Alasdair MacLeod
by Charlie Kirkpatrick
Those of you who attend the Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival will find it difficult to believe but last October during the Festival I found a spare half hour when there was a lull in the festivities. This gave me an opportunity to sit down and have a chat with fellow islander and fellow former pupil of Oban High School, bass player Alasdair Macleod.
Alasdair was born in Tobermory on the 1 May 1953, the third of four children to Bobby and Jean Macleod. Bobby was of course the famous dance band leader and in fact one of our Association’s very first guests of honour. Along with his wife Jean they were mine hosts of the Mishnish Hotel in Tobermory, at that time a Mecca for all lovers of our music. Alasdair’s brother Robert also went on to play the accordion and front his own band whilst his other brother Duncan was a talented footballer with Southampton and Dundee United amongst other teams. His younger sister Rhoda established, and still runs, the world renowned Tobermory Chocolate Factory.
Growing up in Tobermory Alasdair describes as being “heaven”. All his spare time was spent on the sea – rowing and sailing being full time summer pursuits. He completed his secondary school education at Oban High School and while there, he represented the school twice at the National Schools Regatta at Clynder on the Clyde. At this time he would also compete annually every July along with his father in the West Highland Yachting Week, an event which is one of the highlights of the Scottish yachting calendar. Another yachting highlight in 1972 was a race from Inverness to Bergen on a 35 foot yacht with the Clyde Cruising Club, to celebrate the centenary of Bergen Yacht Club.
After leaving school, Alasdair’s work involved doing island coach tours of Mull and this included visits to Duart Castle, the seat of the Clan Maclean. On his numerous visits to the castle, he met his wife Marti who had come from South Africa to work at Saint James’ Palace in London for Lord Maclean. During the summer months, Lord Maclean and his entourage moved residence from London to Duart. In 1987 the couple moved to South Africa where their first two daughters Kirsty and Catriona were born in Port Elizabeth with a third daughter Annabel being born on their return to Tobermory in 1992. Like any parent, Alasdair is immensely proud of his family.
Driving has always been an enjoyable pursuit for Alasdair so it was natural that this would become his livelihood. He started driving coaches with a local firm on Mull in 1974 and apart from his sojourn in South Africa, where he was a professional driving instructor, he is still in the same job only today he is the Transport Manager for West Coast Motors on Mull. In fact when Alasdair later played in the Jim Johnstone band, he did all the driving and as a result Jim nicknamed him Andy Gow after the legendary driver with Jimmy Shand’s band. Also when in South Africa he competed in coach driving competitions and represented South Africa twice at World championships.
Growing up in a musical environment, as a teenager Alasdair started to play the six string guitar along with a local group and also with his father at ceilidhs and dances. He then progressed to the bass guitar playing in his father’s band, with Calum Maclean, and also with his brother Robert. The famous fiddler Pibroch Mackenzie also featured in the bands of Bobby Macleod and Calum Maclean. Gigs were mostly on Mull with the occasional sortie to Oban, Taynuilt and even Glasgow. His first LP/studio recording was with his father on “Bobby’s Kind of Music” which was recorded in Craighall Studios Edinburgh in 1969. A bass guitar was used on that recording but it was soon replaced by a double bass purchased from Archie Oliphant, Jimmy Shand’s bass player, and that was Alasdair fully committed to Scottish dance music.
In the nineteen seventies, Tobermory and in particular the Mishnish Hotel was a popular destination for all our leading dance bands. Iain Macphail first came to Mull in 1972 and after a mammoth musical session in the Mishnish, Alasdair was invited to Edinburgh for a week to play with Iain’s band which included Alan Johnston on fiddle, Drew Dalgleish on drums, Davy Flockhart on piano along with Iain on accordion. This week was a life changing experience for Alasdair because he started to play most weekends with the band – it could be Duns, Bolton, Leeds, Eastbourne or even Portsmouth. His first BBC broadcast was with this band in March 1973. He started part time coach driving in the summer of 1974 and this curtailed the playing although he still managed to play on the odd weekend and do broadcasts with Iain, Eric Goodfellow and others. Another highlight was in May 1975 when he was invited to tour Australia and New Zealand with the great Jimmy Blue band accompanying Andy Stewart.
After that summer season finished, Alasdair was having a few days break staying with Drew Dalgleish in Hawick. As Drew was playing with Jim Johnstone at the time, Alasdair went with him one night to Bobby Colgan’s bar The Chase in Bonnyrigg to hear the band. Robin Brock, who was playing bass in the band, persuaded Jim to let Alasdair play the bass and he would play second box. This resulted in Alasdair joining Jim’s band for two winters – television shows Songs of Scotland, Out and About with Robin Hall and Jimmie McGregor, live Hogmanay Show, Radio Forth broadcasts and a week at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen were just some of the many highlights.
Full time employment on Mull meant leaving Jim’s band because it restricted the amount of gigs that could be done although he still managed to do broadcasts with numerous other bands. On the subject of broadcasts, Alasdair says that he doesn’t consider the amount of broadcasts to be “notches on his gun” and as a result he has no idea how many bands or actual broadcasts or recordings he has taken part in. He treats every broadcast with the same respect and enthusiasm as his very first one and apart from his four year spell in South Africa he has been a broadcasting bass player since 1973. Over the years, Alasdair has been delighted to have been asked on many occasions by the “younger generation” to compete in the band section at the Musselburgh/Inchyra festival. He particularly remembers one young chap, Craig McCallum, who was the first band to win both band trophies at his first attempt and who later went on to become an established broadcasting band.
I have seen at first hand the respect that Alasdair Macleod is held in not only as a musician but also as a person and the National Association is delighted to welcome him to our annual Celebrity Luncheon as one of our Guests of Honour.
Box and Fiddle
May 2017
Alasdair was born in Tobermory on the 1 May 1953, the third of four children to Bobby and Jean Macleod. Bobby was of course the famous dance band leader and in fact one of our Association’s very first guests of honour. Along with his wife Jean they were mine hosts of the Mishnish Hotel in Tobermory, at that time a Mecca for all lovers of our music. Alasdair’s brother Robert also went on to play the accordion and front his own band whilst his other brother Duncan was a talented footballer with Southampton and Dundee United amongst other teams. His younger sister Rhoda established, and still runs, the world renowned Tobermory Chocolate Factory.
Growing up in Tobermory Alasdair describes as being “heaven”. All his spare time was spent on the sea – rowing and sailing being full time summer pursuits. He completed his secondary school education at Oban High School and while there, he represented the school twice at the National Schools Regatta at Clynder on the Clyde. At this time he would also compete annually every July along with his father in the West Highland Yachting Week, an event which is one of the highlights of the Scottish yachting calendar. Another yachting highlight in 1972 was a race from Inverness to Bergen on a 35 foot yacht with the Clyde Cruising Club, to celebrate the centenary of Bergen Yacht Club.
After leaving school, Alasdair’s work involved doing island coach tours of Mull and this included visits to Duart Castle, the seat of the Clan Maclean. On his numerous visits to the castle, he met his wife Marti who had come from South Africa to work at Saint James’ Palace in London for Lord Maclean. During the summer months, Lord Maclean and his entourage moved residence from London to Duart. In 1987 the couple moved to South Africa where their first two daughters Kirsty and Catriona were born in Port Elizabeth with a third daughter Annabel being born on their return to Tobermory in 1992. Like any parent, Alasdair is immensely proud of his family.
Driving has always been an enjoyable pursuit for Alasdair so it was natural that this would become his livelihood. He started driving coaches with a local firm on Mull in 1974 and apart from his sojourn in South Africa, where he was a professional driving instructor, he is still in the same job only today he is the Transport Manager for West Coast Motors on Mull. In fact when Alasdair later played in the Jim Johnstone band, he did all the driving and as a result Jim nicknamed him Andy Gow after the legendary driver with Jimmy Shand’s band. Also when in South Africa he competed in coach driving competitions and represented South Africa twice at World championships.
Growing up in a musical environment, as a teenager Alasdair started to play the six string guitar along with a local group and also with his father at ceilidhs and dances. He then progressed to the bass guitar playing in his father’s band, with Calum Maclean, and also with his brother Robert. The famous fiddler Pibroch Mackenzie also featured in the bands of Bobby Macleod and Calum Maclean. Gigs were mostly on Mull with the occasional sortie to Oban, Taynuilt and even Glasgow. His first LP/studio recording was with his father on “Bobby’s Kind of Music” which was recorded in Craighall Studios Edinburgh in 1969. A bass guitar was used on that recording but it was soon replaced by a double bass purchased from Archie Oliphant, Jimmy Shand’s bass player, and that was Alasdair fully committed to Scottish dance music.
In the nineteen seventies, Tobermory and in particular the Mishnish Hotel was a popular destination for all our leading dance bands. Iain Macphail first came to Mull in 1972 and after a mammoth musical session in the Mishnish, Alasdair was invited to Edinburgh for a week to play with Iain’s band which included Alan Johnston on fiddle, Drew Dalgleish on drums, Davy Flockhart on piano along with Iain on accordion. This week was a life changing experience for Alasdair because he started to play most weekends with the band – it could be Duns, Bolton, Leeds, Eastbourne or even Portsmouth. His first BBC broadcast was with this band in March 1973. He started part time coach driving in the summer of 1974 and this curtailed the playing although he still managed to play on the odd weekend and do broadcasts with Iain, Eric Goodfellow and others. Another highlight was in May 1975 when he was invited to tour Australia and New Zealand with the great Jimmy Blue band accompanying Andy Stewart.
After that summer season finished, Alasdair was having a few days break staying with Drew Dalgleish in Hawick. As Drew was playing with Jim Johnstone at the time, Alasdair went with him one night to Bobby Colgan’s bar The Chase in Bonnyrigg to hear the band. Robin Brock, who was playing bass in the band, persuaded Jim to let Alasdair play the bass and he would play second box. This resulted in Alasdair joining Jim’s band for two winters – television shows Songs of Scotland, Out and About with Robin Hall and Jimmie McGregor, live Hogmanay Show, Radio Forth broadcasts and a week at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen were just some of the many highlights.
Full time employment on Mull meant leaving Jim’s band because it restricted the amount of gigs that could be done although he still managed to do broadcasts with numerous other bands. On the subject of broadcasts, Alasdair says that he doesn’t consider the amount of broadcasts to be “notches on his gun” and as a result he has no idea how many bands or actual broadcasts or recordings he has taken part in. He treats every broadcast with the same respect and enthusiasm as his very first one and apart from his four year spell in South Africa he has been a broadcasting bass player since 1973. Over the years, Alasdair has been delighted to have been asked on many occasions by the “younger generation” to compete in the band section at the Musselburgh/Inchyra festival. He particularly remembers one young chap, Craig McCallum, who was the first band to win both band trophies at his first attempt and who later went on to become an established broadcasting band.
I have seen at first hand the respect that Alasdair Macleod is held in not only as a musician but also as a person and the National Association is delighted to welcome him to our annual Celebrity Luncheon as one of our Guests of Honour.
Box and Fiddle
May 2017