The son of beloved north-east broadcaster and columnist Robbie Shepherd has paid tribute to his father who has died aged 87.
Gordon Shepherd, was speaking from his parents home, and described what his father meant to the family.
“We are all very proud of everything he has achieved and we will miss him dearly,” said Gordon, who works in finance in London.
Gordon, father to Dougie, 9, and Rose, 4, said details of his father’s funeral, to which all are welcome, will be made public in the coming days.
“I certainly did not inherit my father’s musical abilities. He had his roots in Dunecht where his father was a shoemaker and was educated at the local school. It was his academic aptitude that gained him a bursary to Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen,” said Gordon.
Robbie Shepherd was regarded as Doric royalty but equally at ease in the presence of monarchs.
For more than four decades he was the authentic voice of the Braemar Gathering; relaxed and apparently unfazed by the exalted company.
He also won the hearts of the nation for his Saturday night broadcasts of Take the Floor on BBC Radio Scotland.
It is a measure of the affection in which he was held that his programme got a mention during the funeral of former Scotland manager Craig Brown last week.
A local champion, Robbie was truly a local hero rooted in Aberdeenshire and proud to help keep alive the Doric language of his forebears.
His use of his native tongue was not forced. It is what he grew up speaking and made him so familiar and accessible.
Robbie was even parodied by a rival radio station in Aberdeen many years ago in a slot called Radio Fit Like but the old master outpaced and outlasted his pretender.
He did so through a combination of professionalism and hard work. You don’t stay at the top of broadcasting and the media for four decades without these qualities.
But Robbie made it look easy. His Saturday night broadcasts chimed and were timed perfectly with the weekend gatherings many of his audience had grown up with.
You could be forgiven for imagining he had spent the afternoon at a feein’ market before returning to a bothy for a knees up.
It was that conversational style that made his Press and Journal column such a success over the last 30 years.
He often asked readers for the meaning of an obscure word and the feedback would come in by the sack load, and later by email.
In all those years, from 1993 until just a few weeks ago, Robbie never failed to submit a column and he will be a huge loss to the newspaper and deeply missed by readers.
David Dalziel, head of supplements at The Press and Journal, said: “Robbie was always reliable and looking back I realised he had never missed a column.
“Just recently he phoned me from hospital, very apologetic and asked for two weeks’ holiday. It shows he was determined to get back to writing for the paper. His death really is a huge loss.
“Robbie received so many letters and emails in response to his column. He read them all and replied to many if not all. He thrived on the interaction with readers and his column had a truly worldwide reach.
“He was a friendly and helpful man in every way. During Covid we ran an anti-loneliness campaign to bring people some light relief at Christmas. Despite Covid fears, Robbie invited a photographer into his home and sang. He was always cheery and upbeat,” said David.
While rooted in the north-east he understood wider Scottish tastes which ensured the popularity of Take The Floor, which he presented until 2016.
Of course, he was not just a broadcaster. Robbie had a deep hinterland in Scottish music. He grew up listening to Jimmy Shand and Kenneth McKellar and soon learnt to accompany them on the mouthie.
In his younger years he played in a band backing Calum Kennedy before becoming a sought-after compere at musical shows.
His relaxed style, or rather his genuine style, saw him begin to compere at Braemar in his warm Doric tones rather than the Queen’s English. Not that the Queen minded. It was what she came to expect and seemed to enjoy at the September gathering.
She even made him an MBE in 2001 for his services to Scottish music and culture; one of a clutch of awards he was given.
Long-standing friend and fellow entertainer, Robert Lovie, described Robbie as one of Scotland’s finest broadcasters.
“For those of us who had the joy of working with him I can safely say it was his true professionalism that carried him and to witness him behind a microphone or on a stage, in full Robbie Shepherd Style was to see a true star at work
“He was always prepared and well researched in all he undertook from entertaining, presenting, broadcasting or writing.
“The joy of working with such a great man is something I will always treasure and I know I speak for so many other when I say we have lost one of Scotland’s finest broadcasters and presenters and an ambassador for Scottish culture, language and music that we may never see again. ”
It was music that brought Robbie and his future wife, Esma together. He was working as an accountant in Aberdeen in the 1950s and it was on bus journeys from his home village of Dunecht that he got chatting to Esma, a shorthand typist.
She was a talented pianist and the two found common ground in music. They went on to have a son, Gordon.
Marriage
The pair were married at Cluny on September 23 1961. Robbie was 25 on the
special day and Esma was 21.
Robbie always described himself as a Dunecht lad. He was educated in the village and won a bursary to Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen, before starting work as an accountant aged 15.
In his leisure time he played with The Garlogie Four and began compering at highland games.
This led to broadcasting slots on Radio Aberdeen and, in 1982, he took over from David Findlay as presenter of Take the Floor.
University honour
Robbie had hoped to study at Aberdeen University but when his father took ill he opted to work instead so, in 2001, he was particularly proud to receive an honorary degree from Aberdeen University.
The author of several books, Robbie also presented BBC’s The Reel Blend, had a spell at the Beechgrove Garden and presented sheepdpog trials.
A Take The Floor tribute to Robbie Shepherd is due to be broadcast by the BBC this weekend.