 His career with D'Oyly Carte spanned almost 30 years, as he briefly became the company's stage manager, and was later a teacher of operatic singing and acting.Blackmore was born in Greenock in Scotland, the second of four children born to Elizabeth Mary "née" Collier (1834–1922) and Edward Blackmore (1824–1900), a marine engineer.He attended Fettes College in Edinburgh, where he sang tenor solos beginning at age 14.