Scotland’s showbiz legend Sydney Devine passes away at 81

The Legendary singer of Scotland, Sydney Devine, passed away after a brief illness with little-known disease at a local hospital. 

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon paid great tribute to the country’s great showman by calling him a “true legend” of Scottish entertainment.

The 81-year-old showman breathed his last in Saturday’s wee hours, said Iain Gordon, the manager of Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre, where he used to perform. He was under treatment at the University Hospital in Ayr.

The song Tiny Bubbles was a masterpiece by him as millions of records of his version were sold out throughout his long career.

The veteran singer was made an MBE in 2003 following a decade of fundraising for Marie Curie Cancer Care. He received the honour in October of that year from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in London.

Following news of his death, Ms Sturgeon tweeted: “So sad. For Scots of a certain vintage – which definitely includes me – the name Sydney Devine was once synonymous with Scottish entertainment.

Announcing the news of Mr Devine’s death, the manager of the Pavilion Theatre wrote: “This is probably the hardest thing that I have ever had to announce and put on social media, this morning at 3:30am, our friend and star of the Pavilion and Scottish legend Sydney Devine has passed away.

“I have worked with Sydney and the band since 1976 and have to say, I have never seen a bad performance, he was the ultimate showman and performer. That is truly hard to find in this business." -PA