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Beautifully evocative of the best Scottish culture and history has to offer, Born on the First of July chronicles the return of an independent Parliament to Edinburgh nearly three hundred years after the unpopular Act of Union bound England and Scotland together in 1707.
This official video combines the best of the BBC and ITV Television coverage with as yet unseen footage from the parliament's own broadcasting unit. You will see Scotland's capital city turn on the style for visitors from all over the world, including guest of honour Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
The poem quickly became the anthem of the people, who saw in its lyrics a rally cry for independence. And in what would must have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it was sung by a gathering of over 20,000 meeting on the field of Bannockburn to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the battle in 1814. The video's soundtrack features Texas, Runrig, The Silencers, The Inverness Gaelic Choir and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, with the composers as varied as James Macmillan, Eddie Reader, Sharleen Spiteri and Martyn Bennet. But Scotland's national bard Robert Burns steals the show through Sheena Wellington's immortal rendition of "A Man's a Man for a' That". To order Born on the First of July, go to the links below. |
Born on the First of July is 
Featuring
performances from some of Scotland's most famous entertainers, Born on the First
of July is sure to become a "must have" video for those who were unable
to attend the opening ceremonies in July, 1999.
Born
on the First of July includes Sheena Wellington's powerful rendition of Robert
Burns "A Man's a Man for A' That". Written in 1795 in the wake of the French
Revolution, it was Burn's reply to the ruling class, which, in fear of a popular
uprising in Scotland, had jailed radical leaders and removed the few freedoms ordinary
men and women enjoyed in the late 18th century.
