Your Song, Channel 4, Sunday
four stars
In the first series of The Piano, a stablemate of Channel 4’s Your Song, the show roared into life when the crew rocked up in Glasgow. Tonight, Edinburgh repeated that feat, and then some.
Over a single hour, the singing competition offered in no particular order: a romcom script waiting to be made; a life-changing trip to New Zealand; a broken heart; a D-Day veteran; and a narrow escape for host Alison Hammond.
With “mentors” - not judges - Paloma Faith and Sam Ryder housed in a makeshift studio in the nearby National Gallery, the first performer took to the stage. Sarah, an admin assistant, sang At Last by Etta James to celebrate meeting the bus driver who eventually became her husband.
“I used to sit on the bus trying to catch his eye in the rear view mirror, wondering how on earth I could get this guy to know I really liked him,” she told Hammond.
The pair lost touch for a few years. Then he saw her in the street, stopped the bus, and pressed a piece of paper with his number on it into her hand. Nearly 30 years on, they are still together. It was left to Hammond to ask Sarah the most important question of all: did she get free bus travel? Reader, she said yes.
Next was Spencer, 26, a law graduate with a broken heart who sang Billy Joel’s She’s Always a Woman, and 20-year-old Gabby from Glasgow performing Just a Man by Alex Clare for the “inspirational” dad who introduced her to Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and other greats.
As in last week’s Liverpool opener, backstories featured prominently. Like them or not, they have become part of the package.
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Lockdown memories surfaced in a mother’s self-penned song for her daughter. Another marked the end of her time in foster care by travelling to New Zealand when she was sixteen. Sahala, now a teaching assistant in Dundee, had chosen Fast Car by Tracy Chapman in honour of her own “fast car moment”.
It was not just on the stage that memorable moments happened. While being interviewed by Hammond before singing Zach Bryan’s Something in the Orange, ex-soldier Mikey shot out his arm to stop a large guitar case from falling on the presenter. “Oh my gosh, you are a soldier,” said a shocked Hammond after praising his speedy reaction.
Some singers dedicated their performance to others. Pat, a volunteer at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow, performed Ae Fond Kiss at the 100th birthday party for one of the residents, Jimmy, a D-Day veteran. She did the same in his honour in Edinburgh. “As far as I'm concerned, it's Jimmy's song.”
Not everyone had the wow factor that would take them through to the final at the Hackney Empire in London. But there was enough talent on show to give Faith and Ryder a headache. At one point, the Only Love Can Hurt Like This singer had six on her shortlist, with only one spot available.
Even with that level of competition, there was one singer who stood out. Findlay Williamson had travelled to Edinburgh from his home in Ayr with his two sisters. The trainee quantity surveyor, 23, had sung in public only once, at his mother Victoria’s funeral. The song, Candy by Paolo Nutini, had been her favourite. The siblings had earlier lost their father to cancer.
A video of Findlay was posted on the internet and went viral.
Findlay told The Herald’s sister paper, the Ayr Advertiser: "A casting agent from Channel 4 saw the video and sent me a message on Instagram asking if I would be interested in hearing more about a new show they were developing.
"Zoom calls became meetings in person, and then the next minute I found myself on stage in Edinburgh sharing my song and my story."
Faith was impressed by Findlay from the off, praising him as “note perfect… his tone, everything, is gorgeous.” Earlier, discussing favourite Scottish acts with Ryder, she had picked Nutini. Ryder had gone for Biffy Clyro.
The crowd was fair to middling and might have been bigger had the producers chosen Glasgow. But there were enough people around to raise a cheer, sway along, and take part in a rousing rendition of the Proclaimers I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) at the end.
After a day of fierce but friendly competition, a “completely gobsmacked” Findlay Williamson was named the winner. With obvious star quality, he’ll be hard to beat.
Next week: London.
