Neil Reid - Wikipedia Neil Reid For the American jurist, see Neil E. Reid. For the Atlanta - based architect, see Neel Reid. Neil Reid 1959 Origin Glasgow, United Kingdom Instruments Guitar, vocals Years active 1968 -- 1972 Labels Decca Neil Reid ( born 1959 ) is a Scottish former child singing star, winner of ITV 's Opportunity Knocks, and the holder of the title youngest person to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. Contents 1 Career 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 3 References 4 External links Career Known also as `` Wee Neil Reid '', he was eight when he was discovered singing at a pensioners ' party in 1968. Reid won Opportunity Knocks on 13 December 1971 singing his version of `` Mother of Mine '', which, when released commercially by Decca Records shortly afterwards, went to number two on the UK Singles Chart following a performance on Top of the Pops. The `` Mother of Mine '' record sold over 250,000 copies in the United Kingdom, and over 2.5 million globally. It also sold around 400,000 copies in Japan alone. Reid 's self - titled album went to number one in 1972, making Reid the youngest person to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart, at the age of 12 years 9 months... This remains one of the very few Number 1 selling albums that has never had an official CD release and as such is unavailable in this format. Reid 's follow - up single three months later `` That 's What I Want To Be '' peaked at number 45, and Reid quickly faded from national prominence to performing on the Northern England Working men 's club circuit. Two years after winning Opportunity Knocks, Reid 's voice broke and as a result he gave up professional singing. He did a final round of concerts in 1974 in South Africa, where he toured with the Irish pop group The Bachelors. Reid 's 1974 single ( his last recording ), `` Hazel Eyes '', was released in South Africa to coincide with the tour. Neil Reid performed Mother of Mine on the BBC TV Series Time of your Life ( TX August 20, 1985 ), saying that he thought he was far too old to be singing it now. The programme was the last in that series and featured Kiri Te Kanawa reliving a moment in her life from December 1971 with presenter Noel Edmonds. Reid is now an Independent Financial Adviser living in Blackpool, Lancashire ; and was interviewed by Amanda Holden about his child stardom for ITV1 's When Britain First Had Talent in January 2008. Discography Albums Album and details Peak positions UK Neil Reid Released : 1972 Record label : Decca Smile Released : 1972 Record label : Decca Track list Smile The Wishing Tree Over The Rainbow Glory of Scotland Bless This House You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby If Wishes Were Ships Side By Side Blue Star Walkin ' My Baby Back Home Sailboat For Me & My Gal The Road & The Miles to Dundee With a Little Love The Sunshine of Your Smile When You 're Smiling Singles Year Single Peak positions Album UK 1971 `` Mother of Mine '' Neil Reid 1972 `` That 's What I Want to Be '' 45 References Jump up ^ `` Record Breakers and Trivia : Albums ''. everyhit.co.uk. Retrieved 2008 - 01 - 05. Jump up ^ Beard, Matthew ( 30 September 2006 ). `` Star of Billy Elliot bows out after his voice breaks ''. London : The Independent. Retrieved 2008 - 01 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Synopses : Opportunity Knocks, 20 / 12 / 71 ''. BFI Database. Retrieved 2008 - 01 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Show Biz Sam ''. Scottish Daily Record. 8 October 2005. Retrieved 2008 - 01 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Neil Reid ''. firstfoot.com. Archived from the original on 2007 - 11 - 13. Retrieved 2008 - 01 - 05. ^ Jump up to : Murrells, Joseph ( 1978 ). The Book of Golden Discs ( 2nd ed. ). London : Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 301. ISBN 0 - 214 - 20512 - 6. Jump up ^ Roberts, David ( 2006 ). British Hit Singles & Albums ( 19th ed. ). London : Guinness World Records Limited. p. 458. ISBN 1 - 904994 - 10 - 5. External links Neil Reid on IMDb This article about a Scottish musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Neil_Reid&oldid=807088336 '' Categories : 1959 births Living people Scottish child singers Scottish musician stubs Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from November 2012 Articles with hCards All stub articles Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Edit links This page was last edited on 25 October 2017, at 20 : 42. About Wikipedia

Question: who sang mother of mine on opportunity knocks
Answer: Neil Reid