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Profile: Russell Leadbetter

Latest articles from Russell Leadbetter

Those were the days - The Glasgow trams and their precious cargo of human lives

THE cartoon, by Bud Neill, makes you smile.

Paisley mill strike, 1956

IT was June 4, 1959, and a strike involving 1,500 of the 6,000…

Those were the days - The night Howard Keel forgot his words at the Empire

THE audience at Glasgow’s Empire Theatre was in a cheerful and…

Gifted composer who could turn a good film into art and a great one into legend

Ennio Morricone, composer and conductor

Those were the days - It’s the late, late show at Ibrox in the Fairs Cup

IT had been a tense and exciting night of European football at…

All change as the old Gorbals gives way to the new

THE old, densely-packed Gorbals was giving way to maisonette blocks…

Those were the days - Never on a Sunday: anti-ferry protests on Skye

THERE was no question over the depth of feeling on Skye in 1965 in…

The doo men and their quiet, lofty havens

“GLASGOW’S doo men are idiosyncratic pigeon-fanciers who have…

Those were the days - Peter Capaldi in the 1980s

BACK in June 1990, this paper’s entertainments editor, Andrew…

Those were the days - Aberdeen, 1970: ‘The long winter is over’

THE huge, noisy, elated crowd in the centre of Aberdeen had to be…

New Zealand’s ‘Wild west’ town

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Protesting parents, a symphony in concrete and a royal opening: 50 years of the Kingston Bridge

WITH fine words and an understandable dash of civic pride, Glasgow's…

1066: Scotland welcomes the Boys from Brazil

GARRINCHA, the ace Brazilian winger, signed autographs for waiting…

Those were the days - The Duke of Edinburgh drops in on Ibrox stadium

IT was June 22, 1955, and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were…

The hitlist From Primal Scream to Travis, Texas and the Trashcan Sinatras, it’s the sound of the 90s

TODAY we wrap up our look at the best of Scottish rock and pop…

Those were the days - Fire at the Grosvenor Hotel, 1978

A NATIONAL strike by firefighters in pursuit of a long-standing pay…

Those were the days: Peter Ustinov in Scotland, 1949 and 1968

SIR Peter Ustinov, who died aged 82 in March 2004, was a man of many…

Obituary: Passionate music fan who once saw Prince play a concert at 3am

Colin Somerville, broadcaster and journalist

Those were the days – Anti-nuclear demonstrators on the march, 1961

STUDENTS, trade unionists, families with children and an American…

All aboard for the riverboat shuffle

EVERYTHING had been arranged for a pleasant few hours spent…

Wrapping up the Eighties with Runrig, Jesus and Mary Chain, Del Amitri and Deacon Blue

THE second half of the Eighties, this week, and a further…

A US president at Turnberry (and no, it’s not Trump)

PRESIDENT Dwight D. Eisenhower, a keen lifelong golfer, paused…

Those were the days - Action on the ice at Crossmyloof

FOR older Glaswegians, as the book, Played in Glasgow, observes,…

Those were the days - the Duke of Edinburgh, in Glasgow

PRINCESS Elizabeth’s engagement to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten…

From the Cocteaus to Blue Nile and Aztec Camera: Part one of our look back at the 1980s

THERE were so many great Scottish bands in the 1980s that we’re…

Those were the days - Cultural attractions in the looming shadow of war

THAT August of 1939, newspapers devoted considerable space to the…

Katharine Hepburn in The Millionairess, 1952

KATHARINE Hepburn arrived at the King's Theatre, Glasgow, in May…

Those were the days - ‘Champagne Tony’ wins the 1964 Open at St Andrews

TONY Lema’s victory in the 1964 Open over the Old Course at St…

Our favourite nature book: Following Weir’s way

Exploring Scotland with Tom Weir

Those were the days - Kilmarnock become Scottish champions by the tightest of margins

IT was Saturday, April 24, 1965, the final day of the 1964-65…

From the Rollers to the Rezillos: it’s the sound of the Seventies in Scotland

LOTS of Scottish acts came to the fore in the 1970s – so many…

Those were the days - The Madhatters take on the Cleavers, 1964

THEY had colourful names: the Plainsmen, from Townhead; the Voodoos,…

Those were the days - The ‘vigorous and handsome’ female pipers of Iowa

THE State University of Iowa Ladies’ Pipe Band, who were touring…

Those were the days - Moira Shearer, ballerina, 1951

THE audience at the first night of the Sadler’s Wells ballet…

Those were the days - The Women’s Land Army in the Second World War

IN October 1974 more than 1,000 former members of the Scottish…

Those were the days - On the waterfront: 1932 and 1962

HIS name was Bobby Todd and in August 1962 he was a union…

Those were the days - The strike rally hampered by the rain

HUNDREDS of factories and shipyards across Britain were brought to a…

Scotland's sounds of the 1960s: From Lulu to the Poets via Bert Jansch and Donovan

SCOTLAND’S contribution over the decades to rock and pop has…

The day when Jack met Jimmy

THE Evening Times writer Jack House made his way to Auchtermuchty…

Obituary: Jon Whiteley, former child film star who became a prominent art historian

Born: February 19, 1945;

Those were the days - “It has been done on a shoestring”: Mayfest 1983

“MAYFEST springs into action on a shoestring”, read a headline…

Those were the days - A star in the making, outside Glasgow's Third Eye Centre

BACK then, it was known as the Third Eye Centre; back then, Whoopi…

Those were the days - Virtually a great way of revisiting 1953

IT was a busy year, 1953: the Queen’s Coronation (above), the…

Those were the days - the old Renfrew Ferry, 1956 and 1984

THE story was told in 1943 of some naval ratings sitting on a train,…

Those were the days - Rod Stewart: he wears it well

OF all the passengers who arrived at Glasgow Airport that chilly day…

Silent witness to a changing waterfront

WALK beneath the Finnieston Crane today and it’s difficult not to…

Michael Tumelty, Herald's influential critic of classical music, dies aged 73

MICHAEL TUMELTY, for many years The Herald’s highly-respected…

Those were the days - An end to Glasgow's hole in the ground, after 15 years

FOR a mere hole in the ground, it certainly attracted a lot of…

Those were the days - Celtic seal their nine-in-a-row, 1974

CELTIC have been crowned Scottish Premiership champions for the…

Obituary: Little Richard, flamboyant showman who was the ‘architect’ of rock‘n’roll

Little Richard, musician