The Singer Story: Made in Clydebank features the story of the factory which even got it own train station (Photo: Angela Caitlin)
The Singer Story: Made in Clydebank features the story of the factory which even got it own train station (Photo: Angela Caitlin)

The story of an iconic Scottish business – Singer

The Singer sewing machine, international icon and a symbol of the Industrial Revolution, helped boost Scottish business and create the town of Clydebank.

Over a century it employed tens of thousands of Bankies before its demise nearly 40 years ago.

The Singer Story: Made in Clydebank, tells the story of those workers: how their lives were intertwined with the fortunes of Scotland’s first US multi national company.

The documentary, produced by TVI Vision, pays homage to the Singer machine, and the huge impact it made on families and households all over the world.

Featuring a wealth of archive film from the Clydebank institution’s heyday through to demise in June 1980 and the sad dismantling of its iconic clock tower, contributors include historians and archivists, as well as local young comedian Mark Jennings who takes the viewers on a tour of his home town.

The Singer Story: Made in Clydebank features the story of the factory which even got it own train station (Photo: Angela Caitlin)

Also featured are a wide range of former employees including Isa McKenzie, who was born in 1929 and has been a ‘Bankie’ all her life.

She said: ‘No-one ever thought Singer would close because it had been such a big part of our lives.’

The Singer Story: Made in Clydebank will be shown on Wednesday, 8 May, on BBC One Scotland from 9-10pm.

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