Heather Heywood

Heather Heywood (born Heather Williamson on 26 December 1950), is a Scottish folk singer from Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. She was voted Artist Of The Year by Glasgow’s Star Club in 1993. Heywood's first performance took place around 1968 in the Eglinton Folk Club in Irvine, Scotland. Inspired by Martin Carthy, Lizzie Higgins and Jeannie Robertson among others, she progressed to bookings as a solo artist for a number of Scottish clubs. She remained a solo artist for most of her career except for one tour of Brittany with the band The Clutha during the absence of their singer Gordeanna McCulloch. Heather is best known for ballads and is quoted to be "not so taken with lighter numbers." Heather was a key figure in the burgeoning Ayrshire folk clubs, helping to establish the one in Kilmarnock. Her passion for the muckle sangs, the great ballads of Scotland, and for the works of Robert Burns is evident to all who heard her, and she has the ability to ensnare an audience from the outset and involve them in the often complex storylines. Her knowledge of source material and her interpretative abilities soon marked Heather as a performer who would be in demand at international level, yet her Girvan connection still remains as strong as ever. In 1970, Williamson married Peter Heywood, a folk music activist and publisher of The Living Tradition magazine. They have three daughters.