Retired hotelier is not looking for the quiet life as tenor

A RETIRED engineer and hotel owner is embarking on a late career change - as an opera singer.

Jamie McBride, 60, is looking forward to realising his dream as a touring performer after releasing his first album.

As a Shell oil engineer in the Middle East, he spent years singing rock and roll and blues to expats in the 1970s, but never had chance to make his passion for music any more than a hobby.

Mr McBride, originally from Prestonpans, returned home from Saudi Arabia and went on to buy Chic Murray's former hotel in Bruntsfield Crescent in 1982, transforming it into a thriving business.

Now, after a successful business career, he has released his first opera album at the age of 60, and plans to tour Scotland and further afield if he gets the opportunity.

He said: "When I lived in the Middle East I was in a band and we would perform in front of 500-1000 expats and soldiers. It's been my hobby for years, but it was never more than that until recently.

"I returned to Edinburgh and bought Chic Murray's hotel and transformed it into a hotel and conference centre. I was part of a few local singing groups, Allegro and the Southern Light Opera Company, and I performed whenever I could."

Mr McBride once had travelled to Florence for a six-week opera course with the legendary tenor Franco Corelli, which he says affirmed his passion for opera.

He said: "It was a wonderful experience. Corelli is a true master and an incredible performer. To sing in front of Italians is a great experience, because they really appreciate a Scottish man singing in Italian. They stand up and clap.

"Now that I've some time on my hands I can concentrate on my music and do what I love doing."

Mr McBride has since produced his collection of his favourite Puccini classics and donated 500 copies to the Royal Highland Fusiliers in Penicuik to be sold and the profits given to the armed services.

He said: "My two girls think it's quiet funny that their dad's a tenor, they just think of me as this big engineer, or their strict dad.

"They think it's funny that I want to go touring, but now that I've released my album I'm going to concentrate on the Scottish circuit and gigs in town. I'm also going to look at getting a slot during the Festival and try to get my name out there.

"I would join one of the groups but there's no big demand for a 60-year-old, even though I am quite youthful for my age.

"Quite the opposite from wanting a quiet life, I want to see how hectic things can get."