Year 18 No 01 September 1994
Guest artistes for the last meeting of the season on Sunday, 10th April, were Jean and Jim McConnachie from Dumfries. Jean on accordion and Jim on Lowland Pipes make a very entertaining sound.
They were assisted by friends from far and near. Susan Simpson traveled from Ellon in Aberdeenshire to play fiddle, while Iain Wilson on piano and Billy Goodfellow on drums are both from Elvanfoot.
A full quota of supporting players and singers were as follows :-
On accordion Linda and Ian Riddet, Charlie Thomson, Davie Coke, Peter Jardine, Julie Hamilton, Jennifer Taylor, Angus Lyon, Calum Wilson, Bob Fortune, Alan Gardiner, Lindsay Weir, Tom Porteous, Ian Gracie, Jim Paterson and John Anderson.
Keyboard players were Ena Wilson and Dorothy Lawson.
Drummers – Kevin and Ian Riddet and Bob Henderson.
Fiddlers – Gilbert Logan, Annie Robertson, Emma Rayworth and Ian Wilson (Ena’s brother).
Willie Little played the penny whistle and singers were John Caskie, Maisie Dickie and Agnes Keachie. Another busy night enjoyed by all.
Year 18 No 02 October 1994
The first meeting of the new season got off to a great start in September with a good turnout of audience and players.
Fiona Cuthbertson and her SDB were guest artistes and started us off in fine fashion with an excellent and varied programme. With Fiona were Tom Murray on second accordion, Alistair MacLeod on keyboard and Gordon Murray on drums.
Other players were, on accordion Angus Lyon, John Anderson Peter Jardine, Charlie Thomson, Charlie Todd, Agnes Hope, Jim Paterson, Alan Gardiner, Ian Graham, Mary Young, John Mitchell and John Laidlaw.
On fiddle Gilbert Logan, Annie Robertson, Emma Rayworth and Mahli Neilson, a young lady from Australia who gave us a couple of short classical selections.
Keyboard players for the evening were George Walker, Fiona Paul and Alan Gardiner and drummers were Bob Henderson, Charlie Todd and Hugh Nimmo.
Year 18 No 03 November 1994
The George Stirrat SDB were guests for our October meeting, and started the evening off in fine form. With George were Alistair Heron on fiddle, Alan Ketchin on keyboard and Jimmy Hyslop on drums.
Supporting players, were, on accordion Peter Jardine, Charlie Thomson, Bob Fortune, Charlie Todd, Ian Graham, Mary Young, Alison Carswell and Walter McMillan.
On fiddle were Gilbert Logan, Annie Robertson and David Corner.
On drums Bob Henderson and Hugh Nimmo.
Keyboard player for the evening was George Walker, who also accompanied singers Maisie Dickie, and John Caskie.
Another session of excellent music and great ‘crack’ from George and the boys rounded off the evening which was much enjoyed by all.
The next Club night is on 13th November when the Pentland Ceilidh Band will be the guests and not David Cunningham, David having to cancel due to his health. The Club wish him well and hope he will soon be back around the Clubs.
Letters to the Editor
Last week, myself with my band were invited to play at an Accordion Club. Our first spot at the beginning of the evening seemed to go down quite well and the audience were very kind. But I must object strongly to the Committee’s decision to put on stage, prior to our second spot, a young man, who by the way, was much the same age as me.
This young man played the accordion. I think his name was John and seemed to be well in with the Club organizers. Now the main dread of the guest artiste is that just before you go on stage they put on a young whiz kid who has complete mastery of his musical instrument. Well, that’s what happened to me!
This whiz kid was quite proud of his power bass and had full intention of creating a dazzling performance. He flipped the accordion up in the air, turning the instrument over at a 90 degree angle and caught it on the way down with his left foot and proceeded to play The High Level Hornpipe on the power bass with his left foot in the key of C# (not his foot in C#, the High Level).
I’m not sure who this genius was but he arrived late on and made the excuse that he had got stranded on a escalator during a power failure. The power bass he was using was of a type I’d never seen before. He said he’s invented it himself. The drawback with his invention was that it would only work if it was plugged into the socket normally used for his electric kettle at home. That evening he had come down from Thurso to perform. He told me that he had built the bass for £2.50 but the flex cost £15,000!
Anyway, back to the Club – by this time, I, as the guest act about to follow this brilliant act had sunk to my knees in utter dejection – especially as I was opening up with ‘The Snowdrop Waltz’ in C.
Sir, I plead with you – please pass on to the organizers of Accordion Clubs not to introduce such wizards prior to the guest’s spot.
P.S. Please pass on to the members of the Accordion Club my thanks for their very warm welcome. I enjoyed it very much – the soup at half time was great – far better than the wife’s. And, if I’m ever asked back and he’s there, we’ll separate the men from the boys with a crow bar!
P.P.S. Could John do a series of one night stands in Outer Mongolia – that’s if the flex would reach!
P.P.P.S. Could John, or whoever he was, reply via the ‘B&F’ and apologise for playing the whole of my second half performance with his left foot on his power bass!
P.P.P.P.S. When I got home after the Club I contemplated suicide but I knew I’d live to regret it!
Yours
A Bandleader
(Tongue-in-cheek from George Stirrat, about John Anderson if you are in any doubt)
Year 18 No 04 December 1994 / January 1995
A wet and windy night did not deter a large turnout of audience and players to our November meeting. The Pentland Ceilidh Band were our guest artistes with Colin Brown on first accordion, Derek Rae on second and Neil Cranston on drums.
They gave us two excellent and varied sessions which went down a treat with the near capacity audience.
Supporting musicians, 32 in all, were – on accordion, Charlie Thomson, Tom Porteous, Peter Jardine, Jean McConnachie, Calum Wilson, Angus Lyon, Ian Gracie, Ian Graham, Davie Coke, William Bradley, Mary Young, Jim Paterson, Walter McMillan, John Rae and Willie McFarlane.
On keyboard George Walker and Ena Wilson.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, Gilbert Logan, Emma Rayworth and all the way from Shetland Alan Gifford.
Drummer were Tom hope, George Shiels, Bob Henderson and Charlie Todd.
Bill Rintoul played mouthorgan, David Corner concertina and Jim McConnachie Lowland pipes. Many thanks to Alan Gardiner, Bob Fortune, Agnes Hope and John Anderson for standing down. You’re guaranteed a tune next month.
P.S. Unfortunately John (Whizz Kid) Anderson did play a rendering of ‘Grandfather’s Clock’ as a special request.
Year 18 No 05 February 1995
The weather played havoc with our December meeting, with heavy rain and flooding. However, through the storm the guests appeared as did supporting players and audience, fewer than usual, but very welcome.
Guest artistes for the evening were the Judith Linton Trio, Judith on fiddle, Marian Anderson on accordion and Dorothy Lawson on keyboard. They entertained us with fine music and great stories.
Supporting players were Peter Jardine, Calum Wilson, Angus Lyon, Jim Paterson, Tom Porteous and Charlie Todd on accordion. George Walker and Ena Wilson on keyboard. Gilbert Logan and David Corner on fiddle and George Shiels on drums.
An enjoyable evening was curtailed a little as road conditions worsened.
Thanks to all those who turn out month after month to support our Club, no matter what the weather.
May we take this opportunity to wish all the other Clubs a Prosperous New Year.
January The New Year got off to a very entertaining start with that great ‘double act’ from Kirriemuir, Dave Stewart and Rab Smillie as guest artistes. Dave on accordion and Rab on drums gave us a couple of very lively spots, a variety of music and lots of fun.
Supporting players were, on accordion, Peter Jardine, Charlie Thomson, Jean McConnachie, Tom Porteous, Ian Gracie, Agnes Hope, John Anderson, Bob Fortune, Charlie Todd, Alan Gardiner and Keith Dickson.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, Emma Rayworth, David Corner, Owen Wright and Gilbert Logan.
On keyboard George Walker, Jean McConnachie and Dorothy Lawson.
On drums Bob Henderson, and George Shiels.
Jim McConnachie played Lowland pipes and Agnes Keachie gave us a couple of songs.
JA
Year 18 No 06 March 1995
The Coalburn Ceilidh Band were guest artistes for our February meeting. This group of musicians play regularly at our Club, but, given the guest spot, they had a chance to expand their usual repertoire and include a couple of fiddle solos from Annie Robertson. The band members are Charlie Thonson and Jim Brodie on accordions, Annie Robertson on fiddle and George Walker on keyboard.
Supporting players were Peter Jardine, Linda Riddet, Agnes Hope, Bob Fortune, Arthur Brown and John Anderson on accordions. Dorothy Lawson on keyboard. Bob Henderson, Ian and Kevin Riddet and George Shiels on drums. Gilbert Logan, David Corner and Ian Murray on fiddle. David corner also played concertina and we had songs from Maisie Dickie and Agnes Keachie.
Guest artistes for the last meeting of the season on Sunday, 10th April, were Jean and Jim McConnachie from Dumfries. Jean on accordion and Jim on Lowland Pipes make a very entertaining sound.
They were assisted by friends from far and near. Susan Simpson traveled from Ellon in Aberdeenshire to play fiddle, while Iain Wilson on piano and Billy Goodfellow on drums are both from Elvanfoot.
A full quota of supporting players and singers were as follows :-
On accordion Linda and Ian Riddet, Charlie Thomson, Davie Coke, Peter Jardine, Julie Hamilton, Jennifer Taylor, Angus Lyon, Calum Wilson, Bob Fortune, Alan Gardiner, Lindsay Weir, Tom Porteous, Ian Gracie, Jim Paterson and John Anderson.
Keyboard players were Ena Wilson and Dorothy Lawson.
Drummers – Kevin and Ian Riddet and Bob Henderson.
Fiddlers – Gilbert Logan, Annie Robertson, Emma Rayworth and Ian Wilson (Ena’s brother).
Willie Little played the penny whistle and singers were John Caskie, Maisie Dickie and Agnes Keachie. Another busy night enjoyed by all.
Year 18 No 02 October 1994
The first meeting of the new season got off to a great start in September with a good turnout of audience and players.
Fiona Cuthbertson and her SDB were guest artistes and started us off in fine fashion with an excellent and varied programme. With Fiona were Tom Murray on second accordion, Alistair MacLeod on keyboard and Gordon Murray on drums.
Other players were, on accordion Angus Lyon, John Anderson Peter Jardine, Charlie Thomson, Charlie Todd, Agnes Hope, Jim Paterson, Alan Gardiner, Ian Graham, Mary Young, John Mitchell and John Laidlaw.
On fiddle Gilbert Logan, Annie Robertson, Emma Rayworth and Mahli Neilson, a young lady from Australia who gave us a couple of short classical selections.
Keyboard players for the evening were George Walker, Fiona Paul and Alan Gardiner and drummers were Bob Henderson, Charlie Todd and Hugh Nimmo.
Year 18 No 03 November 1994
The George Stirrat SDB were guests for our October meeting, and started the evening off in fine form. With George were Alistair Heron on fiddle, Alan Ketchin on keyboard and Jimmy Hyslop on drums.
Supporting players, were, on accordion Peter Jardine, Charlie Thomson, Bob Fortune, Charlie Todd, Ian Graham, Mary Young, Alison Carswell and Walter McMillan.
On fiddle were Gilbert Logan, Annie Robertson and David Corner.
On drums Bob Henderson and Hugh Nimmo.
Keyboard player for the evening was George Walker, who also accompanied singers Maisie Dickie, and John Caskie.
Another session of excellent music and great ‘crack’ from George and the boys rounded off the evening which was much enjoyed by all.
The next Club night is on 13th November when the Pentland Ceilidh Band will be the guests and not David Cunningham, David having to cancel due to his health. The Club wish him well and hope he will soon be back around the Clubs.
Letters to the Editor
Last week, myself with my band were invited to play at an Accordion Club. Our first spot at the beginning of the evening seemed to go down quite well and the audience were very kind. But I must object strongly to the Committee’s decision to put on stage, prior to our second spot, a young man, who by the way, was much the same age as me.
This young man played the accordion. I think his name was John and seemed to be well in with the Club organizers. Now the main dread of the guest artiste is that just before you go on stage they put on a young whiz kid who has complete mastery of his musical instrument. Well, that’s what happened to me!
This whiz kid was quite proud of his power bass and had full intention of creating a dazzling performance. He flipped the accordion up in the air, turning the instrument over at a 90 degree angle and caught it on the way down with his left foot and proceeded to play The High Level Hornpipe on the power bass with his left foot in the key of C# (not his foot in C#, the High Level).
I’m not sure who this genius was but he arrived late on and made the excuse that he had got stranded on a escalator during a power failure. The power bass he was using was of a type I’d never seen before. He said he’s invented it himself. The drawback with his invention was that it would only work if it was plugged into the socket normally used for his electric kettle at home. That evening he had come down from Thurso to perform. He told me that he had built the bass for £2.50 but the flex cost £15,000!
Anyway, back to the Club – by this time, I, as the guest act about to follow this brilliant act had sunk to my knees in utter dejection – especially as I was opening up with ‘The Snowdrop Waltz’ in C.
Sir, I plead with you – please pass on to the organizers of Accordion Clubs not to introduce such wizards prior to the guest’s spot.
P.S. Please pass on to the members of the Accordion Club my thanks for their very warm welcome. I enjoyed it very much – the soup at half time was great – far better than the wife’s. And, if I’m ever asked back and he’s there, we’ll separate the men from the boys with a crow bar!
P.P.S. Could John do a series of one night stands in Outer Mongolia – that’s if the flex would reach!
P.P.P.S. Could John, or whoever he was, reply via the ‘B&F’ and apologise for playing the whole of my second half performance with his left foot on his power bass!
P.P.P.P.S. When I got home after the Club I contemplated suicide but I knew I’d live to regret it!
Yours
A Bandleader
(Tongue-in-cheek from George Stirrat, about John Anderson if you are in any doubt)
Year 18 No 04 December 1994 / January 1995
A wet and windy night did not deter a large turnout of audience and players to our November meeting. The Pentland Ceilidh Band were our guest artistes with Colin Brown on first accordion, Derek Rae on second and Neil Cranston on drums.
They gave us two excellent and varied sessions which went down a treat with the near capacity audience.
Supporting musicians, 32 in all, were – on accordion, Charlie Thomson, Tom Porteous, Peter Jardine, Jean McConnachie, Calum Wilson, Angus Lyon, Ian Gracie, Ian Graham, Davie Coke, William Bradley, Mary Young, Jim Paterson, Walter McMillan, John Rae and Willie McFarlane.
On keyboard George Walker and Ena Wilson.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, Gilbert Logan, Emma Rayworth and all the way from Shetland Alan Gifford.
Drummer were Tom hope, George Shiels, Bob Henderson and Charlie Todd.
Bill Rintoul played mouthorgan, David Corner concertina and Jim McConnachie Lowland pipes. Many thanks to Alan Gardiner, Bob Fortune, Agnes Hope and John Anderson for standing down. You’re guaranteed a tune next month.
P.S. Unfortunately John (Whizz Kid) Anderson did play a rendering of ‘Grandfather’s Clock’ as a special request.
Year 18 No 05 February 1995
The weather played havoc with our December meeting, with heavy rain and flooding. However, through the storm the guests appeared as did supporting players and audience, fewer than usual, but very welcome.
Guest artistes for the evening were the Judith Linton Trio, Judith on fiddle, Marian Anderson on accordion and Dorothy Lawson on keyboard. They entertained us with fine music and great stories.
Supporting players were Peter Jardine, Calum Wilson, Angus Lyon, Jim Paterson, Tom Porteous and Charlie Todd on accordion. George Walker and Ena Wilson on keyboard. Gilbert Logan and David Corner on fiddle and George Shiels on drums.
An enjoyable evening was curtailed a little as road conditions worsened.
Thanks to all those who turn out month after month to support our Club, no matter what the weather.
May we take this opportunity to wish all the other Clubs a Prosperous New Year.
January The New Year got off to a very entertaining start with that great ‘double act’ from Kirriemuir, Dave Stewart and Rab Smillie as guest artistes. Dave on accordion and Rab on drums gave us a couple of very lively spots, a variety of music and lots of fun.
Supporting players were, on accordion, Peter Jardine, Charlie Thomson, Jean McConnachie, Tom Porteous, Ian Gracie, Agnes Hope, John Anderson, Bob Fortune, Charlie Todd, Alan Gardiner and Keith Dickson.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, Emma Rayworth, David Corner, Owen Wright and Gilbert Logan.
On keyboard George Walker, Jean McConnachie and Dorothy Lawson.
On drums Bob Henderson, and George Shiels.
Jim McConnachie played Lowland pipes and Agnes Keachie gave us a couple of songs.
JA
Year 18 No 06 March 1995
The Coalburn Ceilidh Band were guest artistes for our February meeting. This group of musicians play regularly at our Club, but, given the guest spot, they had a chance to expand their usual repertoire and include a couple of fiddle solos from Annie Robertson. The band members are Charlie Thonson and Jim Brodie on accordions, Annie Robertson on fiddle and George Walker on keyboard.
Supporting players were Peter Jardine, Linda Riddet, Agnes Hope, Bob Fortune, Arthur Brown and John Anderson on accordions. Dorothy Lawson on keyboard. Bob Henderson, Ian and Kevin Riddet and George Shiels on drums. Gilbert Logan, David Corner and Ian Murray on fiddle. David corner also played concertina and we had songs from Maisie Dickie and Agnes Keachie.