Jock Loch who started and ran the Straighton Club was very much a one man band.
He started the Club (Davy and I think) in 1968. It too was held in the Black Bull Hotel (like Galston) but in Straiton.
Jock did everything - welcomed folk in, saw them seated, did the MC for the night and went round with a bonnet to collect the entry money!! His wife Edith even provided the odd bit of supper on occasions!
It was split in two with the Club taking place in 'the back room' of the pub. It had chairs laid out in rows and you entered by a door from the bar. Once you were in - you were in! The musicians used to congregate in the bar and you had to fight your way through the crowd in the room to get to the stage when it was your turn because the stage was at the far end of the room.
It was all very hap-hazard but a great club to visit. A bit, in many ways, like the old Biggar club in the Clydesdale. When you played your spot the audience were right there in your face.
Jock was a real character, just like ‘The General’ at Bigger. I remember one night he announced the guest was late but she was up at his house having a meal and would do the second half. That guest was Pearl Fawcette.
Jock disappeared at half time on the pretext of collecting Miss Fawcette only to arrive back 20 minutes later dressed in women's clothes with an all-over apron, a mop and turban on his head and the box strapped on! HE did the second half. He'd never booked Pearl Fawcette!
Jock also ran an annual competition, concert and dance - The West of Scotland Accordion Championships. It attracted big crowds to the hall in Straiton and competitors such as Jim, Tom and wee Liam - the Currie Brothers. That ran from the early to the mid seventies.
In December 1977 Ian Smith wrote a few lines about Jock's early days.
The Club closed in March 1979.
When Jock died, aged 76, a couple of years ago the crematorium at Ayr was so full there must have been another hundred mourners outside. Such was the man!
Derek Hamilton
17th January 2013
The Jock Loch Story
By Ian Smith
This page is not just for the famous or prominent people, it is also for characters. Into this category fall one, John Loch, Straiton, Ayrshire.
He is so unique in this drab world of uniformity that we can thank the Great Lord Harry that we have in our Association one such as Jock. His pawky humour has had countless audiences in stitches. He was in at the beginning and has traveled the length and breadth of the land encouraging, cajoling and helping Clubs to get on their feet. Not for Jock the fancy speeches or flowery language. He has a direct way with him, but coupled with that is his couthy manner that doesn’t offend anyone. The result is that he gets things done.
At the early age of eight he started off with a melodeon. He couldn’t and still cannot read music. This is quite a feat in itself as I have heard him play right through a set of Quadrilles. By the time he was twelve he was playing with the Jays Band from Barrhill and after leaving school he acquired his first piano accordion. He was exiled to the byre where he practiced. In the end stall was an evil, bad tempered bull, but by the time Jock got some sense out of the box the bull had mellowed to such an extent that all the calves the next year were heifers, or so Jock reckons.
In 1949 he started his own band, but this did not last as at that time there was a dearth of players and there was a transport problem. He then joined the Hugh Gourlay Band from Patna. To meet the band he had to cycle to Dalmellington, meet the rest, then go to the dance, be it at Dalbeattie or wherever. The reverse journey in the early hours was even more laborious. With his accordion strapped on his back and his fee of 25/- in his pocket, he smiles, “They were the days!” He also played in church of a Sunday evening at the Youth Fellowship “This” according to Jock “is where the accordion sounds the best or in the bathroom”.
Love for Instrument
He has always had the notion for the accordion and through his love for the instrument he has met and made friends with an unbelievable number of people from all walks of life and counts the his best pals and friends.
His working life has been spent in and around the lovely village of Straiton. For 29 years he has been a shepherd. This is not only his work, it is his hobby. Mention blackface sheep andhe’s off for hours. Every year he is in great demand to ‘sort’ sheep for the shows and sales. To ‘sort’ is to dress and get the sheep ready for showing. He does this for the Newton Stewart and Lanark sales where for the past nine years his ‘sorting’ have been in the prize-list. This year his best was two lots of five pen blackface sheep which got the top price of £7,000. Crooks and walking sticks are another thing which he does well – many going abroad. One went to Russia, where no doubt, the sheep there will shout ‘Run Ivan, there’s that herd with the Jock Loch stick’.
He got married in 1958 to Edith and they have a son Gavin. Jock reckons that he sill soon be able to back him. His wife, father and mother are also keen on the accordion music and are often seen at the Clubs. In his spare time he plays to the pensioners, and throughout the winter months he entertains the blind folk every Thursday afternoon. This gives Jock great pleasure to do this and he hopes the folks concerned are able to forget their worries for a wee while. When required he also plays in the churches of Straiton and Kirkmichael for the morning services.
The first time I heard Jock playing my mind went back in time and I could visualize Jock in a bothy of an evening playing the box and being joined by the maid and ploughboy, maybe with his moothie. Then along would come a few others from neighbouring farms. I could hear the music, the auld songs, and as the night would wear on I could hear the music getting faster, the jokes and the stories getting wilder and the laughing getting louder, such was the effect he had. Jock ended his story with “Weel, that’s a’ the noo, come back in twa or three years an I’ll gie ye mair, have a half”. What better way to end.
Coda
By Helen McWhirter
After giving a great deal of thought to an idea of a ‘weel-kent’ figure in Accordion Club circles, the name of Jock Loch came to mind. He started up Straiton Accordion Club exactly nine years ago (1968). Little did he think at that time he would put the lovely little village of Straiton on the musical map, but that is exactly what happened. Mention the names of Jock Loch or Straiton at any Accordion club in Scotland or over the Border, and the chances are you will meet folks who will know Jock and have been to his Club held in the Black Bull hotel.
At Jock’s first Club meeting seven people arrived. Three to play and four to listen. He will tell you himself he paid £5 to the guest artist and was £4/10- out of pocket over the deal at the end of the night, but he kept on going.
Today things are very different and from the original seven, the membership has risen to around the 150 mark. As the Club progressed, along came the annual West of Scotland Accordion championships. A great deal of work is put into this by Jock to ensure that everyone who comes has a day to remember – whether they are on the prize-list or not. At the end of the day everyone can say – ‘It’s been great’.
Jock has his own dance band and will also provide a concert party, raising money for many an organization. Not only an artist in the musical world, having been a shepherd, Jock is also an artist in the blackface sheep profession, having the patience and skill of being able to have the sheep looking their very best on sale days and many a story about the markets etc he tells at the Clubs.
Box and Fiddle
Year 1 No 3 December 1977
It's not mentioned above but Jock spent half his time when he did guest artiste spots telling funny stories. He was the first to admit that he wasn't one of the country's foremost accordionists so he always took along someone, as part of the band, who could really play (e.g. Ian Muir) to satisfy the music lovers. That's not to say he didn't lead many of the sets himself but what he was exceptionally good at was telling funny stories. He would take off his accordion, sit it down on the stage, take out a cigarette and light up. Then he would sit back, cross his legs and launch into on one of his stories. He told the same stories repeatedly, although no doubt with ad libs and embellishments, but he told them in such a way that you never tired of hearing them. It's a rare skill and a dying one (well probably nearer dead actually) but he would have the audience members crying with laughter. He came from a farming background and many of his audiences had a similar rural attachment so he knew exactly what appealed to their sense of humour (e.g. vets were rich, farmers were poor - if a farmer met a vet in the Bank that latter was there to put money in, and the former to take money out). Was any of this ever recorded - I have no idea but I doubt it.
CT
18/01/13
He started the Club (Davy and I think) in 1968. It too was held in the Black Bull Hotel (like Galston) but in Straiton.
Jock did everything - welcomed folk in, saw them seated, did the MC for the night and went round with a bonnet to collect the entry money!! His wife Edith even provided the odd bit of supper on occasions!
It was split in two with the Club taking place in 'the back room' of the pub. It had chairs laid out in rows and you entered by a door from the bar. Once you were in - you were in! The musicians used to congregate in the bar and you had to fight your way through the crowd in the room to get to the stage when it was your turn because the stage was at the far end of the room.
It was all very hap-hazard but a great club to visit. A bit, in many ways, like the old Biggar club in the Clydesdale. When you played your spot the audience were right there in your face.
Jock was a real character, just like ‘The General’ at Bigger. I remember one night he announced the guest was late but she was up at his house having a meal and would do the second half. That guest was Pearl Fawcette.
Jock disappeared at half time on the pretext of collecting Miss Fawcette only to arrive back 20 minutes later dressed in women's clothes with an all-over apron, a mop and turban on his head and the box strapped on! HE did the second half. He'd never booked Pearl Fawcette!
Jock also ran an annual competition, concert and dance - The West of Scotland Accordion Championships. It attracted big crowds to the hall in Straiton and competitors such as Jim, Tom and wee Liam - the Currie Brothers. That ran from the early to the mid seventies.
In December 1977 Ian Smith wrote a few lines about Jock's early days.
The Club closed in March 1979.
When Jock died, aged 76, a couple of years ago the crematorium at Ayr was so full there must have been another hundred mourners outside. Such was the man!
Derek Hamilton
17th January 2013
The Jock Loch Story
By Ian Smith
This page is not just for the famous or prominent people, it is also for characters. Into this category fall one, John Loch, Straiton, Ayrshire.
He is so unique in this drab world of uniformity that we can thank the Great Lord Harry that we have in our Association one such as Jock. His pawky humour has had countless audiences in stitches. He was in at the beginning and has traveled the length and breadth of the land encouraging, cajoling and helping Clubs to get on their feet. Not for Jock the fancy speeches or flowery language. He has a direct way with him, but coupled with that is his couthy manner that doesn’t offend anyone. The result is that he gets things done.
At the early age of eight he started off with a melodeon. He couldn’t and still cannot read music. This is quite a feat in itself as I have heard him play right through a set of Quadrilles. By the time he was twelve he was playing with the Jays Band from Barrhill and after leaving school he acquired his first piano accordion. He was exiled to the byre where he practiced. In the end stall was an evil, bad tempered bull, but by the time Jock got some sense out of the box the bull had mellowed to such an extent that all the calves the next year were heifers, or so Jock reckons.
In 1949 he started his own band, but this did not last as at that time there was a dearth of players and there was a transport problem. He then joined the Hugh Gourlay Band from Patna. To meet the band he had to cycle to Dalmellington, meet the rest, then go to the dance, be it at Dalbeattie or wherever. The reverse journey in the early hours was even more laborious. With his accordion strapped on his back and his fee of 25/- in his pocket, he smiles, “They were the days!” He also played in church of a Sunday evening at the Youth Fellowship “This” according to Jock “is where the accordion sounds the best or in the bathroom”.
Love for Instrument
He has always had the notion for the accordion and through his love for the instrument he has met and made friends with an unbelievable number of people from all walks of life and counts the his best pals and friends.
His working life has been spent in and around the lovely village of Straiton. For 29 years he has been a shepherd. This is not only his work, it is his hobby. Mention blackface sheep andhe’s off for hours. Every year he is in great demand to ‘sort’ sheep for the shows and sales. To ‘sort’ is to dress and get the sheep ready for showing. He does this for the Newton Stewart and Lanark sales where for the past nine years his ‘sorting’ have been in the prize-list. This year his best was two lots of five pen blackface sheep which got the top price of £7,000. Crooks and walking sticks are another thing which he does well – many going abroad. One went to Russia, where no doubt, the sheep there will shout ‘Run Ivan, there’s that herd with the Jock Loch stick’.
He got married in 1958 to Edith and they have a son Gavin. Jock reckons that he sill soon be able to back him. His wife, father and mother are also keen on the accordion music and are often seen at the Clubs. In his spare time he plays to the pensioners, and throughout the winter months he entertains the blind folk every Thursday afternoon. This gives Jock great pleasure to do this and he hopes the folks concerned are able to forget their worries for a wee while. When required he also plays in the churches of Straiton and Kirkmichael for the morning services.
The first time I heard Jock playing my mind went back in time and I could visualize Jock in a bothy of an evening playing the box and being joined by the maid and ploughboy, maybe with his moothie. Then along would come a few others from neighbouring farms. I could hear the music, the auld songs, and as the night would wear on I could hear the music getting faster, the jokes and the stories getting wilder and the laughing getting louder, such was the effect he had. Jock ended his story with “Weel, that’s a’ the noo, come back in twa or three years an I’ll gie ye mair, have a half”. What better way to end.
Coda
By Helen McWhirter
After giving a great deal of thought to an idea of a ‘weel-kent’ figure in Accordion Club circles, the name of Jock Loch came to mind. He started up Straiton Accordion Club exactly nine years ago (1968). Little did he think at that time he would put the lovely little village of Straiton on the musical map, but that is exactly what happened. Mention the names of Jock Loch or Straiton at any Accordion club in Scotland or over the Border, and the chances are you will meet folks who will know Jock and have been to his Club held in the Black Bull hotel.
At Jock’s first Club meeting seven people arrived. Three to play and four to listen. He will tell you himself he paid £5 to the guest artist and was £4/10- out of pocket over the deal at the end of the night, but he kept on going.
Today things are very different and from the original seven, the membership has risen to around the 150 mark. As the Club progressed, along came the annual West of Scotland Accordion championships. A great deal of work is put into this by Jock to ensure that everyone who comes has a day to remember – whether they are on the prize-list or not. At the end of the day everyone can say – ‘It’s been great’.
Jock has his own dance band and will also provide a concert party, raising money for many an organization. Not only an artist in the musical world, having been a shepherd, Jock is also an artist in the blackface sheep profession, having the patience and skill of being able to have the sheep looking their very best on sale days and many a story about the markets etc he tells at the Clubs.
Box and Fiddle
Year 1 No 3 December 1977
It's not mentioned above but Jock spent half his time when he did guest artiste spots telling funny stories. He was the first to admit that he wasn't one of the country's foremost accordionists so he always took along someone, as part of the band, who could really play (e.g. Ian Muir) to satisfy the music lovers. That's not to say he didn't lead many of the sets himself but what he was exceptionally good at was telling funny stories. He would take off his accordion, sit it down on the stage, take out a cigarette and light up. Then he would sit back, cross his legs and launch into on one of his stories. He told the same stories repeatedly, although no doubt with ad libs and embellishments, but he told them in such a way that you never tired of hearing them. It's a rare skill and a dying one (well probably nearer dead actually) but he would have the audience members crying with laughter. He came from a farming background and many of his audiences had a similar rural attachment so he knew exactly what appealed to their sense of humour (e.g. vets were rich, farmers were poor - if a farmer met a vet in the Bank that latter was there to put money in, and the former to take money out). Was any of this ever recorded - I have no idea but I doubt it.
CT
18/01/13