Famous People From Largs

David Milloy

Though a relatively small town, Largs can boast of having been home to a number of people who have made an impact in the wider world. In this feature we look briefly at the lives of eight such people.

Sir Thomas Brisbane
Born near Largs in 1773, Thomas Brisbane studied Astronomy and Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh before joining the British Army. He fought in both the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, rising to the rank of Major General. After leaving the army he was appointed Governor of New South Wales in Australia, a post he held between 1821 and 1825. In 1823, the Brisbane River was named after him by the explorer John Oxley. The penal colony of Moreton Bay later changed its name to Brisbane and has since evolved into a city of some 2.6 million people.

Brisbane’s time as Governor saw him embark on a programme of reform as well as conducting several experiments in crop growing. His tenure was, however, marred by in-fighting and chicanery. This came to a head when Brisbane discovered that the Colonial Secretary had been withholding documents from him. When Brisbane complained about this, both he and the Colonial Secretary were recalled to Britain.

A keen astronomer, Brisbane had set up an observatory shortly after his arrival in Australia, and he continued his astronomical research after returning home to Scotland in 1826. Various honours were bestowed upon him by the Crown, and his scientific work was acknowledged by the award of the Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Medal in 1828. Four years later, he was elected President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

He died in 1860 and is buried in his home town of Largs.

William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)
Born in Belfast in 1824, William Thomson moved to Glasgow at the age of eight. As a child, he displayed a remarkable aptitude for mathematics, going on to study at both Glasgow and Cambridge Universities. His academic abilities were such that he was appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy (as Physics was then known) at the University of Glasgow at the age of 22. From such an auspicious start, his star continued to rise and rise.

Thomson’s many achievements included the playing of a significant role in the formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, being a major contributor to the then emerging field of unifying physics, and accurately determining the correct value of the coldest possible temperature, known as absolute zero. His talents were also employed in the field of electrical telegraphy, and his work on the transatlantic telegraph project led to him being knighted in 1866. Further honours came in 1892, when he became the first scientist to be elevated to the House of Lords, taking the title Baron Kelvin of Largs.

His connection with Largs came from his having built a grand house, Netherhall, in the town in 1870. He lived there until his death in 1907. His former home still stands to this day, it having been converted into flats in the 1990s.

Lou Macari
Born in Edinburgh, Lou Macari moved to Largs aged nine and spent the remainder of his childhood in the town. His skill as a footballer resulted in him being signed by Celtic at the age of 16. He later graduated to the club’s first team, where he won four Scottish League Championships and two Scottish Cups. His performances for Celtic attracted the attention of both the Scottish national team, for whom he won his first of 24 caps in 1972, and Manchester United, whom he joined in 1973.

Lou remained with United for 11 years, winning the Second Division Championship in 1974/75 and the FA Cup in 1976. He joined Swindon Town FC in 1984, initially as a player-manager before hanging up his boots and focusing solely on management. He remained in management until 2002, winning both the English Fourth and Second Divisions as well as a brace of Football League Trophies.

Since 2002, he has worked in the media, notably on Manchester United’s club TV channel. In 2016, a TV programme about homelessness prompted Lou to investigate the homelessness situation in Stoke-on-Trent, where he now lives. What he saw led him to set up The Macari Centre, a complex which provides self-contained accommodation to homeless people. The Centre continues to operate, having provided invaluable assistance to many since its inception.

Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle
Brought up in Largs, Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle played together in local bands, forming a songwriting partnership that saw them hired in 1968 by the Beatles-owned Apple Records as staff songwriters. The duo also continued to perform as musicians and found chart success early in the 1970s with the band McGuinness Flint. After leaving the band, they continued their recording career as Gallagher and Lyle. They recorded eight albums as a duo, notching two top-ten singles and a top-ten album in the UK before splitting in 1980.

Benny Gallagher kept a low musical profile through the 1980s but made a return in 1992 as the bass player in the Manfreds, a collective of former Manfred Mann members and associates. He continued in this role for seven years before enjoying a stint as the bass player with Dr. Hook. On leaving Dr. Hook in 2000, he commenced a solo career as a performer and held songwriting workshops throughout the UK.

From the early 1980s onwards, Graham Lyle achieved considerable success as a songwriter for other artists. His songs were recorded by a long list of stars including Rod Stewart, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Hall & Oates. It was as a songwriter for Tina Turner, however, that he enjoyed his greatest successes. His song ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’, co-written with Terry Britten, not only reached number 1 in the US charts but also earned him a Grammy Award. The same duo also won an Ivor Novello award for another song recorded by Tina Turner: ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’ (Thunderdome).

Having reunited in 2010, Gallagher and Lyle played together until 2018, delighting fans and garnering critical acclaim.

John Sessions
An actor and comedian of no little ability, John Sessions, birth name John Marshall, was born in Largs in 1953, though his family moved to England when he was three. He attended university in Wales and later went on to study for a PhD (which he did not complete) in Canada. He subsequently attended RADA and changed his name to John Sessions to avoid confusion with another actor named John Marshall. As a performer, he appeared in a number of films, was a voice actor on Spitting Image, had his own TV series, co-created and performed in the TV ‘soap comedy’ Stella Street, and appeared as both an actor and comedian in a multitude of other TV shows, most notably including Whose Line Is It Anyway? during a career that spanned nearly 40 years.

He died suddenly in 2020 at the age of 67.

Bob Torrance and Sam Torrance
Born in Lochwinnoch, Bob Torrance spent the majority of his life in Largs, having become the resident club professional at Routenburn Golf Club. Although a gifted player himself, Bob’s greatest talent lay as a golf coach. Known for having an innate ability to identify and eradicate a player’s weaknesses whilst simultaneously enhancing the best elements of their skill set, Bob’s talents as a coach were in demand by some of the world’s greatest golfers, including the likes of Fred Couples, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Padraig Harrington and, of course, his son Sam. Aside from Sam’s many achievements, perhaps Bob’s proudest moments as as coach came when Harrington won The Open Championship in both 2007 and 2008 as well as the USPGA championship in 2008.

Bob passed away in 2014 at the age of 82.
Born in Largs in 1953, Sam Torrance learned to play golf under the eagle and expert eye of his father. He turned professional in 1970, winning his first professional tournament two years later. His first victory on the European Tour came in 1976. He recorded a further twenty tournament wins on the Tour over the next 22 years, an impressive achievement given the calibre of the players – including the likes of Langer, Lyle, Faldo, Norman, and Ballesteros – against whom he competed. Sam won tournaments on five continents, twice finished second in the European Tour’s annual Order of Merit and played in eight Ryder Cups. In 1985, it was his putt that secured the European (formerly Great Britain and Northern Ireland) team’s first victory against the USA in 28 years. He went on to win three more Ryder cups as a player and captained the European team to victory in 2002. He also won the Dunhill Cup as part of the two-man Scottish team in 1995 and, again representing Scotland in a two-player team, was twice runner-up in the Golf World Cup.

Having retired from professional golf in 2017, Sam now commentates on the sport he once graced as a player.