Opera singer leads Scottish takeover of the Last Night of the Proms

When opera singer Nicky Spence took to the famous stage of London's Royal Albert Hall for the Last Night Proms, just a tartan scarf hinted at his roots.

But when he ripped off his "boring black trousers" to reveal a pair of tartan trews during a rendition of Donald, Where's Your Troosers? there was no doubt of his heritage.

It was part of Scotch Snap - a medley of traditional and modern classics - which the Dumfries native combined with dance moves and a series of patriotic outfits.

And it ensured the audience were treated to performances of The Proclaimers' I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) and Bacara's Yes Sir, I Can Boogie alongside the more traditional Rule Britannia! and Sit Down, Your're Rocking the Boat.

Spence, who now lives in Paisley with his husband and child, told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast that the show was "such a blast".

"Everybody loved it, it was amazing - like a chip fire," he added.

"Like Bucks Fizz when there was lots of Velcro, I came on with some very boring black trousers and then whipped them off during Donald, Where's Your Troosers?

"I think that got everybody's pulses racing a la Magic Mike."

It was the world premiere of the medley, which was arranged by Stuart Calvert, and also featured traditional songs like The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond.

Dance routines with two dancers dressed in red tartan kilts and bonnets accompanied the music.

But laughter came from the audience when Spence pulled off two costume changes.

He closed out his performance in a black T-shirt with gold sequined sleeves and a red pair of tartan trews, while a traditionally-dressed bagpiper accompanied the orchestra.

Spence said he spent a lot of time working with the arranger to choose the music, curate and trim the showcase.

"I put my finger up the zeitgeist to see what was hot at the time and I thought we have got to include Yes Sir, I Can Boogie," he said.

The Spanish duo Baccara's disco hit from 1977 became Scotland's unofficial national anthem ahead of Euro 2020.

The song travelled with the Tartan Army to the World Cup this summer, where it continued to be belted out by fans at home and at the tournament.

For Spence, however, the song did not even touch the sides of his vocal range, who is a specialist opera singer and has toured with Katherine Jenkins and Dame Shirley Bassey.

"It was really fun," he said.

"Singing things like this is like sorbet compared to the rest of my life, which is like a heavy meal.

"Richard Wagner, Strauss and Mozart are beautiful but quite heavy weather stuff and much harder to sing than Yes Sir, I Can Boogie."

He added he was more concerned about the dancing than the singing during his performance.

Spence said it had been a long time since he had worn Scottish dress on stage but he had recently moved back to Scotland and was happy to be back.

"I had a record contract when I was about 21 years old with Universal Records and I was called The Scottish Tenor so I sang a lot of Robert Burns and wore a kilt most of the day," he said.

"Then I ditched it all and went into opera."

He joked if anyone wants to hear Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, he will sing it again.

The tenor also portrayed the prince from Rusalka during Vidino divná (wonderful vision) from Dvořák's Rusalka during the final evening of the BBC Proms.

He followed Scotch Snap with Sit Down, You're the Rockin' the Boat - a famous show tune from the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls.

Spence went on to kick off the final stretch with Rule Britannia!

He received applause for his fourth costume of the evening - a jacket and kilt combo, featuring the Loch Ness Monster.

The evening concluded with a tribute to Dolly Parton, God Save the King and Auld Lang Syne.