Bhoy from the southside who helped save Celtic

In his column, which he describes as a ‘stramash in the goalmouth of Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ the celebrated songwriter, producer and manager, JOHN McLAUGHLIN, shares with us his insights into the music and entertainment world.

THE subject of this month’s feature is the wonderful David Low. He is not only a finance guru and lifelong Celtic fan, but also a disciple of the old three chords and the truth. He knows and loves his rock ‘n’ roll. He is perhaps best-known in Scottish circles for the role he played in getting Fergus McCann on board to help bring about change at Celtic FC in the mid-1990s. He talks about that in our latest column along with a little bit about his background and his musical passions.

Background

I was born in St Francis’ nursing home in Govan. The Lows are all from Govan. My father was dux of St Gerard’s. My mother’s family are from Cowcaddens. The Lows were Scottish Presbyterians and my grandfather married Mary Anne McKee from Craigavon in Ireland. My father and his siblings were raised as Catholics. My mother’s family were Tolands, Kellys and Quinns from Glenties in Donegal.

My DNA is over 80 per cent Irish and 20 years ago I became an Irish citizen via my grandmother, Mary Anne McKee. My parents were upwardly mobile and I was raised in Clarkston and Newlands in the southside of Glasgow and attended St Joseph’s Primary School and then St Aloysius’ College, Garnethill.

Aye it’s Celtic, Celtic...

I’ve been a Celtic supporter for as long as I can remember. The 1960s was a good time to be a Celtic supporter. It coincided with the arrival of Jock Stein and the rest is history. My friend, Peter Reilly is older and will tell you how difficult it was being a Celtic supporter prior to Stein’s arrival as we hadn't won a league title since 1954. Peter is a similar age to Fergus who famously once said: “Being a Celtic supporter is not always easy but it is always worthwhile.” Never a truer word!

I first met Fergus McCann in Montréal in 1992. I had been told that he wanted to help Celtic who were in financial difficulties at the time. We were falling way behind Rangers and the Celtic board did not have the skills or the wherewithal required to deal with the problems. Fergus had approached the board numerous times over the preceding years with proposals to invest in the club, but they didn't want to know and by 1992 it had become apparent to me and others that some sort of direct intervention was needed.

I approached Fergus with a plan that involved acquiring shares, but he declined to become involved because he wanted to put his money into the club rather than enrich those responsible for getting Celtic into the mess it was in, but he did say that if we were successful in our endeavours, to contact him as he would be prepared to invest a significant sum in the club and, of course, that’s exactly what he did. It was a dirty fight that took two years to conclude, but it was very worthwhile in the end.

Everyone remembers ‘the game is over, the rebels have won’ night but few are aware of the shambles we inherited and the challenges presented by rebuilding a stadium, an infrastructure and a competitive team when your historic rivals are spending money they don’t have winning all before them. It was a very difficult five years for Fergus but it was very worthwhile as all our success in the years to follow can be directly attributed to the tough decisions made during Fergus' time at the club. He is up there with Brother Walfrid as one of Celtic’s most iconic and influential figures.

A passion for music

As well as Celtic, another lifetime passion of mine is music. I grew up on a diet of American easy listening and Irish folk music, with a few Irish rebel songs thrown into the mix. An abiding childhood memory is long holiday car drives to a backdrop of Andy Williams, Trini Lopez and The Sandpipers delivered from a poly bag full of 8-track cassettes.

My mate’s dad owned the Apollo, which meant my teenage years were spent watching Alice Cooper, David Bowie, T-Rex and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and I still have an extensive vinyl collection from the 1970s onwards.

Over the years I’ve invested in a good few music projects and it usually involves having a good time losing the money! I also garnered a good few mates over the years who are well kent faces and who almost invariably are Celtic fans. I’ve never quite worked out why most of Scotland’s successful musicians are Celtic fans and why Rangers are stuck with Andy Stewart and Wet Wet Wet. Long may that continue!