Robert on song with new show
Dalmellington man writes score for Sleepless musical
Looking out over the bleak expanse of what he used to call home, Robert Scott admits that his is a journey more far travelled than most.
For not many make it from the streets of an Ayrshire mining village to the bright lights of Broadway.
But Robert, a musical director who has helped craft some of the world’s biggest hit shows, has done it all – and then some.
From Singin In The Rain to Oliver, the man often pulling the strings has been Dalmellington’s finest.
Back in Bellsbank more than 40 years ago, this son of a miner knew he had different goals than most.
Now, as he sits atop his industry, he has paid tribute to the roots that brought him to the glittering dance.
Speaking this week on his first return to Dalmellington in four decades, Robert said: “It is a surreal feeling to be stood where it all began.
“The house where I was born – and indeed the streets where I grew up – have completely vanished.
“I was one of four siblings in a mining family and Dalmellington was just like any other village of its type at that time.
“But from an early age, I always knew music would be my passion.
“I certainly wasn’t from a musical family, so it’s not something that was pushed, but for some reason I had that desire to pursue it.
“I got my first piano aged nine and it just went from there.”
A career which has taken Robert to all theatrical stages of the world was very much grounded in his home village.
He said: “I wouldn’t be where I am today were it not for my first music teacher in Dalmellington, Jim Mathieson.
“He was somebody who took a real interest and undoubtedly gave me the ability to do what I wanted.
“We stayed in touch throughout his life and he would come along to shows of mine, which meant a lot.
“I remember once doing a radio interview in New Zealand and he’d somehow managed to tune in. His support was so important.
“When he died, I was in Moscow working and was absolutely gutted that I couldn’t make his funeral. But I wrote something which they read out at the service. Without him, I genuinely couldn’t be doing what I am now.”
And what a career it has been for Robert – with even bigger success set to come.
His credits as a musical director include some of the West End’s longest running success stories, from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to Annie.
Now Robert is turning writer to lay on the music for the new musical Sleepless, based on the blockbuster film Sleepless In Seattle. Set to be one of the most eagerly