Cliff Hanley
Scottish writer and journalist / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Clifford Leonard Clark "Cliff" Hanley (28 October 1922 – 9 August 1999) was a journalist, novelist, playwright, historian and broadcaster from Glasgow in Scotland. Originally from Shettleston in the city's East End, he was educated at Eastbank Academy.
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During the late 1930s, he was active in the Independent Labour Party, and in later years with the Scottish National Party. During the Second World War he was a conscientious objector.[1]
He was so prolific a writer that during his years at the Scottish Daily Record he had to publish articles under his own name and the pseudonym Andrew Bonar.
He wrote numerous books, including the classic Dancing in the Streets, an account of his early life in Glasgow (in its contemporaneous serialisation in The Evening Times, retitled My Gay Glasgow), and The Taste of Too Much, a coming-of-age novel about a secondary schoolboy, The Hot Month, and The Scots.
During the 1960s and 1970s, he published thrillers under the pen-name Henry Calvin. They were more successful in the US and Canada than in the UK. A collection of his humorous verse in Scots, using the pseudonym 'Ebenezer McIlwham', was published by Gordon Wright Publishing of Edinburgh.
He also wrote the words of Scotland's "first" national anthem, Scotland the Brave, which is instantly recognisable world-wide, penned the lyrics for an entry in the 1966 UK Eurovision Song contest, and both wrote and recorded The Glasgow Underground Song - a humorous anecdote on the pre-modernisation era Glasgow Subway. A recording of this was made famous by Francie and Josie.
His many film and TV scripts, included Between the Lines, an episode of which was described by Mary Whitehouse as the "filthiest programme" her family had seen on TV "for a very long time" at the first public meeting of the 'Clean-Up TV' campaign in May 1964.[2] He collaborated with Sean Connery on the documentary, The Bowler and the Bunnet,[3] and wrote the Oscar-winning Seawards the Great Ships.
Often in demand as a debater and after-dinner speaker, he had the reputation of producing a witty speech or article on almost any topic, often with little notice.
His son was artist Clifford G. Hanley (1948-2021), and he had two daughters, Jane and Jo.
Following updates added by his daughters, February, 2024.