Biography

Jimmy hails from the picturesque town of Gourock on the Firth of Clyde, where he began singing at the age of seven with successful appearances in music and drama festivals.

In the 1960s, after appearing across the North of England alongside several ‘name’ artistes in Cabaret and Variety Shows, Jimmy settled in the vibrant city of Sheffield.

Following a successful performance on Hughie Green’s Opportunity Knocks on national television, he toured extensively with David Webster’s spectacular stage & screen show, This Is Scotland, and was the first singer to record the title song on EMI. With the show, Jimmy performed in almost every principal concert venue in England and Wales, including London’s Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Royal Albert Hall, working with - among others - the legendary Jimmy Shand & His Band. This led to further singing engagements such as supporting Bonnie Langford at the Liverpool Empire with Rob Gordon & His Band.

On returning from the concert tours to his base in Sheffield in the 1980s, Jimmy composed The Sheffield Song - dedicated to his adopted city. He performed the song on Yorkshire Television and, due to popular demand, was engaged to sing regularly on the programme.

The 1980s also saw the first performance of Jimmy’s own presentation, The Palm Court Entertainment. Continuing to run for more than 25 years, the show toured England and Wales with performances from guest artistes and members of his musical family.

From the late 1990s, Jimmy has also been in demand overseas - engagements have taken him as far as Chicago, USA to appear at the Hilton and Towers Hotel for the St. Andrew’s Society of Illinois, and include three tours of Canada with Ronnie Coburn’s A Breath of Scotland. Jimmy also appeared regularly with the show in the UK, supporting well-known Scottish acts, The Alexander Brothers, Jim MacLeod & His Band and The Tartan Lads.

In 2007 Jimmy made his debut in Duggie Chapman's The Good Olde Days - Britain’s longest-running Music Hall show - and starred alongside popular artistes such as Norman Collier, Adam Daye, Andy Eastwood, Marilyn Hill-Smith, Stu Francis, and Don Maclean. As part of the show, Jimmy performed in theatres all over the country including the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Crewe Lyceum, Glasgow’s famous Pavilion Theatre and Barrfield’s Pavilion in Largs on the Clyde Coast. 

More recently, Jimmy has been delighted to perform in The Good Old Days at the world-famous City Varieties in Leeds, appearing with Anita Harris, Richard Gauntlett, and the renowned Music Hall chairman, Johnny Dennis.

As an authority on the Scottish Music Hall star, Harry Lauder, Jimmy’s  television credits include Michael Grade’s BBC FOUR documentary, The Story of Music Hall performing Lauder’s Roamin’ in the Gloamin’, and What a Performance! Pioneers of Popular Entertainment alongside comedian, Frank Skinner, also for BBC FOUR.

The British Music Hall Society recently established their annual Day By the Sea at The Royal Hippodrome Theatre in Eastbourne, and have featured Jimmy in Variety Time alongside Roy Hudd and Freddie ‘Parrot Face’ Davies among others. Jimmy’s performance of his own specially written song, A Day By The Sea, has been so warmly received it has since been adopted as The British Music Hall Society Song.

In addition to Music Hall, Jimmy continues to entertain in modern variety shows, cabaret and at corporate events. Recent highlights include: the Variety Show at King George’s Hall, Blackburn; SSAFA Annual Concert at the Caird Hall, Dundee; cabaret entertainment for the North of England Classic Car Rally at the Majestic Hotel, Harrogate; and Burns Night with Jimmy McWilliams at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch, London.

Recent and Upcoming Shows and Concerts

Wednesday 19th February 2020

‘My Life in Showbusiness’

Rotary Club of Abbeydale, Sheffield

Saturday 4th June 2022

Grand Variety Concert

Caird Hall, Dundee 

Saturday 18th June 2022  BOOK TICKETS

‘Day By The Sea’

The British Music Hall Society

Royal Hippodrome Theatre, Eastbourne

more dates to follow...