Sir Harry Lauder owed his success as an entertainer to his portrayal of an exaggerated Scotch persona. His stocky figure, extravagantly attired in Highland dress, his pawky or wily humour, and sentimental songs made Lauder a personification of Scotland to many, particularly outside his native country. Lauder was the first British artist to sell a million records and as the first truly international Scottish comedian he performed throughout Britain, toured the United States (twenty-five times), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Far East. However, he had his critics. The influential poet Hugh MacDiarmid resented the image of Scottishness which he claimed Lauder presented, dismissing his style as “brainless buffoonery” and “chortling wut”.