Devine was born in Bellside, a settlement near the village of
Cleland, North Lanarkshire, in January 1940. His father was a miner while his stay at home mother, nicknamed "Old Nellie" taught Sydney how to whistle as a boy, a hobby he loved. Sydney first achieved a measure of fame as a boy through his whistling. A extraordinary ability to reproduce bird calls. This was noticed by the tenor
Robert Wilson, who invited Devine to whistle during the recording of "Cottage By The Lea". Known for his charismatic personality, distinctive singing style and rhinestone-encrusted stage suits. He went on to perform his bird whistling set in various venues, including
the London Hippodrome as part of the revue "Wild Grows The Heather". When the theatre run of Wild Grows The Heather finished, he reunited with Wilson in his "White Heather Group" troupe. In 1957, after entering a Daily Record-sponsored competition to find "Scotland's
Tommy Steele" Devine finished second and toured Scotland with the winner,
Alex Harvey, later the frontman of
his own band. Whilst with the "White Heather Group" Sydney introduced Rock and Roll to his act and became known, for a short while, as the "Tartan Rocker". He was told after one such performance in Germany that
Elvis Presley had been in the audience but this was never verified Following Robert Wilsons debilitating road accident The White Heather franchise was taken over by
Andy Stewart and latterly became the
White Heather Club Devine played guitar on Andy Stewart's hit "
Donald Where's Your Troosers?", and while touring with Stewart in
South Africa, Devine recorded his first two albums with RPM who then sold them to Emerald Gem thus beginning Sydney's recording career that would see him sell over 15 million albums worldwide. In the 1970s, he had his own show on
STV,
Devine Time. It featured star guests such as
Peters and Lee and
Lena Zavaroni. Devine worked with many major musicians including Roy Orbison, Box-Car Willie and Dolly Parton. In the 1970s, Sydney had his own weekly shows on
Radio Clyde where he coined the catchphrase: "get the kettle on, Shirley". After leaving the station, he presented popular shows on West Sound Radio in Ayr. ==Personal life ==