Gordon Simpson
20th October 1936 – 28th May 2016
by Freeland Barbour
The fiddler’s seat in the Scottish dance bands of the last forty years or more has been occupied by many distinguished performers, but none more so than Gordon Simpson. Indeed it might be quicker to list those bands with whom he has NOT played rather than those he has. Ian Holmes, Ronnie Easton, Colin Finlayson, Kenny Thomson, John Renton, Colin Dewar, Ian Muir, Bill Black, Dochie McCallum are just some of the names of those who have benefited from having Gordon at their elbow. A fluent sight-reader with good tone and accuracy, he set the highest standards for himself, and with his friendly, warm, genial, and utterly reliable personality it’s little wonder that he was in such demand for such a long time.
And it wasn’t just the bands that benefited. Gordon was a regular at the RSCDS Summer School in St. Andrews where, as well as playing for classes, his musicians’ courses on playing for dancing were highly popular and always over-subscribed. He was happy too to adjudicate at competitions whenever asked and invariably did so with the utmost consideration and encouragement. His father was a fiddler too and the family home in Dundee must have been a cheerful and music-filled place when Gordon was growing up.
That he found time for all this music is remarkable, with a busy family life and his career as a respected chartered accountant and partner in the well-known accountancy firms of Thomson McLintock and KPMG.
He was a great fiddle player and thoroughly competent in everything he did, and most of all he was a lovely man.
And it wasn’t just the bands that benefited. Gordon was a regular at the RSCDS Summer School in St. Andrews where, as well as playing for classes, his musicians’ courses on playing for dancing were highly popular and always over-subscribed. He was happy too to adjudicate at competitions whenever asked and invariably did so with the utmost consideration and encouragement. His father was a fiddler too and the family home in Dundee must have been a cheerful and music-filled place when Gordon was growing up.
That he found time for all this music is remarkable, with a busy family life and his career as a respected chartered accountant and partner in the well-known accountancy firms of Thomson McLintock and KPMG.
He was a great fiddle player and thoroughly competent in everything he did, and most of all he was a lovely man.