Lizzie Higgins (1921-1993)
The story of this gentle woman and superb singer is simply told. Born into a Traveller family in Aberdeen, she lived a largely settled life, working as a fish-filleter and marrying before coming to public attention at the age of 38, and dying of cancer only twenty-six years thereafter.
Lizzie was born in the Guest [ghaist = ghost] Row of Aberdeen, an ancient side street which was to vanish under desperately needed slum clearance in the 1950s, leaving behind only the house previously known as the Duke of Cumberland's Lodging. Her parents were settled Travellers: Donald ('Donty') Higgins, a piper of great repute, and Jeannie Robertson. In the house also was her uncle Isaac ('Seely') another fine piper.
In 1953, Hamish Henderson came to record her mother, Jeannie Robertson for the School of Scottish Studies, introducing himself by standing on the doorstep and singing The Battle of Harlaw. Jeannie was thus launched on a singing career which brought her international fame, but although Lizzie was also recorded singing with her mother, she refused all invitations to perform in public, being not just shy but unwilling to be seen as competing with Jeannie.
Lizzie held out until 1967, when the late Peter Hall persuaded her to sing at the Aberdeen Folk Song Festival. With a sad irony Lizzie's debut was also to be her mother's last public performance.
She made an immediate impact on the audience, for singer and performance were both remarkably composed, to the delight of her highly supportive parents from whom she had learned most of her repertoire. From such a beginning she became greatly in demand throughout Scotland, England and Wales.
Travelling, however, stressed her greatly (not that this ever affected her actual performances), as did the deaths of her mother and father in the early seventies, but although this was greatly alleviated by her marriage to the kindly and supportive Brian Youlden, she had many periods of ill health, from which she would recover to impress the world as a superb exponent of Scots traditional song, making two more solo recordings and appearing on a School of Scottish Studies release. (http://www.mustrad.org.uk)
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