A new book is shining a light on a legendary Scottish comedian, as calls are growing for him to be recognised in Paisley's Buddie Walk of Fame.

Hector Nicol, known by those in the business as the “King of Clubland”, was a comedian, actor, singer and producer who performed in the 20th century.

The “jack of all trades” was born in 1920 and raised in Paisley, moving to Edinburgh in 1948 when he married Lena Sweetman, a dancer he met in a theatre.

Hector Nicol was born in Paisley before moving to Edinburgh (Image: Supplied) Despite being one of Paisley’s most famous exports, there are no memorials in the town to acknowledge him.

Now, a new book published this month, called Hector Nicol: King of Clubs, Queen of Tarts and Jack of All-Round Comedy, shines a light for the first time on the life of the Scots comedian – including the various tragedies he encountered.

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Author Dougie Ross, 60, from Linwood, first came up with the idea after creating a Facebook group, which he aptly named the Hector Nicol Appreciation Society.

Dougie Ross has published a book on the life of Hector Nicol (Image: Supplied) After garnering more than 3000 members and seeing many of the stories shared by people who had encountered him, Dougie decided to create something out of it.

“I just thought, there's all this information here, somebody should write a book,” he told the Gazette.

But he wasn’t alone in curating the book – through the Facebook group, he was connected to Hector’s niece and nephew, who helped him to piece some of the story together.

“They played a big part in giving me information,” Dougie said.

“I met his nephew a few times and we took it from there. I taped a couple of interviews because I knew I’d forget half of it, replayed that and just started typing.”

They also gave Dougie several photographs of Hector – including one of the comedian pictured alongside King Charles, then a prince – which are featured in the book.

Hector (left) pictured speaking with then-prince Charles (right) (Image: Supplied)

‘The Lennon and McCartney of the comedy world’

Hector died in 1985 aged 64 and is survived by one son, aged 70, who currently lives in a care home.

Dougie said he wants to “make people aware of who the real Hector Nicol was”.

“He was the Lennon and McCartney of the comedy world,” he asserted.

But Hector’s life was also marked by tragedy, losing two of his three sons in the space of three years.

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In 1970, his middle son – also named Hector – choked to death on some food while playing football.

Just three years later, his son Stephen was brutally stabbed in Edinburgh at just 19 years old, in what Dougie described as a “senseless” killing.

“Him and Lena were devastated, but his nephew told me that his way of handling it was to throw himself in his work – and that’s what he’d done,” Dougie said.

Another fact fans of Hector might not be aware of is that he served in the Second World War in the RAF.

Hector pictured with brother Bert (Image: Supplied) Hector was a mechanic who repaired and rebuilt planes, having joined the RAF Edinburgh Reserves in 1941.

Posted in Malta and Egypt, he was awarded an African Star Ribbon Bar for his service.

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His spark for entertainment didn’t disappear while he was serving, as records show he organised concerts for servicemen alongside actor and comedian Alfred Marks.

‘He’s a great man that comes from Paisley’

When Dougie first read about Paisley’s Buddie Walk of Fame, he was surprised to see Hector wasn’t named.

“I just feel that he should get the acclaim. He should be remembered,” Dougie said.

“He’s very much a Paisley man. He’s a great stand-up – but he’s a great man that comes from Paisley.”

Hector Nicol: King of Clubs, Queen of Tarts and Jack of All-Round Comedy is available to buy on Amazon.