had me out and about
delivering newspapers and milk in the wee hours. I’ve
always worked, always felt the compulsion to get up
early. The notion of lying in bed after eight o’clock,
even on weekends when I’m not painting, would just
be impossible for me.”
Young Jack’s early pay packets were expected to be
brought home unopened to his parents. “We weren’t
very well off at all,” he said, “so anything anyone
earned went into the family pot. There were four
children in the family so a little had to go a long way.
I was proud to be contributing to the family income.
Later on, when things improved, my Dad let me keep
the money. I went out and spent it on Rolling Stones
and Beatles records and clothes. I became a dreamer
when I started to listen to the lyrics of songs rather
than the beat. The lyrics made me think about my
identity; not just who I was, but what I really wanted
to do in life. Up until that point my only aim was to
be just like the bigger boys in town. They were not
great role models at all. Between the ages of 15 and
21, I was an apprentice engineer with no aspirations
whatsoever. All I wanted was to get myself a car, a
sharp suit, go to The Dancing and pick up girls.”
There were two elegant Art Deco ballrooms in
Kirkcaldy, The Raith and The Burma, and on Friday
and Saturday nights the popularity of their live dance
bands attracted busloads of young men and women
from the Lothians and as far as Highland Perthshire.
“I grew up in an era in which men and women dressed
to the nines,” he said. “When I went to The Dancing
I always wore a sharp suit, a white shirt and a black
knitted tie a la James Bond. And of course we were
not there just for the dancing. This was part of the
mating game and there was always an atmosphere
of excitement and sexual tension. It wasn’t exactly
living as we now know it today, but it was lovely just
the same and I’m very grateful for those experiences
because they’ve given me a huge bank of material to
draw on as an artist.”
When he was 21, a girlfriend in Methil gave him
two gifts that were to change his life: one was a box
of artist’s paints and the other was a piece of advice.
She urged him to “go to night school and earn some
qualifications”. “If you don’t,” she warned, “you’re
going to live and die in this town.” Jack took her
advice, passed his exams and took up a white collar
job as a work study engineer with the local council.
He stayed in that line of work until he was 38. In all
that time he kept on painting. “By the time I was 35
The Singing Butler
I was becoming quite good at it,” he said. “But while
I had developed the skill, I lacked the imagination. I
15
SCOTS44.indd 15 28/3/09 4:27:27 PM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116