Year 21 No 01 September 1997
For the last (April) Club meeting of our season, we had as our guest artistes Alasdair MacCuish and the Black Rose Ceilidh Band. These young, enthusiastic and talented musicians went down a treat. With Alasdair were Scott Gordon on second accordion, Davie Gracie on keyboard and Ian McFadyen on drums.
Supporting players were, on accordion, Peter Jardine, Jim Paterson, Davy Miller, Ian Gracie, Charlie Todd, John Stewart, John Anderson, Bob Fortune and Alan Gardiner.
On keyboard George Walker, Dorothy Lawson and Bill Ewing.
On drums Tom Hope, George Shiels, Charlie Todd and Bob Henderson.
Our only fiddler was Gilbert Logan and Agnes Keachie sang a couple of songs.
The Committee would like to thank all the musicians who played for us in another successful season, and for all the others who came along and supported the Club. We look forward to seeing everybody next season.
Year 21 No 02 October 1997
The new season started on Sunday, 14th September with a tremendous array of tunes and humour from guest artiste Tom Alexander. With many different styles and some of his own compositions, Tom delighted the large audience in two 45 minute spots. Next year, Tom and his brother Jack will celebrate 40 years in show business and both have been invited next September to allow Biggar to join with them in their celebrations.
Supporting artistes included, on accordion, Jim Brodie, Charlie Thomson, Richard Smith, David Miller, Charlie Todd, Alan Gardiner, Tom Porteous and John Anderson.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, David Corner, Gilbert Logan and Emma Gardiner.
David Corner also played the concertina.
On keyboard Dorothy Lawson and Alan Gardiner.
On drums Bob Henderson, Tom Hope and Charlie Todd.
A great night was had by all.
Next month (12th October) the Club will welcome Morag Robertson. Everyone is encouraged to come along and take part either by playing, dancing or clapping. Some may even want to tap their feet !!
Year 21 No 03 November 1997
On 12th October the Biggar Club welcomed the Morag Robertson Trio as guest artistes. Fronted by Morag on accordion, John and Bill Hendry formed a ‘strings section’ with double bass and electric guitar which complimented Morag’s individual style and selection of Continental and traditional tunes. Although no stranger to the Biggar Club, Morag always finds something new every time she takes the stage and this time was no exception with a great choice of solo and sing-along songs added in for good measure.
Other players taking part in between the guest spots were, on accordion – Peter Jardine, Linda Riddet, John Ritchie, Agnes Hope, Bob Fortune, Charlie Todd, Alan Gardiner, Jim Paterson and John Anderson.
On keyboard were George Walker and Dorothy Lawson.
On drums Bill Buchan, Tom Hope, Kevin Riddet, Ian Riddet and Bob Henderson.
David Corner played both fiddle and concertina ‘but not at the same time’.
Willie Little played his tin whistle.
The David Cunningham Trio will be appearing as guests at the next Club night, 9th November at 7.30 p.m.. Looking forward to another good turnout then.
Year 21 No 04 December 1997 / January 1998
Once again a large and appreciative audience welcomed the guest artistes for November, the David Cunningham Jnr SDB, to the Municipal Hall. David portrayed an excellent style of playing over as very wide variety of popular tunes. He had three supporting players in the form of Neil Galloway on second accordion, Graham Berry on keyboard and Ian Adamson on drums. Ian also added some of the humour in between the musical selections. Altogether an outstanding performance enjoyed by everyone.
Other players, local and not so local, included on accordion – Charlie Thomson, Peter Jardine, Tom Porteous, Jim Paterson, Davy Miller, Ian Gracie, Agnes Hope, Bob Fortune, Charlie Todd, Morag Robertson, Katie Kay, Angus Lyon, Alan Gardiner and Wattie McMillan.
On keyboard George Walker and Dorothy Lawson.
On drums Bob Henderson, Tom Hope, Eck Williamson and Charlie Todd.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, Emma Gardiner and David Corner.
On tin whistle Willie Little.
On pipes David Ketchin.
On concertina David Corner.
And last but noy least, a very talented bobby Torrance on the moothie.
Many thanks to the tremendous turnout of players who made it a night to remember.
The December Club will feature the Bon Accords as guests. This will be on the 14th at the usual time of 7.30 p.m. Make sure you don’t miss it!
Year 21 No 05 February 1998
The Bon Accords took the stage as guest artistes at the December meeting of the Biggar Club and what a wonderful way to finish off 1997. Every tune played was a favourite and each one played seemed to be better than the previous one, the, just as you thought things couldn’t improve further, they did! This Duo provided a great Christmas atmosphere made obvious to the dancers who took to the floor throughout the night. Well done the dancers, keep up the good work.
Other players enjoying a tune included on accordion – Jim Paterson, Davy Miller, Ian Gracie, Agnes Hope, John Anderson, Charlie Todd, Keith Dickson, Nelson Callan, Julie Hamilton, Blair Gardiner, Alistair Dunnet and Alison Carswell..
On keyboard Dorothy Lawson, George Walker and Leigham Brown.
On drums bob Henderson, Tom Hope and Graham Crichton.
On fiddle Gilbert Logan, David Corner and Fiona Johnson.
On tin whistle Willie Little and on concertina David Corner.
Special credit must go to the young players from the Keith Dickson School of Music. Their dedication was expressed through a standard of playing well beyond their years. The whole music scene has a great future ahead with these musicians.
January and the New Year began with Nicol McLaren and the Glencraig SDB appearing as guest artistes. The band itself consisted of Maureen Rutherford on keyboard, Gordon Howe on fiddle, Neil Caul on second box and David Bell on drums. Nicol and the band entertained the fans with the familiar wit and style of his uncle, the late Alex MacArthur. By special request, Nicol in fact played the famous straight tuned box which belonged to Alex, the original founder of the Biggar Club. This brought back many happy memories to the listeners and also to the MacArthur family, Evelyn, Fiona and Gordon who came along to cheer on the guests. The two half hour spots were well received and got the toes tapping. The night ended with a terrific stramash led by co-founder of the Club John Anderson.
In between guest spots, other players taking part included on accordion – Charlie Thomson, Peter Jardine, Jim Paterson, Richard Smith, Nelson Callan, Charlie Todd, Bob Fortune, Jimmy Divers, James Henderson, Alan Gardiner, Jason Dove, Ian Graham, Tom Porteous, Kirsty Bisset and with kind permission from Nicol, John Anderson playing ‘The General’s’ box!
On keyboard Dorothy Lawson, George Walker and Alan Gardiner.
On drums Tom Hope, Eck Williamson and Charlie Todd.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, Emma Gardiner and David Corner.
David also gave us a tune on his concertina.
The next meeting will be held in the usual venue, the Municipal Hall, on 9th February. Come and join us when Tom Porteous and Friends will be welcomed as guests to entertain us.
Year 21 No 06 March 1998
A healthy turnout of both audience and players arrived at the February meeting to show their appreciation to guest artistes Tom Porteous and Friends. The appreciation was well earned by this five five-row button-key player and his friends, consisting of John Douglas on 2nd accordion, Alan Gardiner on keyboard and Ian McRobert on drums. Tom has been a regular player at the Club for many a long year but this was his first time as guest artiste. Presenting a well balanced menu of marches, jigs, two-steps and waltzes, Tom and the boys proved extremely versatile and popular.
Supporting players taking part throughout the night included, on accordion, John Anderson, Charlie Thomson, Peter Jardine, Ian Gracie, Charlie Todd, Alan Gardiner, Bob Fortune, Agnes Hope, Nelson Callan, Keith Dickson and Kirsty Johnson the Under 12 Scottish Champion.
On keyboard George Walker and Keith Dickson.
On drums Tom Hope, Bob Henderson, Eck Williamson and Billy Goodfellow.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, David Logan and Gilbert Logan.
On pipes David Ketchin, on tin whistle Willie Little and on concertina David Corner.
The floor was kept busy once again with the dancers adding to the enjoyment of the evening.
The Alistair Hunter Trio will be appearing on 8th March at 7.30 p.m. in the Municipal Hall. Everybody is welcome to attend and in you play on the night admission is free so bring a box or a fiddle, moothie or spoons and dinna be shy. See you then.
Gilbert Logan
Year 21 No 07 April 1998
The March meeting of the Biggar Club enjoyed a larger than usual turnout of both audience and supporting players to welcome guest artistes The Alistair Hunter Trio. By the end of the night it was more than obvious that the ‘full house’ was well deserved by the Trio. Alistair’s selection of music for the night was complimented to perfection by his playing style and accurate timing and in turn, this thrilled the listeners the whole time.
Supporting players included, on accordion, Peter Jardine, Jim Paterson, Jean McConnachie, Grant McConnell, Nelson Callan, Morgan Leslie, Kenny Johnstone, John Weaks, Pauline Bradley, Robin Waitt, Walter McMillan, Kirsty Johnson, Tom Orr, Kevin Gardiner and Alison Carswell.
On drums Tom Hope, Bob Henderson, Ech Williamson, Ally McIntyre and Charlie Todd.
On keyboard George Walker, Dorothy Lawson and Keith Dickson.
On Lowland pipes Jim McConnachie, on concertina David Corner and on tin whistle Willie Little.
A young band called Toe Tapping Weasels gave an excellent performance. The band was fronted by Alison Carswell on accordion, Alistair Dunnet on 2nd accordion, Fiona Johnson on fiddle, Graeme Crichton on drums and tutor, Keith Dickson on keyboard. Several regular players stood down or gave backing support throughout the night. Many thanks to the players concerned for this gesture allowing some new faces a chance to show what they could do. On April 12th, the 1997-98 season will be rounded off by popular bandleader Robin Brock when there’s sure to be another record attendance.
Gilbert Logan
For the last (April) Club meeting of our season, we had as our guest artistes Alasdair MacCuish and the Black Rose Ceilidh Band. These young, enthusiastic and talented musicians went down a treat. With Alasdair were Scott Gordon on second accordion, Davie Gracie on keyboard and Ian McFadyen on drums.
Supporting players were, on accordion, Peter Jardine, Jim Paterson, Davy Miller, Ian Gracie, Charlie Todd, John Stewart, John Anderson, Bob Fortune and Alan Gardiner.
On keyboard George Walker, Dorothy Lawson and Bill Ewing.
On drums Tom Hope, George Shiels, Charlie Todd and Bob Henderson.
Our only fiddler was Gilbert Logan and Agnes Keachie sang a couple of songs.
The Committee would like to thank all the musicians who played for us in another successful season, and for all the others who came along and supported the Club. We look forward to seeing everybody next season.
Year 21 No 02 October 1997
The new season started on Sunday, 14th September with a tremendous array of tunes and humour from guest artiste Tom Alexander. With many different styles and some of his own compositions, Tom delighted the large audience in two 45 minute spots. Next year, Tom and his brother Jack will celebrate 40 years in show business and both have been invited next September to allow Biggar to join with them in their celebrations.
Supporting artistes included, on accordion, Jim Brodie, Charlie Thomson, Richard Smith, David Miller, Charlie Todd, Alan Gardiner, Tom Porteous and John Anderson.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, David Corner, Gilbert Logan and Emma Gardiner.
David Corner also played the concertina.
On keyboard Dorothy Lawson and Alan Gardiner.
On drums Bob Henderson, Tom Hope and Charlie Todd.
A great night was had by all.
Next month (12th October) the Club will welcome Morag Robertson. Everyone is encouraged to come along and take part either by playing, dancing or clapping. Some may even want to tap their feet !!
Year 21 No 03 November 1997
On 12th October the Biggar Club welcomed the Morag Robertson Trio as guest artistes. Fronted by Morag on accordion, John and Bill Hendry formed a ‘strings section’ with double bass and electric guitar which complimented Morag’s individual style and selection of Continental and traditional tunes. Although no stranger to the Biggar Club, Morag always finds something new every time she takes the stage and this time was no exception with a great choice of solo and sing-along songs added in for good measure.
Other players taking part in between the guest spots were, on accordion – Peter Jardine, Linda Riddet, John Ritchie, Agnes Hope, Bob Fortune, Charlie Todd, Alan Gardiner, Jim Paterson and John Anderson.
On keyboard were George Walker and Dorothy Lawson.
On drums Bill Buchan, Tom Hope, Kevin Riddet, Ian Riddet and Bob Henderson.
David Corner played both fiddle and concertina ‘but not at the same time’.
Willie Little played his tin whistle.
The David Cunningham Trio will be appearing as guests at the next Club night, 9th November at 7.30 p.m.. Looking forward to another good turnout then.
Year 21 No 04 December 1997 / January 1998
Once again a large and appreciative audience welcomed the guest artistes for November, the David Cunningham Jnr SDB, to the Municipal Hall. David portrayed an excellent style of playing over as very wide variety of popular tunes. He had three supporting players in the form of Neil Galloway on second accordion, Graham Berry on keyboard and Ian Adamson on drums. Ian also added some of the humour in between the musical selections. Altogether an outstanding performance enjoyed by everyone.
Other players, local and not so local, included on accordion – Charlie Thomson, Peter Jardine, Tom Porteous, Jim Paterson, Davy Miller, Ian Gracie, Agnes Hope, Bob Fortune, Charlie Todd, Morag Robertson, Katie Kay, Angus Lyon, Alan Gardiner and Wattie McMillan.
On keyboard George Walker and Dorothy Lawson.
On drums Bob Henderson, Tom Hope, Eck Williamson and Charlie Todd.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, Emma Gardiner and David Corner.
On tin whistle Willie Little.
On pipes David Ketchin.
On concertina David Corner.
And last but noy least, a very talented bobby Torrance on the moothie.
Many thanks to the tremendous turnout of players who made it a night to remember.
The December Club will feature the Bon Accords as guests. This will be on the 14th at the usual time of 7.30 p.m. Make sure you don’t miss it!
Year 21 No 05 February 1998
The Bon Accords took the stage as guest artistes at the December meeting of the Biggar Club and what a wonderful way to finish off 1997. Every tune played was a favourite and each one played seemed to be better than the previous one, the, just as you thought things couldn’t improve further, they did! This Duo provided a great Christmas atmosphere made obvious to the dancers who took to the floor throughout the night. Well done the dancers, keep up the good work.
Other players enjoying a tune included on accordion – Jim Paterson, Davy Miller, Ian Gracie, Agnes Hope, John Anderson, Charlie Todd, Keith Dickson, Nelson Callan, Julie Hamilton, Blair Gardiner, Alistair Dunnet and Alison Carswell..
On keyboard Dorothy Lawson, George Walker and Leigham Brown.
On drums bob Henderson, Tom Hope and Graham Crichton.
On fiddle Gilbert Logan, David Corner and Fiona Johnson.
On tin whistle Willie Little and on concertina David Corner.
Special credit must go to the young players from the Keith Dickson School of Music. Their dedication was expressed through a standard of playing well beyond their years. The whole music scene has a great future ahead with these musicians.
January and the New Year began with Nicol McLaren and the Glencraig SDB appearing as guest artistes. The band itself consisted of Maureen Rutherford on keyboard, Gordon Howe on fiddle, Neil Caul on second box and David Bell on drums. Nicol and the band entertained the fans with the familiar wit and style of his uncle, the late Alex MacArthur. By special request, Nicol in fact played the famous straight tuned box which belonged to Alex, the original founder of the Biggar Club. This brought back many happy memories to the listeners and also to the MacArthur family, Evelyn, Fiona and Gordon who came along to cheer on the guests. The two half hour spots were well received and got the toes tapping. The night ended with a terrific stramash led by co-founder of the Club John Anderson.
In between guest spots, other players taking part included on accordion – Charlie Thomson, Peter Jardine, Jim Paterson, Richard Smith, Nelson Callan, Charlie Todd, Bob Fortune, Jimmy Divers, James Henderson, Alan Gardiner, Jason Dove, Ian Graham, Tom Porteous, Kirsty Bisset and with kind permission from Nicol, John Anderson playing ‘The General’s’ box!
On keyboard Dorothy Lawson, George Walker and Alan Gardiner.
On drums Tom Hope, Eck Williamson and Charlie Todd.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, Emma Gardiner and David Corner.
David also gave us a tune on his concertina.
The next meeting will be held in the usual venue, the Municipal Hall, on 9th February. Come and join us when Tom Porteous and Friends will be welcomed as guests to entertain us.
Year 21 No 06 March 1998
A healthy turnout of both audience and players arrived at the February meeting to show their appreciation to guest artistes Tom Porteous and Friends. The appreciation was well earned by this five five-row button-key player and his friends, consisting of John Douglas on 2nd accordion, Alan Gardiner on keyboard and Ian McRobert on drums. Tom has been a regular player at the Club for many a long year but this was his first time as guest artiste. Presenting a well balanced menu of marches, jigs, two-steps and waltzes, Tom and the boys proved extremely versatile and popular.
Supporting players taking part throughout the night included, on accordion, John Anderson, Charlie Thomson, Peter Jardine, Ian Gracie, Charlie Todd, Alan Gardiner, Bob Fortune, Agnes Hope, Nelson Callan, Keith Dickson and Kirsty Johnson the Under 12 Scottish Champion.
On keyboard George Walker and Keith Dickson.
On drums Tom Hope, Bob Henderson, Eck Williamson and Billy Goodfellow.
On fiddle Annie Robertson, David Logan and Gilbert Logan.
On pipes David Ketchin, on tin whistle Willie Little and on concertina David Corner.
The floor was kept busy once again with the dancers adding to the enjoyment of the evening.
The Alistair Hunter Trio will be appearing on 8th March at 7.30 p.m. in the Municipal Hall. Everybody is welcome to attend and in you play on the night admission is free so bring a box or a fiddle, moothie or spoons and dinna be shy. See you then.
Gilbert Logan
Year 21 No 07 April 1998
The March meeting of the Biggar Club enjoyed a larger than usual turnout of both audience and supporting players to welcome guest artistes The Alistair Hunter Trio. By the end of the night it was more than obvious that the ‘full house’ was well deserved by the Trio. Alistair’s selection of music for the night was complimented to perfection by his playing style and accurate timing and in turn, this thrilled the listeners the whole time.
Supporting players included, on accordion, Peter Jardine, Jim Paterson, Jean McConnachie, Grant McConnell, Nelson Callan, Morgan Leslie, Kenny Johnstone, John Weaks, Pauline Bradley, Robin Waitt, Walter McMillan, Kirsty Johnson, Tom Orr, Kevin Gardiner and Alison Carswell.
On drums Tom Hope, Bob Henderson, Ech Williamson, Ally McIntyre and Charlie Todd.
On keyboard George Walker, Dorothy Lawson and Keith Dickson.
On Lowland pipes Jim McConnachie, on concertina David Corner and on tin whistle Willie Little.
A young band called Toe Tapping Weasels gave an excellent performance. The band was fronted by Alison Carswell on accordion, Alistair Dunnet on 2nd accordion, Fiona Johnson on fiddle, Graeme Crichton on drums and tutor, Keith Dickson on keyboard. Several regular players stood down or gave backing support throughout the night. Many thanks to the players concerned for this gesture allowing some new faces a chance to show what they could do. On April 12th, the 1997-98 season will be rounded off by popular bandleader Robin Brock when there’s sure to be another record attendance.
Gilbert Logan