Bandleader who did a conga with Queen dies at 91
THERE must be few musicians who can boast of leading the Queen Mother, a future Queen and a young Prince Charles in a conga around the Balmoral Estate.
But, Jack Sinclair, who has died aged 91, possessed the uncanny knack of persuading people from every social rank to dance to his tune.
The Jack Sinclair Showband performed at around 300 Balmoral gatherings, entertaining four generations of Windsors.
That included performing Scottish music for a ten-year-old Charles and his sister, Anne, eight, at ‘Granny’s parties’, where the children learned ceilidh steps at the request of the Queen Mother.
Recalling one visit to the estate, Mr Sinclair said: ‘The Queen Mother asked me how she could get all the kids to come and play outside. I said, “What about the conga?” and she said, “Will you come too?” So the Queen Mother and I led the conga round the garden with the then Princess Elizabeth and the rest of the children.’
His band was a firm favourite at the Ghillies Ball, the annual dance held by the Queen at Balmoral.
They also played at a ball at Balmoral in 1981 to celebrate the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and at a Scottish dance party at Birkhall in 1994 for Princes William and Harry.
Mr Sinclair’s long career spanned radio, TV and the stage. He was adept at the accordion, the piano and organ. At the age of only 17, he performed to more than 600 people in his home city of Aberdeen at a VE Day ball with his mother, Mary, and father, John.
The father of two, who died last week at a nursing home, once described the moment his mother told him that they had been booked to perform at Balmoral for the first time. That appearance was as a nervous 22-year-old in 1950 performing with his mother’s group, Mrs Sinclair’s Radio Dance Band, for King George VI and the future Queen Mother.
He said: ‘At that time, every band wanted to get on the BBC, so when my mother called me with the news, I assumed that’s what had happened. She said it was someone “more important”. I said,
“Who is more important than the BBC?”’
After retiring in 2001, Mr Sinclair was made a member of the Royal Victorian Order. At his investiture in December 2001, he met the Prince of Wales and the Queen Mother for coffee. The Queen later told him: ‘It’s the least we can do for the most wonderful music we have had over the years.’