Year 35 No 1 - September 2010
It is with great sadness that I must advise that after 33 years as a foremost Club in the North-East of Scotland that we will no longer be operating as a Club.
This is not only because of reducing numbers over the past five years but because of the current instability of our venue, which we have used for the past 20 years, namely the Torryburn Hotel, but I won’t bore you with the whole story.
I suppose we could blame the current economic climate for the fragile nature of a lot of venues in Scotland at the present, and we should be thankful for the many years of use that these venues have offered in our strive to provide a cosy venue to operate from, on a monthly basis. I do thank the venue for allowing that to happen in the past numerous years. The Kintore Club has been a great starting up point and platform for many of the names that we still see on the Scottish music circuit to this day, and also it has been a starting point for many other players who have used it solely as their only stage to present their performances on a monthly basis.
Some of the names who have been linked in the past 33 years to Kintore Club are as follows – Gordon Duguid of second box fame with the Graeme Mitchell Band ; Eddie Edmonds, one of the originators of the Club and still active with his band in the North-East and who actually started performing at the Club purely for enjoyment ; Neil Dawson from Alford on fiddle ; and of course myself who as you will already know started off playing the fiddle at this Club and have since moved on to double bass and now bass guitar with numerous bands and fiddle groups, actively promoting and encouraging Scottish music worldwide. Without the Kintore Club I suppose I would only have been known for fiddle playing within the S&R Society scene. Some people might wish I had only done that!!
Other regular players of the present and past have been
Bert Watt on accordion
Johnny Walker from Aberdeen on accordion
Jocky Grieve from Culter on button-box
Willie Greenlaw from Inverurie on melodeon and
Rosie Kellas on keyboards - a most loyal accompanist, who has never missed a meeting in the past 20 years at least. Sincere apologies if there are names that I have not mentioned, you are all in my thoughts and memories at the moment.
Of all the Clubs in the North-East we were never a Club who was afraid to bring along the best of the guests available at the time. Some of those names include Ian Powrie, John Huband and the Tayside Sound, John Ellis and his Band, Alasdair Fraser on fiddle, Lindsay Ross and his Band, Bobby Crowe and Angus Fitchet, Jimmy Blue Trio, Bill black and his Band, Graeme Mitchell Band, Shwabish Gmuund Accordion Orchestra from Germany and numerous others too many to list here.
Of course no Club would survive any climates without the regular Committee members and supporters who come along on a monthly basis. In the past we have had very regular back-up of only two Secretaries and Treasurers for those 33 years, and a very loyal support, not from Kintore itself, but mainly from Aberdeen and rural North East areas.
A special thank you to my mum and dad who were in these capacities for about 14 years and since that time these jobs have been undertaken by Keith and Helene Malcolm from Aberdeen. A big thank you to all.
Without feeling as though I am taking over the whole of this month’s issue of the B&F, I would like to wish all the other Clubs in Scotland all the best for their continued promotion of the Accordion and fiddle scene, and can only hope that when one of the Founder Clubs folds in such a manner, that hopefully the members and players can see their way to moving on and supporting or adopting another local Club in order to help them to survive in these difficult climes.
Thank you all once again and I will report in the next issue about what charities we have decided to dispense our remaining funds for good causes.
Brian Cruickshank (Vice President)
It is with great sadness that I must advise that after 33 years as a foremost Club in the North-East of Scotland that we will no longer be operating as a Club.
This is not only because of reducing numbers over the past five years but because of the current instability of our venue, which we have used for the past 20 years, namely the Torryburn Hotel, but I won’t bore you with the whole story.
I suppose we could blame the current economic climate for the fragile nature of a lot of venues in Scotland at the present, and we should be thankful for the many years of use that these venues have offered in our strive to provide a cosy venue to operate from, on a monthly basis. I do thank the venue for allowing that to happen in the past numerous years. The Kintore Club has been a great starting up point and platform for many of the names that we still see on the Scottish music circuit to this day, and also it has been a starting point for many other players who have used it solely as their only stage to present their performances on a monthly basis.
Some of the names who have been linked in the past 33 years to Kintore Club are as follows – Gordon Duguid of second box fame with the Graeme Mitchell Band ; Eddie Edmonds, one of the originators of the Club and still active with his band in the North-East and who actually started performing at the Club purely for enjoyment ; Neil Dawson from Alford on fiddle ; and of course myself who as you will already know started off playing the fiddle at this Club and have since moved on to double bass and now bass guitar with numerous bands and fiddle groups, actively promoting and encouraging Scottish music worldwide. Without the Kintore Club I suppose I would only have been known for fiddle playing within the S&R Society scene. Some people might wish I had only done that!!
Other regular players of the present and past have been
Bert Watt on accordion
Johnny Walker from Aberdeen on accordion
Jocky Grieve from Culter on button-box
Willie Greenlaw from Inverurie on melodeon and
Rosie Kellas on keyboards - a most loyal accompanist, who has never missed a meeting in the past 20 years at least. Sincere apologies if there are names that I have not mentioned, you are all in my thoughts and memories at the moment.
Of all the Clubs in the North-East we were never a Club who was afraid to bring along the best of the guests available at the time. Some of those names include Ian Powrie, John Huband and the Tayside Sound, John Ellis and his Band, Alasdair Fraser on fiddle, Lindsay Ross and his Band, Bobby Crowe and Angus Fitchet, Jimmy Blue Trio, Bill black and his Band, Graeme Mitchell Band, Shwabish Gmuund Accordion Orchestra from Germany and numerous others too many to list here.
Of course no Club would survive any climates without the regular Committee members and supporters who come along on a monthly basis. In the past we have had very regular back-up of only two Secretaries and Treasurers for those 33 years, and a very loyal support, not from Kintore itself, but mainly from Aberdeen and rural North East areas.
A special thank you to my mum and dad who were in these capacities for about 14 years and since that time these jobs have been undertaken by Keith and Helene Malcolm from Aberdeen. A big thank you to all.
Without feeling as though I am taking over the whole of this month’s issue of the B&F, I would like to wish all the other Clubs in Scotland all the best for their continued promotion of the Accordion and fiddle scene, and can only hope that when one of the Founder Clubs folds in such a manner, that hopefully the members and players can see their way to moving on and supporting or adopting another local Club in order to help them to survive in these difficult climes.
Thank you all once again and I will report in the next issue about what charities we have decided to dispense our remaining funds for good causes.
Brian Cruickshank (Vice President)