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CALUM'S GIRL IN SEARCH OF 'SCOT IDOL' STARS TO TAKE US BY STORM

Fiona Kennedy: Daughter of the late King of the Highlands

Saturday April 5,2008

By Gavin Docherty

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WITH his powerful voice and striking personality, he introduced Gaelic songs to a generation of television and theatre audiences.

Now Fiona, the daughter of the late King of the Highlands, Calum Kennedy, is carrying his mantle to the United States in an on-screen talent search for the singing stars of tomorrow.

Her new show, which has been dubbed “Scots Idol”, will profile the best of Scottish folk music to a potential audience of 160million.

Tentatively called Scotland’s Voices, it will be filmed entirely in Scotland this summer for the giant PBS network, the American equivalent of the BBC.

While it bears all the hallmarks of the White Heather Club Goes Stateside, Fiona insisted the show was a serious attempt to return to old-fashioned auditioning methods to find new stars.

The singer and television presenter said: “Scotland is brimful of talent and music is the great international communicator. This is a tremendously exciting opportunity to show off our musical talent, landscape and culture. We want to audition singers over 16, who, if chosen, will appear in a spirited and energetic show.”

The show will also feature the musical talents of Hogmanay staple Phil Cunningham as well as new material specially written by Beth Neilson Chapman.

The narrator will be the film actor Brian Cox.

It will be broadcast coast to coast in the United States as a flagship Pledge Special programme. These are high-profile PBS fundraising programmes of exceptional quality attracting significant audiences.

The show will premiere at prime time in New York and will then roll out across the US.

Terrel Cass, President of PBS, said: “There is a real interest in music and Scotland here in the US and we believe that this is a programme our audience will enjoy. There is a proven track record for shows like this. They not only secure significant ratings but also they are broadcast hundreds of times across the US.”

Fiona’s father died two years ago, aged 77, at an Aberdeen nursing home after a long illness.

He was famous for his Sixties TV shows Calum’s Ceilidh, Round At Calum’s and Meet The Kennedys, in which he starred alongside his first wife, Anne, and their five daughters.

In 1986, he married his second wife, Christine, and they had a daughter together, but divorced.

His best-known songs included Lovely Stornoway, The Skyline Of Skye and No No Geordie Munro. He made a comeback in the mid-Nineties, following a heart bypass operation, and was still performing at the age of 70.

First auditions for Scotland’s Voices will take place later this month in Inverness, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

Those selected must be available for rehearsals on selected dates during May, June and July and be prepared to tour the United States during 2009 for long periods.

For further information visit www.kennedyproductionscompany.com