Singing begins at 40 for crooning chemist

MY WAY . . singing pharmacist Ian Strachan mixes his day job with belting out Sinatra classics.

Dose of Sinatra prescribed by Ian

WITH a dash of charisma and a dose of crooning, a musical prescription is just what the doctor ordered for Uppermill’s very own singing pharmacist.

Drug prescriber by day, Sinatra by night, Ian Strachan (49) first discovered by a stroke of luck nine years ago he could sing like Ol’ Blue Eyes.

He said: “We were cheering up a friend in a pub and I’d had a few to drink and I started singing karaoke.

“I’d never sung in the bath or in the shower and it was a shock when I discovered I had this sound of Sinatra.

“It’s not something you expect to discover at the age of 40.”

Now, when the music-man is not hard at work at Strachan’s Pharmacy in New Street, he is out performing at the request of locals and at charity concerts. And he’s earning quite a reputation.

He said: “One day someone came in the pharmacy at 9am and wanted me to sing to a local lady for her 90th birthday so I went up the road and sang to her at home.”

“It is strange sometimes, but I really enjoy it. It adds to what I do at the pharmacy and it’s nice to meet and sing for local people.

The “Fly Me to the Moon” singer, who has a pilot’s licence, also stumbled across an unexpected love on his quest to improve his talent.

The singing sensation found romance in the form of local soprano songstress, Carole Moody, after having singing lessons, and the pair married in May last year.

It’s all a far cry from Ian’s old job as a forensic scientist for the Home Office, but after a successful first 18 months of the Uppermill business, he is now settling in as a local celebrity.

He said: “Some customers do come in and request ‘Come Fly With Me’ or ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’, but I tend not to burst into song in the pharmacy.

“It’s all a bit of fun.”