Fiddle
43rd Year No. 08 Apr 2020
£3.00
BOX& The magazine for Scottish music enthusiasts
NAAFC FESTIVAL 2020 Gordon Pattullo
IS CENTRE STAGE
e c u r B r e t Pe 0 2 0 2 r u o n o H f o t Gues
PLUS
NEWS, CLUB & DANCE DIARIES, REVIEWS AND MUCH MORE...
Welcome
B&F • EDITORIAL
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...to the April issue of Box & Fiddle The magazine for Scottish music enthusiasts
Editor • Pia Walker 7 Tarvit Gardens Cupar, Fife, KY15 5BT Tel: 01334 657 850 Mob: 07715 115 489 editor@boxandfiddle.com Designer • Marie Martin mamidesigns@hotmail.com Cover: Harry Hussey entertaining at the NAAFC Festival © Pia Walker Printer • Ivanhoe Caledonian Printing Company Ltd Eskmills, Musselburgh, EH21 7PE
NAAFC Chairman Nicol McLaren Tel: 01250 874 526 nicol@boxandfiddle.com Vice Chairman Iain Cathcart Tel: 01555 661 017 iain@boxandfiddle.com Secretary Shona MacFadyen secretary@boxandfiddle.com Executive Committee: Scott Band Charlie Kirkpatrick Susan MacFadyen Richard Ross Liam Stewart
I hope you will enjoy reading about the recent NAAFC festival in this issue. The day was brilliant and it was great to see so many participants and audience having travelled from so many distant parts of Scotland. I made a weekend of it, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Congratulations to all participants whether you won or not – you all made the Pia Walker, Editor Festival a great event, and there’s next year to look forward to, so put March 6th 2021 in your diary now. Someone asked me why the young generation articles haven’t been published for a while. I would love to allocate space for this more often. I always ask, for example, winners of various championships etc to write something; they always agree to do so, but it rarely happens. There’s not much I can do, unfortunately, except to nag (I’m good at that, some would say!), but it still doesn’t help. If you want to see something written in the magazine please write it and send it in. It is a magazine for all of you. It is springtime and I do think we have deserved it this year. If it wasn’t for the music it would have been even more miserable. Springtime is when we start our Guests of Honour articles in readiness for the AGM and the Celebrity Luncheon and the first one to appear is an interview with Peter Bruce. I hope you enjoy reading a bit more about this amazing person, and about the other 2 who will appear in future issues. I hope you also like the new Noticeboard section; please use it but keep it short and sweet. If your club need helpers/ committee members, or needs to inform of a change etc., send in a sentence. With this issue, the clubs will receive their BAFFI voting forms. Copy them and use them. Deadline: 5th May. They are also printed in the magazine. The current situation is affecting us all. Please follow the current government and medical guidelines, be sensible and logical and keep healthy, readers – the music needs you.
Keep up with the latest news at
www.boxandfiddle.com Box & Fiddle (NAAFC)
Pia
The editorial team reserves the right to refuse or edit all copy. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor. Use of material and advertising from this publication is strictly prohibited without permission in writing from the editor. While every care has been taken in compiling Box & Fiddle to ensure that it is correct at the time of going to press, Box & Fiddle assume no responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions.
Contents
B&F • CONTENTS
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52
14 7 8 9
News Letters & Notice Board Summer Subscriptions Take the Floor BBC Radio Scotland
10 13 14 18
BAFFIs Your chance to vote for this year’s awards
Centre Stage Gordon Pattullo
18 24
Radio GH
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Club News
46
Club Diary
50
Dance Diary
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In Memory
Peter Bruce
This year’s news and results from Grangemouth
Deadlines:
The latest news from our clubs
You are never too old to go clubbing!
Find the nearest dances and ceilidhs
Alan ‘Barney’ Coulson Lena MacLennan
Guest of Honour 2020
NAAFC Festival 2020
By Derek Hamilton & Ewan Galloway
Margaret Davidson
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Reviews Recorded Delivery
All articles, adverts, club reports and text for the magazine must be e-mailed to the editor by the 5th of every month midday at the latest. Copy received after this date cannot be guaranteed to feature in the next issue.
B&F • NEWS
NEWS
News
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Send in your story. If you have a photo that tells a story, send it in with an explanation.
SALTIRE in New Zealand February saw two well-known musicians, David Vernon (accordion, bagpipes) and Alex Hodgson (vocals, guitar), head off on their 4th annual tour around New Zealand, under their cabaret name Saltire. “It was a great way to spend February,” said David. “We completed 18 shows in three weeks, travelling around both islands, and the weather was brilliant. We normally cover about 2,500 road miles on each tour, so it’s pretty full on - New Zealand is bigger than most people realise. “As well as to Kiwis, we get to perform to many ex-pat Scots, and to Kiwis of Scots descent. Our brand of Scottish music, song and comedy is much appreciated. As well as our own shows, we did several with popular country singer Joy Adams. The Scottish / country combination works a treat.” One of the main events for Saltire was a repeat performance at Paeroa Highland Games, where they worked with legendary NZ performers The Topp Twins, and country star Brendan Duggan. David and Alex are currently organising their 5th SALTIRE New Zealand tour for February 2021.
Congratulations Congratulations to reader Callum Wallace and the Tay Ceilidh Band who were absolutely delighted to pick up the best entertainment category at this years Scottish Wedding Awards at the Crowne Plaza in Glasgow recently. Callum, Gary Sutherland and Mary Rutherford had a fantastic night and partied into the wee small hours. Callum says, “We were up against some of the best entertainment from all over Scotland and I am personally delighted to keep our traditional and ceilidh music at the forefront in the wedding market.” To see them perform live visit https://youtu.be/Y4EYcr5S9Qc
Callum Wallace En
tertainer & The Tay
Ceilidh Band
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B&F • WWW.BOXANDFIDDLE.COM
Notice Board
Letters Hi Pia On a recent radio programme it was mentioned that one of the younger band leaders was an expert on the Morino accordions despite his relatively short playing career to date. A Morino player I met at an accordion club, who had only acquired the instrument two years previously, was dismayed to be told by an expert that he should have bought the other model. He was also told that to get the best from a Morino or Gola accordion you must get it tuned very wide. I don’t know what these experts are listening for, but this certainly does not produce the natural accordion sound. I am often asked about the differences in various models, as I have played the various VM-models for around fifty years and do not agree with this kind of tuning. As a well-known drummer always comments: “It is good to hear a Morino sounding like a Morino.” Name and address supplied.
THE ANNUAL
NAAFC GOLF DAY 17TH MAY 2020
S: CORONA VIRU ur rent Fo llow the c go vernment and me d ical guidelines CLU
BS: Send in your dates for next season’s rs meetings Reporte t u o b a iting
r when w er rememb , e n o e so m their to write e, so we surnam re o they a h w w o kn
Remember to summer subscribe
Dunblane New Golf Club Perth Road, Dunblane FK15 0LJ
STABLEFORD COMPETITION FOR THE BILLY THOM MEMORIAL TROPHY.
Bacon rolls: 12 noon 1st tee time: 1pm Followed by great music and camaraderie from 7pm. Contact: Nicol McLaren, nicol@boxandfiddle.com Charlie Kirkpatrick, cjkirkp@gmail.com
Please write cheques correct ly and cle arly
B&F • APRIL 2020
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e m i t r e m m Su
and the reading is easy
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pril, and many clubs have now stopped meeting. It also means that the many readers who pick up their magazine at clubs will have to rethink how to get their copy. First of all you will see our summer subscription form appear in the magazine, so you can get the magazine sent to you at the beginning of each month. You can get it at the clubs that are meeting, and it may be that you will have to contact them to say that you will pick up your copy, so they can order it for you. AND throughout the year we have some wonderful people and retailers who stock the magazine every month. This year we have had even more distributors to add to the list, so you have even more choice (and no excuse) on where to get your copy every month. The following outside the clubs provide an important service both to the NAAFC and to the readers. The executive committee of the NAAFC and of course the team behind the magazine are all grateful for this and would like to thank them all. You can pick up your copy from:
INDIVIDUALS: Denis J Shepherd Leonard Brown Nicol McLaren Margo Maclennan Charles Todd Deryn Waitt Pia Walker Gordon Simmers Charlie Kirkpatrick Tom Riddell Jessie Stuart Adam Grant Vi Todd Billy Hutton Margaret Knight
Aberdeenshire At various shows and clubs Blairgowrie and var. dances Beauly Biggar Canonbie Cupar Forfar Glasgow Hawick Keith Langholm Milnathort Milton of Campsie Newtongrange
RETAILERS: John Douglas Music Scayles Scottish Storytelling Centre Music Station The Violin Shop The Victorian Market Sweet Shop High Level Music Scotlandaccordions
Dumfries Edinburgh Edinburgh Galashiels Glasgow Inverness Lerwick Perth and Fife
If you know someone (an individual or a retailer) who would like to provide a service by stocking the magazine, please have them contact the editor. l
Take the Floor 04 April 2020 – Màrtainn Skene SDB 11 April 2020 – Scott Band SDB 18 April 2020 – Archive 25 April 2020 – Robert Nairn Highland Dance Band
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B&F • WWW.BOXANDFIDDLE.COM
2020 r u o on H f o uest
e c u r B r e t e P In interview with Pia Walker
O
ne of the many pleasures of being your editor is that I get to talk to so many people. Interviewing the Guests of Honour is a highlight, so travelling to Scone on a miserable day to hear a little bit about accordionist Peter Bruce, well-known MC of many a Perth Festival, was not an onerous task at all. Peter was born in 1953 in Ardfern, Mid-Argyll as one of 3 brothers. One of them, Colin, lives in England and the other, Neil, in Ballinluig. They and their families are the only family Peter has, as he never married. Colin and Peter are the only brothers with an interest in music with Colin playing piano. His father, Colin a cattleman, and mother Elizabeth encouraged Peter to learn to play by ear. His father played fiddle and was self-taught and his mother played the organ. His musical career started when the family lived near Laggan Bridge, and at the age of six, he was
given a tiny red accordion from an uncle. His first performance was in Laggan Hall shortly thereafter. As he grew, so did his accordions and he now is the proud owner of a Gola. In 1960 the whole family moved to Scone where Peter has lived ever since, except for the four years (1971-1975) he spent studying mathematics at University of Edinburgh. He started lessons with Mickie Ainsworth, who Peter says was an inspiring teacher who made you want to do better. Mickie worked hard to undo the bad habits acquired by Peter from playing by ear. The second tune he was taught was Jaunting Along in the purple book, which accordionists of a certain age will remember. The story goes that Peter, who could not read music, practised what was preached, and then came back the next week and played it wonderfully - in the wrong key! As Mickie toured with the Powrie Band he wasn’t
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B&F • WWW.BOXANDFIDDLE.COM
NAAFC Festival 2020 By Pia Walker
Newtongrange Clydesdale
Beith
T
he place had more buzz than Celtic Connections” – just one of the many positive comments at the NAAFC Festival in Grangemouth Town Hall on 7th March. And it truly was a great day - or for some a weekend, as the Festival seemed to start on the Friday in the Leapark Hotel with ‘a tune.’ People gathered in one of the function rooms to have a listen to the music produced by various musicians and met up with friends old and new. The Festival proper began at 9am the next day – except for a few bleary-eyed people, namely the festival committee, the bar staff and your editor, who arrived well before that time to set up and prepare for the hordes. Music was heard everywhere, even at the entrance where Harry Hussey took a seat among the exhibitors
and entertained for quite some time. I certainly managed to skip across the floor several times to a tango, a quickstep, a paso doble and a foxtrot (why walk when you can dance!). Richard Ross, the Festival chairman, commented: “The Festival in this, our new home, was a great success musically, socially and financially. We received many favourable comments throughout the day relating to the buzz. The number of competition entries was up again to 146. We are very appreciative of those who travelled from far and wide to help to create a great friendly atmosphere. Particular thanks go to our friends from the Shetlands, Isle of Lewis, the North East of Scotland, West Coast and down South/Borders.
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B&F • WWW.BOXANDFIDDLE.COM
In Memory Alan ‘Barney’ Coulson 7th Oct 1938 to 11th Feb 2020 Northumberland and the Borders lost one of its greatest accordionists with the passing of Alan Coulson, a quiet and modest man of great talent.
A
lan Coulson, or ‘Barney’ as he was affectionately called, was brought up at Blaxter, on the Ottercops in the wild and very beautiful high fell land of Northumberland close to the Scottish Border. His father, an accomplished fiddler, was a quarryman there and music abounded in the family home. He married Helen Scott at Rochester in 1965 and settled at The Folly, Elsdon, near Otterburn. There they brought up daughter Sharon, born in 1966, and son Shaun, born in 1968. In 1989 the family moved to Rochester. Alan worked for many years for the MOD at Otterburn, overseeing the building of track roads for tanks and military vehicles in some of the wildest country you could possibly imagine. All his close relatives enjoyed Scottish/traditional music and dancing and the ‘Scott clan’ of Ian, Vera, Jim and Kathy, and Gordon and Mina Wright, along with his wife, Helen, were often at dances where Alan either played or attended as a dancer. They also attended the Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival. Alan was a mainly self-taught accordionist, but did take a few lessons in Newcastle. However, being surrounded by many great traditional musicians he had a desire to become a top accordionist. His first experience of playing regularly in a band was in the 1950s and 1960s with Mac Rogerson (buttonbox), Ian Mills (fiddle), Margaret Scott (piano) and Bert MacKintosh (drums). Around 1969 he went on to join the Arcadians Band with Billy Murray of Rothbury (fiddle), Eddie Wright (piano) and Billy Murray Junior (drums). Ca. 1970 Alan formed The Border Country
Helen & Alan
Dance Band with Geoff Purvis (The Border Fiddler) and Robin Wilson (drums). The band was loved throughout the region and further afield. In 1977 and 1978 respectively they made two LPs for Fellside Records under the title of The Border Country Dance Band featuring The Border Fiddler. The recordings were a massive success. The band played for literally hundreds of dances and functions, travelling far and wide from their border home. It was also at this time that the band appeared regularly at 7pm after the news on Border Television, often before going to play at a dance. The band was wound up in approximately 1982. Alan still played for many years, and recorded on occasions for Take the Floor with The Danelaw Scottish Dance Band. During the 1990s Alan also went on to play with Marian Anderson and her Scottish Dance Band, and in his later years with Gordon Brown of Kelso. Until he was no longer able to travel, he loved going to the Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival and made many good friends there. It remained the highlight of his year into the last decade of his life. In the last few years he played for the local Rochester dance class in his village and enjoyed tunes at home with the well-known accordionist Donald Ridley, who wrote him a lovely polka tune now printed in Donald’s books. He kept a most beautiful garden right up to the end of his life. Special memories of Alan will always be of occasions like the fantastic winter nights, the happy dancers and Alan leading his band to the great joy of all in The Cuddystone Hall, College
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B&F • REVIEWS
Reviews
If you wish your CDs, DVDs or books to be reviewed, please send them to: Bill Brown, 64 Forest Road Selkirk, TD7 5DG
Recorded Delivery The 60s Bairns RUMCD05
I thoroughly enjoyed The 60s Bairns’ session on Take The Floor, so it goes without saying their debut album was very high on my list of hotly anticipated new releases and I can tell you the wait was well worth it. This very tasty and classy bunch of musicians comprise Duncan Black (accordion), Ian Muir (accordion), Marie Fielding (fiddle), Dennis Morrison (piano), Brian Cruickshank (double bass) and Gordon Smith (drums). This wonderful album really epitomises everything that’s great about Scottish dance band music and for me sums up why I love this genre so much! This is a class body of work that unquestionably deserves to be in your Scottish music collection. Recorded Delivery was recorded and engineered at Castlesound Studios by Stuart Hamilton and produced by Duncan Black and Marie Fielding. The choice of tunes and the absolutely fabulous arrangements throughout the thirteen sets are I suspect down to Duncan’s and Marie’s outstanding creativity. The first of the thirteen tracks begins with the Elwyn’s Fairy Glen set to the tunes Niel Gow’s Farewell to Whisky followed by two Jim Johnstone tunes, Miss S.J. Marshall and The Well Wynd. There is so much to enjoy about this new recording, not least the outstanding musicianship, which is as accomplished and mature as the finest bottle of malt whisky you’re ever likely to find. The sound The 60s Bairns create has all the tasty ingredients you would expect to hear from such a top-notch band. The selection of tunes is excellent, the sets are well arranged, and there’s tons of lift and lilt, gorgeous harmonies evident throughout and soring dynamics and musical articulation that will have you soaring as high as a golden eagle. This group of Scotland’s
finest Scottish dance band musicians have definitely nailed it with this debut recording. Some highlights worthy of note are Marie’s lovely composition called Bill Black’s Fiddle which Marie plays on Bill’s fiddle. It is a wonderful tribute to such a legendary man who did so much for Scottish traditional music during his lifetime. The feeling and sensitivity Marie delivers during this performance of one of her own compositions is both musically thought provoking and moving. Another great highlight was the band’s interpretation and presentation of A Scottish Soldier to the tune The Hills of Tyrol. This is the final and very fitting closing track on what is simply an outstanding recording. The group clearly derive their name from all the band members being born in the 1960’s. That fact clearly had to be exploited by the CD artwork designers who have creatively included photographs of all six musicians in their younger (and formative) years, which is both an appropriate and nice touch. I’ll leave it to you to decide who’s weathered the last few decades the best! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this recording and I hope it isn’t to long before they find the road that leads them back to the recording studio. Highly recommended. l
