Barbara: My strange relationship with Fife

Singer on facing criticism after leaving Dunfermline

- By George Mair

SINGER Barbara Dickson has spoken of her “strange relationship” with her home city after once being accused of “dissing” Dunfermline.

Dickson, 77, was born in the city and raised in Fife before moving to Edinburgh aged 17 for a livelier lifestyle.

She later moved to London, where she became one of Scotland’s most successful female singers with record-breaking hits and a string of awards, before returning to live in Edinburgh.

Speaking at a live recording of the A Kick Up The Arts podcast in the Scottish capital, she admitted she left Fife as a teen because it was “boring”, but denied “dissing” the city. She said the accusation had come after she didn’t perform at the Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline, above, as part of an anniversary celebration of the Forth Rail Bridge.

She had to turn the request down as she was on tour at the time — only to be accused of forgetting her roots.