Box and Fiddle
Year 18 No 01
September 1994
Price 70p
12 pages
7 month subscription £7.00
Editor – Ron Ramsay, 48 Hospitalfield Road, Arbroath, Angus, DD11 2LS
B&F Treasurer – Mrs Margaret Smith, Smeaton Farm Cottage, Dalkeith, Midlothian, EH22 2NL
The main features in the above issue were as follows (this is not a comprehensive detail of all it contained. The Club reports, in particular, are too time consuming at this stage to retype).
Editorial
Welcome to my first edition of the ‘Box and Fiddle’. May I introduce myself? Born and brought up in Dufftown. I worked on a farm before joining the Police service. I have just retired after 30 years service and I am now employed by Tayside Region as a Computer Systems Administrator.
My hobbies include sea angling, gardening, listening to Scottish dance music and old time dancing which I organize in Arbroath. I am also a Committee member of Arbroath A&F Club.
I would welcome your letters, reports and items of interest for inclusion in your ‘B&F’.
Finally, thanks to all the clubs, individuals and Doug Adamson who have sent me good wishes and promised support in my new role.
Ron Ramsay
A Tribute to Toralf Tollefsen
by John Mackie
‘Talent does what it can, Genius does what it must’
That question from ‘The Scottish Violinist’, a compilation of compositions and arrangements by the late J. Scott Skinner, I consider to be a fair summation of the considerable achievements of a man who recently celebrated his 80th birthday, a man, who as much as anyone, whose efforts have been instrumental in elevating the accordion from its humble origins to the status of concert instrument which it enjoys today and which is now demonstrated by others such as James Crabb, Professor Owen Murray, Hugo Noth, and the great Russians, Sherov, Seminov, Beljiev and Kasakov, not to mention a newcomer to the scene from China, Zhang Guoping who visited Britain earlier this year and whom I have not heard play as yet, but I understand that he is an outstanding performer. I also understand that there are some 13,000 people in Beijing alone learning to play the accordion.
I can safely say that I have been taking an interest in the accordion for more than 70 years, which began for me in the heyday of Palmy Dick, Peter and Daniel Wyper, Peter Leatham (father of the great and renowned teacher Chrissie Leatham and grandfather of Britain’s only Professor of the free-bass instrument Owen Murray) and Willie Hannah whose band I used to dance to as a teenager in the ‘Poly’ Hall in West Calder, part of the ‘Pie Jock’ complex which also contained a cinema ‘doon the Chugh Brae’ called ‘The People’s Palace’ but better known as ‘Nan Mullen’s’, and having reached this fairly advanced period in my existence I can reasonably claim to have heard at one time or another the ‘crème de la crème’ of the world’s accordionists. Yet for me and many others of my acquaintance, Toralf Tollafsen remains the finest of them all, possessing a quality which transcends mere talent and technical ability, a light and shade which is an essential part of the man’s personality, something which those who know Tolly, or have at least met him, will understand.
I heard my first Tollefsen recording nearly sixty years ago, at the time when I used to cycle 5½ miles to West Calder with the box on my back for lessons. My teacher was Annie Cairns, herself a very fine musician, who with her husband and two young sons lived in a small flat above a bicycle shop, and surrounded by such things as drums, guitars, accordions and a huge double bass fiddle.
On the way out after one of my lessons, I was asked by the proprietor of the bicycle shop to listen to a record. It was Tolly playing the Frosini arrangement of The Carnival of Venice. I realised then that I never knew such a sound could be produced by the accordion, and from that moment Tollefsen became my mentor, the other two being the late Will Starr and the fabulous Emile Vacher, now sadly gone also. I remember that the price of the record was three shillings and sixpence, and as I only had a shilling to my name at the time, I left it as a deposit scraping together the rest for the following week.
Thus began my collection of Tolly’s recordings, some of which unfortunately got damaged during my six years war service in the army. (It was only at his funeral that I became aware that John was a Commando and was badly wounded in the Dieppe Raid in August 1942. Like many veterans he had been through a lot but never spoke of it).
In 1947 Tolly settled in London and did many variety shows, so I contacted the Variety Club which provided me with his London address. He sent me a list of his recordings, so I was able to renew and add to my collection.
Toralf Tollefsen was born in Glemmen, Norway, in August 1914 into a musical family, none of whom, however, were professional musicians. There were accordions, fiddles, and a piano belonging to his grandfather, aunts and uncles, but it was the accordion that young Toralf was interested in most and at the tender age of six he got his first box, a two row, eight bass melodeon.
When he was eight years old his family moved to Oslo, where he was enrolled at the Oslo Conservatory, to study violin, as accordion was not then taught, but he continued to practice on his melodeon, though prior to getting his wee box, he would entertain neighbours on a summer’s evening outdoors on his ‘moothie’. Tolly and his wee box were in great demand, and by the age of ten, he had saved enough to buy a chromatic instrument and began broadcasting on Radio Oslo’s Children’s Hour.
The first attempts to establish the accordion as a serious musical instrument were made in the U.S.A. where Ottar Akre, the famous Norwegian teacher was involved. Akre returned to his native Norway in 1929. He was a superb teacher and musician and was immediately appointed to teach accordion at the Oslo Conservatory of Music, where Tolly enrolled as a pupil and under Akre’s expert guidance, progressed rapidly. Akre died just a few years ago when he was well into his nineties.
The young Tolly was by now engaged not only in broadcasting but also in films, besides being in constant demand to play in local orchestras and he became the first accordionist to be accepted into the Norwegian Musicians’ Union. At the age of eighteen he made the first of his many recordings for Columbia.
By now, he had the ambition to travel, so he studied French and English. Then in 1936 he did his first broadcast for the B.B.C. and from that he was engaged by C.B. Cochran, the famous impresario for the ‘Streamline Revue’. There he met Nona, who at that time was a member of the troupe and a very famous one too, called ‘Cochrane’s Young Ladies’. They were married in 1938 and spent a working honeymoon on a tour of Australia, where he did a weekly series of broadcasts from Sydney and Melbourne over a period of three months.
In the summer of 1939, Nona and he set off on a tour of Scandinavia which culminated in a most successful concert in the National Scala in Copenhagen.
Shortly after they returned to Norway, Hitler invaded that country and times became very hard for the people, including the Tollefsen family, so Tolly and Nona joined the local Resistance group. Tolly played for food, in the shape of meat and flour from the local farmers. He kept himself as much in the background as possible giving private concerts, etc., while at times Nona would push the pram through the streets with little Sonjia Marie perched on top of a consignment of guns bound for the Resistance.
For his work in this respect during the war, Tolly was awarded two medals.
By the end of the war, Tolly found that he no longer had any interest in variety, although he still continued to play anything from classics to sing-along for the Allied troops. He decided that his future was on the concert platform, so on 1st January, 1947, he gave a 90 minute concert in the Wigmore Hall, in London, and in the same year, on 14th March, in The Royal Albert Hall, he gave a recital of Pietro Deiro’s Concerto for Accordion, with the International Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Fistoulari. This was indeed a great precedent, as never before in the history of that prestigious edifice had such a thing as a solo accordion been heard.
On the 17th November, 1949, he gave a concert to a packed hall in Time Square, New York, and while in the U.S.A. did various radio and T.V. broadcasts. He also had a personal phone call from fellow countryman, Trygve Lie, than Secretary General of the United Nations requesting him to give a private performance to U.N. members and their families.
Although I have known Tolly for almost 50 years, and have been in fairly regular contact for at least the last fifteen, we have only met once, when he was the principal guest at Malcolm Gee’s Caister Festival in 1986. I went with three friends, Malky MacLean from Renfrew, whose ‘Carnival of Venice’ is about as near to Tolly’s as you will get, Graham Edwardson, better known as ‘The Bear’ and Alistair MacKenzie, a former Mod medalist.
It was a marvelous experience to sit in that huge auditorium with around 2,000 people, while Tolly sat hugging that muckle Zero Zette for over 90 minutes and with no amplification whatsoever, kept his audience completely spellbound.
By virtue of the fact that all items to be published in the September issue of the B&F must be submitted to the Editor by mid-August, and as a CD of Tolly’s recordings will be available sometime in August, and with it a book in biographical form which contains a list of names of well-wishers, I have collected over 70 names of accordionists from Cornwall to Shetland, and from London to Argyll, also as far apart as New York and St. Petersburg in Russia. They were all delighted to contribute their names.
In conclusion, may I say that anyone I know who has met Tolly has each, without exception, derived great pleasure from the occasion. As for myself, I have unbounded admiration and affection for the man who hosts that all too rare quality, the quality that ‘does what it must’.
Rob Gordon – An Appreciation
by Ian Cruickshanks (Kirriemuir)
On 24th April this year the Scottish and Old Time Dance world lost a respected and very experienced dance band leader with the untimely death of Rob Gordon at the relatively young age of 55.
Rob was born in Wallasey on Merseyside in 1938 and was a self-taught musician. He formed his first band in 1955 and round about that time broadcast (solo) on a B.B.C. talent show called ‘What Makes A Star?’ from Manchester.
His first broadcast with his band was in the 60’s on Radio Erin, then when he moved top Scotland in 1970 he auditioned for Radio Scotland and subsequently broadcast many times. His first recording was in the late 60’s on Saga label and he did a further 18 L.P.s plus two double albums and one E.P. during his career. Two of these albums were only ever sold in Canada. He also featured on five compilation albums and did an L.P with Angus Fitchet’s Band.
He played extensively throughout the U.K., initially for Scottish Country Dancing but also for Irish Dancing and Old Time and Modern Sequence Dancing. Latterly he also traveled with his band to play in Bangkok for St. Andrew’s dances and also Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Holland, Malta and Spain.
His style of playing, and his band’s, developed from his appreciation of the music of Jimmy Shand and his Band and he followed Jimmy and his Band a lot in the 50’s and 60’s at dances all over the North of England. Jimmy’s fiddler at the time was the legendary Syd Chalmers from Forfar. Syd moved to Birkenhead in about 1966 and a chance encounter with Rob led to Syd playing extensively with Rob and his band for a number of years and also recording four or five L.P.s with Rob. One of these was solely for Irish Dancing (Irish Coffee) and featured Rob playing his unique button accordion on a couple of tracks. This was a small ‘Shand Morino’ from which Rob removed the diatonic reeds and got Hohner to put on Hohner Atlantic reeds to his own specification so it became a three row Continental box basically, but with a unique melodic pattern to the keyboard. Rob later sold the box and I believe Clinkscale converted it back to British Chromatic some years ago. Round about 1972, Rob bought a pre-war Morino and had the tuning changed to what he wanted. To me this was the box that gave him and his band such a distinctive sound. This box, incidentally, is to be offered for sale, as it was Rob’s wish and the family’s that it should continue to be played (hopefully by a competent player) rather than sit in the house and deteriorate.
Whilst Rob’s band was very popular for Scottish Country, I would say his forte was playing for Old Time Dancing as his style of playing so suited the lovely melodies associated with this type of dancing. His broadcasts often featured Old Time numbers as well as Scottish Country, until 1988 that is, when he was compelled by the B.B.C. to keep to Scottish Country which he did for the next three broadcasts. A great shame I think, because he had a great wealth of material for Old Time which he used at dances but never broadcast, and after all, I believe that considerably more people in Scotland dance ‘Old Time’ than ‘Scottish Country’.
Fortunately, ‘Lismor’ had the foresight to record Rob Gordon and his Band and produce not only a double album of ‘Scottish Country’ but also a double album of ‘Old Time’ including lancers, quadrilles and waltz cotillion (all with instructions) saunters, one-steps, two-steps etc. Four of the tracks featured Bob Rae on second piano! This was to be Rob Gordon’s last recording.
Among the many musicians who worked with Rob through nearly 40 years of band work, fiddlers always played a prominent part, particularly Syd Chalmers, Angus Fitchet and latterly Ron Kerr. Ron Gonella did one L.P. with him (Heather Mixture). Gus Scott (Arbroath) did one L.P. and played extensively with the band as did Jack Lindsay (Dundee). Jimmy Ritchie and Frank Robb also played with him. Pat, his wife, played and recorded with the band (on piano) in the early days, as did Gerry Jones (Wallasey) but one of the longest serving members must be Peter Straughan of Auchtermuchty who played with him from the early 70’s until the present day. Hamish Smith (second box), Mickie Ainsworth, Norman Runge (Shand Morino), Willie Mann and myself all played extensively with the band. Davie Stewart did one L.P. and the last few broadcasts.
Bass players were Vin Ford (Wallasey) who played with Rob for some 12 years, Archie Oliphant, Sandy Beattie, Dave Barclay and John Sinton. Drummers included Bob Scott, Tommy Hill (both Merseyside) and Ian Wilson. Another long serving band member was Stan Peacock from Bridge of Earn, and finally Garry Brand of Blairgowrie.
Rob was always happiest playing for dancing, he didn’t like guesting at Accordion and Fiddle Clubs (although he did quite a few) as, being self-taught he always felt his fingering technique was poor in comparison to the younger players of today (his words). Having sat next to him at many, many dances, I can assure you that he could handle the most intricate of ‘original’ tunes, particularly Strathspeys, if it suited him to do so.
He was also a prolific composer of dance tunes, named after family and friends from all over the country. James Kerr published two books of his tunes in the 70’s. Rob also introduced a lot of good tunes to the public through his research and collecting of music and records.
His knowledge of Old Time Dances was very impressive and he did quite a few dances down south for the Old Time societies. These were usually quite splendid affairs with all the dancers dressed formally and it was a treat to watch from the stage. Tempos were always considerably slower at these events as they were very good dancers and they had been used to dancing to the famous Old Time Dance Orchestras such as Harry Davidson and Sydney Thomson in former times, but they were always very complimentary to Rob concerning his tempos. Lancers, Gavottes, Tangos, Marine Four-Step, The Maxina, Latchford Scottische, Dinky One-Step and Gainsborough Glide are just a sample of dances from these Old Time Balls. He latterly also played for a lot of Modern Sequences, Rumba, Samba, Cha-Cha, Jive, plus of course, Quicksteps, Modern Waltzes, Tango and Slow Foxtrot, and he was lucky to have Peter Straughan and Stan Peacock who were both as much at home with these rhythms as they were with reels and jigs etc.
These dances always had a couple to lead off the dancing and they were professional dancers so the tempo had to be right! Incidentally, at an Old Time Dance Festival that we played at in Leeds in 1988, Stan Peacock, the drummer in the band led off one of the dances (The Western Scottische I think) thereby losing his amateur status and becoming a professional dancer, which caused Rob to introduce Stan as drummer and professional dancer after that! If ever there was an argument about tempo after that, Stan would always remind Rob that he was the professional dancer in the band, so he should know!
Tempo’s apart, his harmonies and arrangements were always tasteful, never elaborate but just what was needed. The younger bands of today probably thought of Rob Gordon’s Band as dull and uninteresting but they could learn a lot from his style, his tempos, his arrangements, and his professionalism.
As Stan Peacock said when interviewed by Robbie Shepherd, by way of a tribute to Rob, “He was a difficult man to work for”, well I can vouch for that, as can Peter Straughan and I’m sure many other musicians, but having fronted his band since last August, I have some to understand the pressures he had to work under, i.e. travel hundreds of miles to a dance and deliver the goods to the public. He was the one who had to worry, we just sat and played. He took the job very seriously and that is probably why he had such a good band. I know from his meticulous preparation of his broadcasts, not only the music but the background of the music and the dances, that Robbie Shepherd and Ken Mutch had a comparatively easy time of it when it was Rob Gordon’s turn to broadcast. I recollect Rob telling me that when Robert Crawford was the Producer for the B.B.C. some years ago, the band would go into the studio, do a sound check and after they recorded the first dance, the producer would just leave the tape running and go and do something else, such was his confidence in Rob and his band!
Possessed of a mischievous sense of humour, we all had a lot of laughs on the road, usually at someone else’s expense. Reminiscing recently with Ron Kerr, Ron mentioned a tour of England he did with Rob about 10 years ago, and he cannot ever recall laughing as much before or since, during that week!
Away from the music, Rob’s main interest in the last decade was Free Masonry and he achieved much respect and many high offices in this field, as well as many more friends. When I informed a mutual Masonic friend of ours of the seriousness of Rob’s illness last year, he remarked, “What a loss to Masonry”, to which I replied “A bigger loss to Scottish music”. He certainly made his mark in both.
Rob is survived by his wife, Pat, daughter, Janet, and sons, Robbie and Alisdair.
At the funeral service at Perth Crematorium, long-time friend and pianist in the band, Peter Straughan, played the organ for the service and included some of the Legato Strathspeys that Rob played so well. Hamish McLaren gave a talk on Rob’s Masonic achievements and Robbie Shepherd gave a talk on his musical background and achievements. Rob always played to full houses at his dances, and it was a full house that day too.
Introducing the Clubs
No 22 Orkney
by Dave Linklater
Tommy’s 60th
by Daphne Herdman (Chairman)
A memorable party was held recently in the Jubilee Hall, Rothbury, to celebrate the 60th Birthday of Northumbrian bandleader, Tommy Edmondson. Tommy and his wife, Angela, welcomed many relatives and friends from the Coquet Valley and further afield, but sadly some guests were unable to attend because several inches of snow fell during the evening.
Everyone enjoyed a delicious buffet supper and a brilliant programme of music for traditional and modern dancing played by Alistair Wood and his Band. They were, as ever, immaculately dressed and chose a superb selection of well-known tunes for an outstanding eightsome reel.
Tommy was quite overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of everyone and wishes to say ‘thank you’ to everyone for all their good wishes, numerous cards and presents.
Your Letters
We write to thank everyone for their kindness and consideration, their telephone enquiries and their visits before, during and after Jimmy’s triple by-pass operation. Nearly 100 get-well cards came from all ‘airts and pairts’, from Accordion Clubs and Country Dance clubs as well as from friends old and new. We were completely overwhelmed by the warmth shown to us and are very, very grateful. In no way did Jimmy go through this on his own.
Only four weeks after his operation he is already walking and cycling, and has even had a tune on the box.
Thank you all
Joan and Jimmy Blue
Record Review
In Full spate – Paul Anderson – NGMC1006
Book Review
The Deirdre Adamson Collection Of Original Compositions for Accordion & Fiddle
The Complete Andrew Rankine Collection of Scottish Country Dance Tunes
CLUB DIARY
Aberdeen (Dee Motel) –
Alnwick (Golden Fleece) – members only
Arbroath (Viewfield Hotel) - 4th Sept 94 – Bill Black SDB
Armadale (Masonic Hall) – 1st Sept 94 – Deirdre Adamson
Ayr (Gartferry Hotel) –
Balloch (St. Kessog’s Hall) –
Banchory (Burnett Arms Hotel) –
Banff & District (Banff Springs Hotel) – 28th Sept 94 – Forres Club
Beith & District (Hotel de Croft, Dalry) – 19th Sept 94 – Morag Robertson
Belford (Community Club) –
Biggar (Municipal Hall) – 11th Sept 94 – Fiona Cuthbertson
Blairgowrie (Moorfield Hotel) - 13th Sept 94 – Dennis Morrison SDB
Brigmill (Guardbridge Sports & Social Club)
Buchan (Buchaness Hotel) –
Button Key (Windygates Institute) –
Callander (Glengarry Hotel) –
Campbeltown (Royal Hotel) –
Carlisle (Border Regiment Club, Carlisle Castle) -
Castle Douglas (Urr Valley Hotel) –
Coalburn (Miners’ Welfare) - 15th Sept 94 – Liam Howitt
Crieff & District (Arduthie Hotel)
Dalriada (Argyll Arms Hotel, Lochgilphead)
Derwentside (Working Men’s Club, Consett) –
Dingwall (National Hotel) –
Dunblane (Westlands Hotel) – 20th Sept 94 – Fraser McGlynn Duo
Dundee (Park Hotel) –
Dunfermline (Roadhouse) –
Dunoon & Cowal (McColl’s Hotel) 16th Sept 94 – The McAllister Brothers
East Kilbride (Sweepers, Cambuslang) –
Ellon (Ladbroke Hotel) –
Ettrick & Yarrow (The Gordon Arms) - 16th Sept 94 – Ian Lowthian and Catriona MacDonald 21st Sept Colin Brown SDB
Fintry (Fintry Sports Centre) –
Forfar (Plough Inn) -
Forres (Brig Motel) – 14th Sept 94 – Charlie Kirkpatrick Trio
Fort William (Alexandra Hotel) –
Galashiels (Maxwell Hotel) –
Galston (Barr Castle Social Club) –
Glendale (Black Bull Hotel – Wooler) –
Glenrothes (Victoria Hall, Coaltown of Balgownie) -
Gretna (Halcrow Stadium) -
Highland (Drumossie Hotel) –
Inveraray (Loch Fyne Hotel) -
Islay (White Hart Hotel) -
Isle of Skye -
Islesteps (Waterhole, Lochfoot) –
Kelso (Ednam House Hotel) –
Kinlochshiel (Islander Function Room) -
Kintore (Crown Hotel) – 7th Sept 94 – Ian Thomson SDB
Langholm (Crown Hotel) –
Lesmahagow (Masonic Hall) – 8th Sept 94 – James Coutts SDB
Livingston (Deans Community Centre) 20th Sept 94 – Oakbank Sound
Lockerbie (Bluebell Hotel) -
Mauchline (The Jean Armour Function Suite)
M.A.F.I.A. (Masonic Hall, Milngavie) –
Montrose (Park Hotel) –
Newtongrange (Dean Tavern) – 26th Sept 94 – Bill Black’s SDB
North East (Royal British Legion, Keith) –
Oban (Harbour Lights Restaurant) –
Orkney ( venue?) –
Ormiston (Miners’ Welfare Social Club) –
Peebles (Green Tree Hotel) – 29th Sept 94 – David Sturgeon & the Waverley SDB
Perth (Salutation Hotel) – 20th Sept 94 – Willie Simpson Trio
Premier NI (Camlin Function Rooms) -
Renfrew (Masonic Hall, Broadloan) –
Rothbury (Queen’s Head) -
Shetland (venue?) -
Stirling (Terraces Hotel) - 11th Sept 94 – Sandy Nixon SDB
Thornhill (?)
Thurso (Pentland Hotel) –
Tranent (East Lothian Labour Club)
Turriff (Royal Oak Hotel) –
Tynedale (Hexham Ex Service Club) – 13th Sept 94 – John Morgan
Wick (McKay’s Hotel) –
THERE WERE CLUB REPORTS FROM :-
1. Aberdeen
2. Arbroath
3. Ayr
4. Banff
5. Biggar
6. Blairgowrie
7. Coalburn
8. Dalriada
9. Dunblane
10. Dundee
11. Dunoon & Cowal
12. East Kilbride
13. Forres
14. Glendale
15. Glenrothes
16. Gretna
17. Islay
18. Kelso
19. Kintore
20. Lesmahagow
21. Livingston
22. Lockerbie
23. Montrose
24. Newtongrange
25. Oban
26. Peebles
27. Perth
28. Stirling
29. Thurso
30. Tynedale
31. Wick
32. Yarrow
CLUB DIRECTORY AS AT SEPT 1991 (Clubs didn’t necessarily notify the Assoc when they closed so the following may not be entirely correct. Only the clubs submitting the reports or in the Club Diary above were definitely open.)
1. Aberdeen A&F Club (1975 – present)
2. Alnwick A&F Club (Sept 1976 – present)
3. Arbroath A&F Club (1991? – present)
4. Armadale A&F Club (Oct 1978? or 80) originally called Bathgate Club (for 2 months) Closed
5. Ayr A&F Club (Nov 1983 – per Nov 83 edition) Closed
6. Balloch A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per January 1978 issue – present)
7. Banchory A&F Club (1978 – present)
8. Banff & District A&F Club (Oct 1973 – present)
9. Beith & District A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per first edition – present)
10. Belford A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
11. Biggar A&F Club (Oct 1974 – present)
12. Blairgowrie A&F Club (
13. Brigmill A&F Club (Oct 1990) Closed
14. Button Key A&F Club (
15. Campbeltown A&F Club (
16. Carlisle A&F Club (joined Sept 1993 -
17. Castle Douglas A&F Club (c Sept 1980 – present)
18. Coalburn A&F Club (
19. Crieff A&F Club (cSept 1981)
20. Dalriada A&F Club (Feb 1981)
21. Derwentside A&F Club
22. Dingwall & District A&F Club (May 1979 – per first report)
23. Dunblane & District A&F Club (1971 – present)
24. Dundee & District A&F Club (1970? -
25. Dunfermline & District A&F Club (1974 – per first edition)
26. Dunoon & Cowal A&F Club (
27. East Kilbride A&F Club (Sept 1980)
28. Ellon A&F Club (
29. Etterick & Yarrow (Jan 1989 -
30. Fintry A&F Club (Dec 1972 – reformed Jan 1980 – present)
31. Forfar A&F Club (
32. Forres A&F Club (Jan 1978)
33. Fort William A&F Club (21st Oct 1980 – per Dec 1980 B&F)
34. Galashiels A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
35. Galston A&F Club (Oct 1969 – per first edition – closed March 2006)
36. Glendale Accordion Club (Jan 1973)
37. Glenrothes A&F Club (Mar 93?
38. Gretna A&F Club (1991) Known as North Cumbria A&F Club previously (originally called Grena when started in June 1966 but later had to move to venues in the North of England and changed name. No breaks in the continuity of the Club)
39. Highland A&F Club (Inverness)
40. Inveraray A&F Club (Oct 1991)
41. Islay A&F Club (23 Apr 93 -
42. Islesteps A&F Club (Jan 1981 – present – n.b. evolved from the original Dumfries Club)
43. Isle of Skye A&F Club (
44. Kelso A&F Club (May 1976 – present)
45. Kintore A&F Club (
46. Langholm A&F Club (Oct 1967 - present)
47. Lesmahagow A&F Club (Nov 1979 – closed May 2005)
48. Livingston A&F Club (Sept 1973 – present)
49. Lockerbie A&F Club (Nov 1973 - present)
50. M.A.F.I.A. (1966 - )
51. Mauchline A&F Club (first mention 1986? - present)
52. Montrose A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
53. Mull A&F Club
54. Newtongrange A&F Club (joined Sept 1977 - present)
55. Newton St Boswells Accordion Club (17th Oct 1972 see Apr 1984 obituary for Angus Park)
56. North East A&F Club aka Keith A&FC (Sept 1971 - present)
57. Oban A&F Club (Nov 1975 - present)
58. Orkney A&F Club (Mar 1978 - present)
59. Peebles A&F Club (26 Nov 1981 - present)
60. Perth & District A&F Club (Aug 1970 - present)
61. Premier A&F Club NI (April 1980)
62. Renfrew A&F Club (
63. Rothbury Accordion Club (1987??)
64. Shetland A&F Club (Sept 1978 - present)
65. Stirling A&F Club (Oct 1991 - )
66. Sutherland A&F Club (
67. Thornhill A&F Club (joined Oct 1983 – see Nov 83 edition – closed April 2014)
68. Thurso A&F Club (Oct 1981 - present)
69. Tranent A&F Club
70. Turriff A&F Club (March 1982 - present)
71. Tynedale A&F Club (Nov 1980 - present)
72. Wick A&F Club (Oct 1975 - present)
Not on official list at the start of the season (closed, did not renew membership or omitted in error?)
73. Acharacle & District A&F Club (cMay 1988)
74. Bonchester Accordion Club (Closed?)
75. Bridge of Allan (Walmer) A&F Club (Walmer Hotel, Bridge of Allan) (c March 1982)
76. Buchan A&F Club
77. Callander A&F Club (
78. Campbeltown & District A&F Club (c Dec 1980)
79. Cleland (cNov 1981 – March 1985) originally called Drumpellier A&F Club (for 2 months)
80. Club Accord
81. Coquetdale A&F Club (Feb 1974 or c1976/77 – 1981/2?)
82. Coupar Angus A&F Club (cSept 1978 - ?)
83. Cumnock A&F Club (October 1976 - forced to close cDec 1982 - see Jan 83 Editorial)
84. Denny & Dunipace A&F Club (Feb 1981)
85. Dornoch A&F Club (first mention in directory 1986)
86. Dumfries Accordion Club (Oughtons) (April 1965 at the Hole in the Wa’)
87. Dunbar Cement Works A&F Club (Closed?)
88. Edinburgh A&F Club (Apr 1981) prev called Chrissie Leatham A&F Club (Oct 1980)
89. Falkirk A&F Club (Sept 1978 - )
90. Gorebridge (cNov 1981) originally called Arniston A&F Club (for 2 months)
91. Greenhead Accordion Club (on the A69 between Brampton and Haltwistle)
92. Kirriemuir A&F Club (cSept 1981)
93. Monklands A&F Club (Nov 1978 – closed cApril 1983)
94. Morecambe A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
95. Newcastleton Accordion Club
96. New Cumnock A&F Club (cMarch 1979)
97. Ormiston Miners’ Welfare Society A&F Club (closed April 1992 – per Sept Editorial)
98. Renfrew A&F Club (original club 1974/5 lapsed after a few years then again in 1984)
99. Straiton Accordion Club (c1968 – closed March 1979)
100. Stranraer & District Accordion Club (1974 – per first edition)
101. Torthorwald A&F Club (near Dumfries)
102. Walmer (Bridge of Allan) A&F Club
103. Wellbank A&F Club
Advertising rates
Full Page - £94
Half Page - £47
Quarter Page - £24
B&F Treasurer – Mrs Margaret Smith, Smeaton Farm Cottage, Dalkeith, Midlothian, EH22 2NL
The main features in the above issue were as follows (this is not a comprehensive detail of all it contained. The Club reports, in particular, are too time consuming at this stage to retype).
Editorial
Welcome to my first edition of the ‘Box and Fiddle’. May I introduce myself? Born and brought up in Dufftown. I worked on a farm before joining the Police service. I have just retired after 30 years service and I am now employed by Tayside Region as a Computer Systems Administrator.
My hobbies include sea angling, gardening, listening to Scottish dance music and old time dancing which I organize in Arbroath. I am also a Committee member of Arbroath A&F Club.
I would welcome your letters, reports and items of interest for inclusion in your ‘B&F’.
Finally, thanks to all the clubs, individuals and Doug Adamson who have sent me good wishes and promised support in my new role.
Ron Ramsay
A Tribute to Toralf Tollefsen
by John Mackie
‘Talent does what it can, Genius does what it must’
That question from ‘The Scottish Violinist’, a compilation of compositions and arrangements by the late J. Scott Skinner, I consider to be a fair summation of the considerable achievements of a man who recently celebrated his 80th birthday, a man, who as much as anyone, whose efforts have been instrumental in elevating the accordion from its humble origins to the status of concert instrument which it enjoys today and which is now demonstrated by others such as James Crabb, Professor Owen Murray, Hugo Noth, and the great Russians, Sherov, Seminov, Beljiev and Kasakov, not to mention a newcomer to the scene from China, Zhang Guoping who visited Britain earlier this year and whom I have not heard play as yet, but I understand that he is an outstanding performer. I also understand that there are some 13,000 people in Beijing alone learning to play the accordion.
I can safely say that I have been taking an interest in the accordion for more than 70 years, which began for me in the heyday of Palmy Dick, Peter and Daniel Wyper, Peter Leatham (father of the great and renowned teacher Chrissie Leatham and grandfather of Britain’s only Professor of the free-bass instrument Owen Murray) and Willie Hannah whose band I used to dance to as a teenager in the ‘Poly’ Hall in West Calder, part of the ‘Pie Jock’ complex which also contained a cinema ‘doon the Chugh Brae’ called ‘The People’s Palace’ but better known as ‘Nan Mullen’s’, and having reached this fairly advanced period in my existence I can reasonably claim to have heard at one time or another the ‘crème de la crème’ of the world’s accordionists. Yet for me and many others of my acquaintance, Toralf Tollafsen remains the finest of them all, possessing a quality which transcends mere talent and technical ability, a light and shade which is an essential part of the man’s personality, something which those who know Tolly, or have at least met him, will understand.
I heard my first Tollefsen recording nearly sixty years ago, at the time when I used to cycle 5½ miles to West Calder with the box on my back for lessons. My teacher was Annie Cairns, herself a very fine musician, who with her husband and two young sons lived in a small flat above a bicycle shop, and surrounded by such things as drums, guitars, accordions and a huge double bass fiddle.
On the way out after one of my lessons, I was asked by the proprietor of the bicycle shop to listen to a record. It was Tolly playing the Frosini arrangement of The Carnival of Venice. I realised then that I never knew such a sound could be produced by the accordion, and from that moment Tollefsen became my mentor, the other two being the late Will Starr and the fabulous Emile Vacher, now sadly gone also. I remember that the price of the record was three shillings and sixpence, and as I only had a shilling to my name at the time, I left it as a deposit scraping together the rest for the following week.
Thus began my collection of Tolly’s recordings, some of which unfortunately got damaged during my six years war service in the army. (It was only at his funeral that I became aware that John was a Commando and was badly wounded in the Dieppe Raid in August 1942. Like many veterans he had been through a lot but never spoke of it).
In 1947 Tolly settled in London and did many variety shows, so I contacted the Variety Club which provided me with his London address. He sent me a list of his recordings, so I was able to renew and add to my collection.
Toralf Tollefsen was born in Glemmen, Norway, in August 1914 into a musical family, none of whom, however, were professional musicians. There were accordions, fiddles, and a piano belonging to his grandfather, aunts and uncles, but it was the accordion that young Toralf was interested in most and at the tender age of six he got his first box, a two row, eight bass melodeon.
When he was eight years old his family moved to Oslo, where he was enrolled at the Oslo Conservatory, to study violin, as accordion was not then taught, but he continued to practice on his melodeon, though prior to getting his wee box, he would entertain neighbours on a summer’s evening outdoors on his ‘moothie’. Tolly and his wee box were in great demand, and by the age of ten, he had saved enough to buy a chromatic instrument and began broadcasting on Radio Oslo’s Children’s Hour.
The first attempts to establish the accordion as a serious musical instrument were made in the U.S.A. where Ottar Akre, the famous Norwegian teacher was involved. Akre returned to his native Norway in 1929. He was a superb teacher and musician and was immediately appointed to teach accordion at the Oslo Conservatory of Music, where Tolly enrolled as a pupil and under Akre’s expert guidance, progressed rapidly. Akre died just a few years ago when he was well into his nineties.
The young Tolly was by now engaged not only in broadcasting but also in films, besides being in constant demand to play in local orchestras and he became the first accordionist to be accepted into the Norwegian Musicians’ Union. At the age of eighteen he made the first of his many recordings for Columbia.
By now, he had the ambition to travel, so he studied French and English. Then in 1936 he did his first broadcast for the B.B.C. and from that he was engaged by C.B. Cochran, the famous impresario for the ‘Streamline Revue’. There he met Nona, who at that time was a member of the troupe and a very famous one too, called ‘Cochrane’s Young Ladies’. They were married in 1938 and spent a working honeymoon on a tour of Australia, where he did a weekly series of broadcasts from Sydney and Melbourne over a period of three months.
In the summer of 1939, Nona and he set off on a tour of Scandinavia which culminated in a most successful concert in the National Scala in Copenhagen.
Shortly after they returned to Norway, Hitler invaded that country and times became very hard for the people, including the Tollefsen family, so Tolly and Nona joined the local Resistance group. Tolly played for food, in the shape of meat and flour from the local farmers. He kept himself as much in the background as possible giving private concerts, etc., while at times Nona would push the pram through the streets with little Sonjia Marie perched on top of a consignment of guns bound for the Resistance.
For his work in this respect during the war, Tolly was awarded two medals.
By the end of the war, Tolly found that he no longer had any interest in variety, although he still continued to play anything from classics to sing-along for the Allied troops. He decided that his future was on the concert platform, so on 1st January, 1947, he gave a 90 minute concert in the Wigmore Hall, in London, and in the same year, on 14th March, in The Royal Albert Hall, he gave a recital of Pietro Deiro’s Concerto for Accordion, with the International Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Fistoulari. This was indeed a great precedent, as never before in the history of that prestigious edifice had such a thing as a solo accordion been heard.
On the 17th November, 1949, he gave a concert to a packed hall in Time Square, New York, and while in the U.S.A. did various radio and T.V. broadcasts. He also had a personal phone call from fellow countryman, Trygve Lie, than Secretary General of the United Nations requesting him to give a private performance to U.N. members and their families.
Although I have known Tolly for almost 50 years, and have been in fairly regular contact for at least the last fifteen, we have only met once, when he was the principal guest at Malcolm Gee’s Caister Festival in 1986. I went with three friends, Malky MacLean from Renfrew, whose ‘Carnival of Venice’ is about as near to Tolly’s as you will get, Graham Edwardson, better known as ‘The Bear’ and Alistair MacKenzie, a former Mod medalist.
It was a marvelous experience to sit in that huge auditorium with around 2,000 people, while Tolly sat hugging that muckle Zero Zette for over 90 minutes and with no amplification whatsoever, kept his audience completely spellbound.
By virtue of the fact that all items to be published in the September issue of the B&F must be submitted to the Editor by mid-August, and as a CD of Tolly’s recordings will be available sometime in August, and with it a book in biographical form which contains a list of names of well-wishers, I have collected over 70 names of accordionists from Cornwall to Shetland, and from London to Argyll, also as far apart as New York and St. Petersburg in Russia. They were all delighted to contribute their names.
In conclusion, may I say that anyone I know who has met Tolly has each, without exception, derived great pleasure from the occasion. As for myself, I have unbounded admiration and affection for the man who hosts that all too rare quality, the quality that ‘does what it must’.
Rob Gordon – An Appreciation
by Ian Cruickshanks (Kirriemuir)
On 24th April this year the Scottish and Old Time Dance world lost a respected and very experienced dance band leader with the untimely death of Rob Gordon at the relatively young age of 55.
Rob was born in Wallasey on Merseyside in 1938 and was a self-taught musician. He formed his first band in 1955 and round about that time broadcast (solo) on a B.B.C. talent show called ‘What Makes A Star?’ from Manchester.
His first broadcast with his band was in the 60’s on Radio Erin, then when he moved top Scotland in 1970 he auditioned for Radio Scotland and subsequently broadcast many times. His first recording was in the late 60’s on Saga label and he did a further 18 L.P.s plus two double albums and one E.P. during his career. Two of these albums were only ever sold in Canada. He also featured on five compilation albums and did an L.P with Angus Fitchet’s Band.
He played extensively throughout the U.K., initially for Scottish Country Dancing but also for Irish Dancing and Old Time and Modern Sequence Dancing. Latterly he also traveled with his band to play in Bangkok for St. Andrew’s dances and also Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Holland, Malta and Spain.
His style of playing, and his band’s, developed from his appreciation of the music of Jimmy Shand and his Band and he followed Jimmy and his Band a lot in the 50’s and 60’s at dances all over the North of England. Jimmy’s fiddler at the time was the legendary Syd Chalmers from Forfar. Syd moved to Birkenhead in about 1966 and a chance encounter with Rob led to Syd playing extensively with Rob and his band for a number of years and also recording four or five L.P.s with Rob. One of these was solely for Irish Dancing (Irish Coffee) and featured Rob playing his unique button accordion on a couple of tracks. This was a small ‘Shand Morino’ from which Rob removed the diatonic reeds and got Hohner to put on Hohner Atlantic reeds to his own specification so it became a three row Continental box basically, but with a unique melodic pattern to the keyboard. Rob later sold the box and I believe Clinkscale converted it back to British Chromatic some years ago. Round about 1972, Rob bought a pre-war Morino and had the tuning changed to what he wanted. To me this was the box that gave him and his band such a distinctive sound. This box, incidentally, is to be offered for sale, as it was Rob’s wish and the family’s that it should continue to be played (hopefully by a competent player) rather than sit in the house and deteriorate.
Whilst Rob’s band was very popular for Scottish Country, I would say his forte was playing for Old Time Dancing as his style of playing so suited the lovely melodies associated with this type of dancing. His broadcasts often featured Old Time numbers as well as Scottish Country, until 1988 that is, when he was compelled by the B.B.C. to keep to Scottish Country which he did for the next three broadcasts. A great shame I think, because he had a great wealth of material for Old Time which he used at dances but never broadcast, and after all, I believe that considerably more people in Scotland dance ‘Old Time’ than ‘Scottish Country’.
Fortunately, ‘Lismor’ had the foresight to record Rob Gordon and his Band and produce not only a double album of ‘Scottish Country’ but also a double album of ‘Old Time’ including lancers, quadrilles and waltz cotillion (all with instructions) saunters, one-steps, two-steps etc. Four of the tracks featured Bob Rae on second piano! This was to be Rob Gordon’s last recording.
Among the many musicians who worked with Rob through nearly 40 years of band work, fiddlers always played a prominent part, particularly Syd Chalmers, Angus Fitchet and latterly Ron Kerr. Ron Gonella did one L.P. with him (Heather Mixture). Gus Scott (Arbroath) did one L.P. and played extensively with the band as did Jack Lindsay (Dundee). Jimmy Ritchie and Frank Robb also played with him. Pat, his wife, played and recorded with the band (on piano) in the early days, as did Gerry Jones (Wallasey) but one of the longest serving members must be Peter Straughan of Auchtermuchty who played with him from the early 70’s until the present day. Hamish Smith (second box), Mickie Ainsworth, Norman Runge (Shand Morino), Willie Mann and myself all played extensively with the band. Davie Stewart did one L.P. and the last few broadcasts.
Bass players were Vin Ford (Wallasey) who played with Rob for some 12 years, Archie Oliphant, Sandy Beattie, Dave Barclay and John Sinton. Drummers included Bob Scott, Tommy Hill (both Merseyside) and Ian Wilson. Another long serving band member was Stan Peacock from Bridge of Earn, and finally Garry Brand of Blairgowrie.
Rob was always happiest playing for dancing, he didn’t like guesting at Accordion and Fiddle Clubs (although he did quite a few) as, being self-taught he always felt his fingering technique was poor in comparison to the younger players of today (his words). Having sat next to him at many, many dances, I can assure you that he could handle the most intricate of ‘original’ tunes, particularly Strathspeys, if it suited him to do so.
He was also a prolific composer of dance tunes, named after family and friends from all over the country. James Kerr published two books of his tunes in the 70’s. Rob also introduced a lot of good tunes to the public through his research and collecting of music and records.
His knowledge of Old Time Dances was very impressive and he did quite a few dances down south for the Old Time societies. These were usually quite splendid affairs with all the dancers dressed formally and it was a treat to watch from the stage. Tempos were always considerably slower at these events as they were very good dancers and they had been used to dancing to the famous Old Time Dance Orchestras such as Harry Davidson and Sydney Thomson in former times, but they were always very complimentary to Rob concerning his tempos. Lancers, Gavottes, Tangos, Marine Four-Step, The Maxina, Latchford Scottische, Dinky One-Step and Gainsborough Glide are just a sample of dances from these Old Time Balls. He latterly also played for a lot of Modern Sequences, Rumba, Samba, Cha-Cha, Jive, plus of course, Quicksteps, Modern Waltzes, Tango and Slow Foxtrot, and he was lucky to have Peter Straughan and Stan Peacock who were both as much at home with these rhythms as they were with reels and jigs etc.
These dances always had a couple to lead off the dancing and they were professional dancers so the tempo had to be right! Incidentally, at an Old Time Dance Festival that we played at in Leeds in 1988, Stan Peacock, the drummer in the band led off one of the dances (The Western Scottische I think) thereby losing his amateur status and becoming a professional dancer, which caused Rob to introduce Stan as drummer and professional dancer after that! If ever there was an argument about tempo after that, Stan would always remind Rob that he was the professional dancer in the band, so he should know!
Tempo’s apart, his harmonies and arrangements were always tasteful, never elaborate but just what was needed. The younger bands of today probably thought of Rob Gordon’s Band as dull and uninteresting but they could learn a lot from his style, his tempos, his arrangements, and his professionalism.
As Stan Peacock said when interviewed by Robbie Shepherd, by way of a tribute to Rob, “He was a difficult man to work for”, well I can vouch for that, as can Peter Straughan and I’m sure many other musicians, but having fronted his band since last August, I have some to understand the pressures he had to work under, i.e. travel hundreds of miles to a dance and deliver the goods to the public. He was the one who had to worry, we just sat and played. He took the job very seriously and that is probably why he had such a good band. I know from his meticulous preparation of his broadcasts, not only the music but the background of the music and the dances, that Robbie Shepherd and Ken Mutch had a comparatively easy time of it when it was Rob Gordon’s turn to broadcast. I recollect Rob telling me that when Robert Crawford was the Producer for the B.B.C. some years ago, the band would go into the studio, do a sound check and after they recorded the first dance, the producer would just leave the tape running and go and do something else, such was his confidence in Rob and his band!
Possessed of a mischievous sense of humour, we all had a lot of laughs on the road, usually at someone else’s expense. Reminiscing recently with Ron Kerr, Ron mentioned a tour of England he did with Rob about 10 years ago, and he cannot ever recall laughing as much before or since, during that week!
Away from the music, Rob’s main interest in the last decade was Free Masonry and he achieved much respect and many high offices in this field, as well as many more friends. When I informed a mutual Masonic friend of ours of the seriousness of Rob’s illness last year, he remarked, “What a loss to Masonry”, to which I replied “A bigger loss to Scottish music”. He certainly made his mark in both.
Rob is survived by his wife, Pat, daughter, Janet, and sons, Robbie and Alisdair.
At the funeral service at Perth Crematorium, long-time friend and pianist in the band, Peter Straughan, played the organ for the service and included some of the Legato Strathspeys that Rob played so well. Hamish McLaren gave a talk on Rob’s Masonic achievements and Robbie Shepherd gave a talk on his musical background and achievements. Rob always played to full houses at his dances, and it was a full house that day too.
Introducing the Clubs
No 22 Orkney
by Dave Linklater
Tommy’s 60th
by Daphne Herdman (Chairman)
A memorable party was held recently in the Jubilee Hall, Rothbury, to celebrate the 60th Birthday of Northumbrian bandleader, Tommy Edmondson. Tommy and his wife, Angela, welcomed many relatives and friends from the Coquet Valley and further afield, but sadly some guests were unable to attend because several inches of snow fell during the evening.
Everyone enjoyed a delicious buffet supper and a brilliant programme of music for traditional and modern dancing played by Alistair Wood and his Band. They were, as ever, immaculately dressed and chose a superb selection of well-known tunes for an outstanding eightsome reel.
Tommy was quite overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of everyone and wishes to say ‘thank you’ to everyone for all their good wishes, numerous cards and presents.
Your Letters
We write to thank everyone for their kindness and consideration, their telephone enquiries and their visits before, during and after Jimmy’s triple by-pass operation. Nearly 100 get-well cards came from all ‘airts and pairts’, from Accordion Clubs and Country Dance clubs as well as from friends old and new. We were completely overwhelmed by the warmth shown to us and are very, very grateful. In no way did Jimmy go through this on his own.
Only four weeks after his operation he is already walking and cycling, and has even had a tune on the box.
Thank you all
Joan and Jimmy Blue
Record Review
In Full spate – Paul Anderson – NGMC1006
Book Review
The Deirdre Adamson Collection Of Original Compositions for Accordion & Fiddle
The Complete Andrew Rankine Collection of Scottish Country Dance Tunes
CLUB DIARY
Aberdeen (Dee Motel) –
Alnwick (Golden Fleece) – members only
Arbroath (Viewfield Hotel) - 4th Sept 94 – Bill Black SDB
Armadale (Masonic Hall) – 1st Sept 94 – Deirdre Adamson
Ayr (Gartferry Hotel) –
Balloch (St. Kessog’s Hall) –
Banchory (Burnett Arms Hotel) –
Banff & District (Banff Springs Hotel) – 28th Sept 94 – Forres Club
Beith & District (Hotel de Croft, Dalry) – 19th Sept 94 – Morag Robertson
Belford (Community Club) –
Biggar (Municipal Hall) – 11th Sept 94 – Fiona Cuthbertson
Blairgowrie (Moorfield Hotel) - 13th Sept 94 – Dennis Morrison SDB
Brigmill (Guardbridge Sports & Social Club)
Buchan (Buchaness Hotel) –
Button Key (Windygates Institute) –
Callander (Glengarry Hotel) –
Campbeltown (Royal Hotel) –
Carlisle (Border Regiment Club, Carlisle Castle) -
Castle Douglas (Urr Valley Hotel) –
Coalburn (Miners’ Welfare) - 15th Sept 94 – Liam Howitt
Crieff & District (Arduthie Hotel)
Dalriada (Argyll Arms Hotel, Lochgilphead)
Derwentside (Working Men’s Club, Consett) –
Dingwall (National Hotel) –
Dunblane (Westlands Hotel) – 20th Sept 94 – Fraser McGlynn Duo
Dundee (Park Hotel) –
Dunfermline (Roadhouse) –
Dunoon & Cowal (McColl’s Hotel) 16th Sept 94 – The McAllister Brothers
East Kilbride (Sweepers, Cambuslang) –
Ellon (Ladbroke Hotel) –
Ettrick & Yarrow (The Gordon Arms) - 16th Sept 94 – Ian Lowthian and Catriona MacDonald 21st Sept Colin Brown SDB
Fintry (Fintry Sports Centre) –
Forfar (Plough Inn) -
Forres (Brig Motel) – 14th Sept 94 – Charlie Kirkpatrick Trio
Fort William (Alexandra Hotel) –
Galashiels (Maxwell Hotel) –
Galston (Barr Castle Social Club) –
Glendale (Black Bull Hotel – Wooler) –
Glenrothes (Victoria Hall, Coaltown of Balgownie) -
Gretna (Halcrow Stadium) -
Highland (Drumossie Hotel) –
Inveraray (Loch Fyne Hotel) -
Islay (White Hart Hotel) -
Isle of Skye -
Islesteps (Waterhole, Lochfoot) –
Kelso (Ednam House Hotel) –
Kinlochshiel (Islander Function Room) -
Kintore (Crown Hotel) – 7th Sept 94 – Ian Thomson SDB
Langholm (Crown Hotel) –
Lesmahagow (Masonic Hall) – 8th Sept 94 – James Coutts SDB
Livingston (Deans Community Centre) 20th Sept 94 – Oakbank Sound
Lockerbie (Bluebell Hotel) -
Mauchline (The Jean Armour Function Suite)
M.A.F.I.A. (Masonic Hall, Milngavie) –
Montrose (Park Hotel) –
Newtongrange (Dean Tavern) – 26th Sept 94 – Bill Black’s SDB
North East (Royal British Legion, Keith) –
Oban (Harbour Lights Restaurant) –
Orkney ( venue?) –
Ormiston (Miners’ Welfare Social Club) –
Peebles (Green Tree Hotel) – 29th Sept 94 – David Sturgeon & the Waverley SDB
Perth (Salutation Hotel) – 20th Sept 94 – Willie Simpson Trio
Premier NI (Camlin Function Rooms) -
Renfrew (Masonic Hall, Broadloan) –
Rothbury (Queen’s Head) -
Shetland (venue?) -
Stirling (Terraces Hotel) - 11th Sept 94 – Sandy Nixon SDB
Thornhill (?)
Thurso (Pentland Hotel) –
Tranent (East Lothian Labour Club)
Turriff (Royal Oak Hotel) –
Tynedale (Hexham Ex Service Club) – 13th Sept 94 – John Morgan
Wick (McKay’s Hotel) –
THERE WERE CLUB REPORTS FROM :-
1. Aberdeen
2. Arbroath
3. Ayr
4. Banff
5. Biggar
6. Blairgowrie
7. Coalburn
8. Dalriada
9. Dunblane
10. Dundee
11. Dunoon & Cowal
12. East Kilbride
13. Forres
14. Glendale
15. Glenrothes
16. Gretna
17. Islay
18. Kelso
19. Kintore
20. Lesmahagow
21. Livingston
22. Lockerbie
23. Montrose
24. Newtongrange
25. Oban
26. Peebles
27. Perth
28. Stirling
29. Thurso
30. Tynedale
31. Wick
32. Yarrow
CLUB DIRECTORY AS AT SEPT 1991 (Clubs didn’t necessarily notify the Assoc when they closed so the following may not be entirely correct. Only the clubs submitting the reports or in the Club Diary above were definitely open.)
1. Aberdeen A&F Club (1975 – present)
2. Alnwick A&F Club (Sept 1976 – present)
3. Arbroath A&F Club (1991? – present)
4. Armadale A&F Club (Oct 1978? or 80) originally called Bathgate Club (for 2 months) Closed
5. Ayr A&F Club (Nov 1983 – per Nov 83 edition) Closed
6. Balloch A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per January 1978 issue – present)
7. Banchory A&F Club (1978 – present)
8. Banff & District A&F Club (Oct 1973 – present)
9. Beith & District A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per first edition – present)
10. Belford A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
11. Biggar A&F Club (Oct 1974 – present)
12. Blairgowrie A&F Club (
13. Brigmill A&F Club (Oct 1990) Closed
14. Button Key A&F Club (
15. Campbeltown A&F Club (
16. Carlisle A&F Club (joined Sept 1993 -
17. Castle Douglas A&F Club (c Sept 1980 – present)
18. Coalburn A&F Club (
19. Crieff A&F Club (cSept 1981)
20. Dalriada A&F Club (Feb 1981)
21. Derwentside A&F Club
22. Dingwall & District A&F Club (May 1979 – per first report)
23. Dunblane & District A&F Club (1971 – present)
24. Dundee & District A&F Club (1970? -
25. Dunfermline & District A&F Club (1974 – per first edition)
26. Dunoon & Cowal A&F Club (
27. East Kilbride A&F Club (Sept 1980)
28. Ellon A&F Club (
29. Etterick & Yarrow (Jan 1989 -
30. Fintry A&F Club (Dec 1972 – reformed Jan 1980 – present)
31. Forfar A&F Club (
32. Forres A&F Club (Jan 1978)
33. Fort William A&F Club (21st Oct 1980 – per Dec 1980 B&F)
34. Galashiels A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
35. Galston A&F Club (Oct 1969 – per first edition – closed March 2006)
36. Glendale Accordion Club (Jan 1973)
37. Glenrothes A&F Club (Mar 93?
38. Gretna A&F Club (1991) Known as North Cumbria A&F Club previously (originally called Grena when started in June 1966 but later had to move to venues in the North of England and changed name. No breaks in the continuity of the Club)
39. Highland A&F Club (Inverness)
40. Inveraray A&F Club (Oct 1991)
41. Islay A&F Club (23 Apr 93 -
42. Islesteps A&F Club (Jan 1981 – present – n.b. evolved from the original Dumfries Club)
43. Isle of Skye A&F Club (
44. Kelso A&F Club (May 1976 – present)
45. Kintore A&F Club (
46. Langholm A&F Club (Oct 1967 - present)
47. Lesmahagow A&F Club (Nov 1979 – closed May 2005)
48. Livingston A&F Club (Sept 1973 – present)
49. Lockerbie A&F Club (Nov 1973 - present)
50. M.A.F.I.A. (1966 - )
51. Mauchline A&F Club (first mention 1986? - present)
52. Montrose A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
53. Mull A&F Club
54. Newtongrange A&F Club (joined Sept 1977 - present)
55. Newton St Boswells Accordion Club (17th Oct 1972 see Apr 1984 obituary for Angus Park)
56. North East A&F Club aka Keith A&FC (Sept 1971 - present)
57. Oban A&F Club (Nov 1975 - present)
58. Orkney A&F Club (Mar 1978 - present)
59. Peebles A&F Club (26 Nov 1981 - present)
60. Perth & District A&F Club (Aug 1970 - present)
61. Premier A&F Club NI (April 1980)
62. Renfrew A&F Club (
63. Rothbury Accordion Club (1987??)
64. Shetland A&F Club (Sept 1978 - present)
65. Stirling A&F Club (Oct 1991 - )
66. Sutherland A&F Club (
67. Thornhill A&F Club (joined Oct 1983 – see Nov 83 edition – closed April 2014)
68. Thurso A&F Club (Oct 1981 - present)
69. Tranent A&F Club
70. Turriff A&F Club (March 1982 - present)
71. Tynedale A&F Club (Nov 1980 - present)
72. Wick A&F Club (Oct 1975 - present)
Not on official list at the start of the season (closed, did not renew membership or omitted in error?)
73. Acharacle & District A&F Club (cMay 1988)
74. Bonchester Accordion Club (Closed?)
75. Bridge of Allan (Walmer) A&F Club (Walmer Hotel, Bridge of Allan) (c March 1982)
76. Buchan A&F Club
77. Callander A&F Club (
78. Campbeltown & District A&F Club (c Dec 1980)
79. Cleland (cNov 1981 – March 1985) originally called Drumpellier A&F Club (for 2 months)
80. Club Accord
81. Coquetdale A&F Club (Feb 1974 or c1976/77 – 1981/2?)
82. Coupar Angus A&F Club (cSept 1978 - ?)
83. Cumnock A&F Club (October 1976 - forced to close cDec 1982 - see Jan 83 Editorial)
84. Denny & Dunipace A&F Club (Feb 1981)
85. Dornoch A&F Club (first mention in directory 1986)
86. Dumfries Accordion Club (Oughtons) (April 1965 at the Hole in the Wa’)
87. Dunbar Cement Works A&F Club (Closed?)
88. Edinburgh A&F Club (Apr 1981) prev called Chrissie Leatham A&F Club (Oct 1980)
89. Falkirk A&F Club (Sept 1978 - )
90. Gorebridge (cNov 1981) originally called Arniston A&F Club (for 2 months)
91. Greenhead Accordion Club (on the A69 between Brampton and Haltwistle)
92. Kirriemuir A&F Club (cSept 1981)
93. Monklands A&F Club (Nov 1978 – closed cApril 1983)
94. Morecambe A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
95. Newcastleton Accordion Club
96. New Cumnock A&F Club (cMarch 1979)
97. Ormiston Miners’ Welfare Society A&F Club (closed April 1992 – per Sept Editorial)
98. Renfrew A&F Club (original club 1974/5 lapsed after a few years then again in 1984)
99. Straiton Accordion Club (c1968 – closed March 1979)
100. Stranraer & District Accordion Club (1974 – per first edition)
101. Torthorwald A&F Club (near Dumfries)
102. Walmer (Bridge of Allan) A&F Club
103. Wellbank A&F Club
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