Guests of Honour 2022
Cecil Hughson – in Interview with Alan Gifford
B&F April 2022
Year 45 No 04
What has 9 legs and swings? The answer is Da Fustra Dance Band, but the explanation will follow later!
Cecil Hughson was born on the Island of Yell in Shetland on 20th April 1951, sharing a birthday with other notable individuals such as Adolf Hitler and Napoleon III. However, Cecil says neither of those was ever able to play the bass as well as he can.
As he grew up at home, there was an organ, a fiddle and an accordion, and Cecil started tinkering with the one that didn’t need constant pedalling or scraping. He found that he could actually play tunes on the accordion and played it at school, although he never received any formal tuition. However, he was tempted by the guitar and bought both a guitar and a Mel Bay tutor, and by following the book he was soon able to play chords – and sing – although by his own admission, the singing was never going to work! He then bought a bass guitar and found fairly soon that his talent on the bass had surpassed that on the accordion.
When he moved to the Anderson Educational Institute in Lerwick for his final two years before heading to university he was able to join in the music making there, playing at concerts and dances. He was also in one of the school’s Up Helly Aa squads, and although he was only ever in two squads, he has played at 42 consecutive Up Helly Aa Festivals!
Moving to Edinburgh to study, he joined the Edinburgh & District Shetland Association, in which his aunt and uncle, Gracie and Bobby Tulloch, were heavily involved. Uncle Bobby was a professional photographer and Cecil’s love of photography soon blossomed. He also served on the Committee of the Shetland Association in their hall in Pilrig Street for four years before returning to Shetland.
While he was in Edinburgh, his love of music threw together his cousin Rea McLeod, brothers Maurice and Rob Smith and Douglas Johnstone, all fellow Shetlanders, and they started a band to play initially at The Shetland Association. The first line-up of what was to become Da Fustra was Cecil and Rob on accordions, Maurice on guitar, Rea on piano and Douglas on drums. They began to play regularly, but soon discovered that things were often never straightforward: for instance, ¾ pipe marches are not ideal for a Gay Gordons!
Cecil also remembers (although he has tried SO hard to forget) an early booking they had in Edinburgh. As far as they were concerned it was for a wedding, but when they arrived at the hotel they were surprised to see a cake with 21 on it. The reality hit them when they saw that it was actually a 21st Birthday Party with mostly teenagers, all looking for the pop music of the day – not waltzes, Gay Gordons and Eightsome Reels. A long night indeed! They did survive, however, and soon afterwards Cecil moved to the bass guitar which is where he still is, more than 50 years later.
After graduating as a technical teacher, he moved back to Shetland and taught for one year at the Institute before moving to Sandwick’s Junior High School. This is where he settled when he married Sheila in 1975, and where they had two daughters and three sons. However, after 6 years of teaching, Cecil left the profession and took the plunge to set up The Camera Shop in Lerwick, where he worked until retiring in 2017.
As well as photography, Cecil also started framing and over the years has made thousands of photo frames to order. Sheila was also really involved on the photographic side and between them they have photographed over 500 weddings. These haven’t always just been local ones, as they have taken wedding photos in Trinidad, in Miami, and at the Ice Hotel in Sweden. Since the Ice Hotel is above the Artic Circle, and Trinidad isn’t too far from the Equator, the wedding photos should be worth comparing!
Da Fustra continued playing in Shetland when three of the original members moved back in the early 1970s. The personnel in the band has naturally changed over the years, and Cecil is the only founder member still playing in the band. The band has travelled extensively, with a number of tours of Scotland, incorporating both Accordion & Fiddle Clubs and dances. They have also played in the north-east of England and the Faeroes, and, although the band hasn’t actually played in Norway, they were booked to play on the ferry as it sailed between Bergen and Lerwick! Orkney has always been a very welcoming place to play and Cecil says there are many happy memories of trips there.
One of the regular guest musicians playing with Da Fustra is Iain MacPhail. Cecil first met Iain when visiting Jamie’s Scottish Evening when he a Sheila were on their honeymoon. They have been family friends ever since, and Iain has written tunes for Cecil and Sheila, as well as for other members of the band. In fact, on the band’s last trip to Edinburgh, pre-pandemic, Iain joined them when they renewed their connection with the Edinburgh Shetland Association to play at the Association’s 90th Anniversary in the Balmoral Hotel – a memorable night.
Da Fustra is the only local band which has taken part in the Shetland Accordion & fiddle Festival every year, and Cecil claims the honour of being the only musician who has played at the Grand Dance at every one of these Festivals. He also says he intends to play at many more before he hangs up his bass! Cecil was pleased to see many of the Grand Dances featured by Ewan Galloway and Derek Hamilton in their special programmes when the Festival was postponed because of the pandemic.
Cecil joined the Shetland A&F Club Committee over 40 years ago and served as Treasurer for much of his time on the Committee. He was involved when the bold step was made to launch the very popular Shetland A&F Festival. The Camera Shop became a very useful Main Street stopping point for getting Club memberships and purchasing tickets, as well as an excellent source of all things photographic! It was with a fellow member of the Committee, Gussie Angus, that Cecil took over presenting the long running BBC Radio Shetland programme Catgut & Ivory more than 25 years ago. After Gussie sadly passed away in 2019, he co-opted Alan Gifford to join him and they feature all that is happening on the local accordion & fiddle scene.
An explanation is of course required for the original question: What has 9 legs and swings? Twenty years ago, Cecil had a triple bypass which worked very well, but in the last few years he started having complications with his diabetes and circulation. After various treatments the only course of action was a lower right leg amputation. While this naturally slowed him down to begin with, he has now a prothesis and is able to get around pretty much as normal, if not as fast! His sense of humour certainly has not been affected and he has a stock of ‘leg’ jokes to make light of his disability. He admits that he does occasionally have a twinge of guilt as he is unable to carry his bass or amp into gigs, but he doesn’t let it bother him!
Much of his time is now focused on his four lovely grandchildren. They have regular childminding duties with the three children in Shetland, but the restrictions of the last two years have prevented Cecil from seeing his grandson in Inverkeithing as much as he would like, relying on Skype to watch him grow – hopefully this will change in the months ahead.
Although his family and work have naturally been so important to him, he openly admits that music is what gives him that extra personal enjoyment. He says that he has never been happier than with the band’s current line-up of James Leask on accordion, Alan Gifford (fiddle), Derek Hendry (piano) and Kevin Gifford (drums). His commitment to music over the past 50 or so years (and the years to come!) at Club, Festival, and of course on a personal level makes Cecil a deserving recipient of a Guest of Honour award.
By Maurice Smith
Cecil and I go back a long way (to the start of the 70’s) – I was even Best Man at his wedding. He’s always been a kind-hearted body, and has helped many a person, on condition that no-one was ever told about it.
He has always been resourceful, and I think the phrase ‘thinking out of the box’ was coined for him. Whilst at Teacher Training college he noticed that the date of a Christmas term exam would mean that he couldn’t catch the ferry home from Aberdeen until the next week (the ferry only ran twice a week). No problem – he went to the College Office to ask if the date could be changed and they agreed!
The ’pre-Fustra’ band consisting of Cecil and my brother Rob Smith on accordions and myself on guitar decided to cut a disc – you could send away a tape, and have a vinyl disc mase. It was an instant sell-out! All three copies selling immediately! Would it be a collectors’ now?
The recording was done on a big Grundig tape recorder belonging to Cecil’s uncle Bobby. We thought the sound was a bit too treble, so the recording was done with Cecil’s sock over the microphone.
Cecil Hughson was born on the Island of Yell in Shetland on 20th April 1951, sharing a birthday with other notable individuals such as Adolf Hitler and Napoleon III. However, Cecil says neither of those was ever able to play the bass as well as he can.
As he grew up at home, there was an organ, a fiddle and an accordion, and Cecil started tinkering with the one that didn’t need constant pedalling or scraping. He found that he could actually play tunes on the accordion and played it at school, although he never received any formal tuition. However, he was tempted by the guitar and bought both a guitar and a Mel Bay tutor, and by following the book he was soon able to play chords – and sing – although by his own admission, the singing was never going to work! He then bought a bass guitar and found fairly soon that his talent on the bass had surpassed that on the accordion.
When he moved to the Anderson Educational Institute in Lerwick for his final two years before heading to university he was able to join in the music making there, playing at concerts and dances. He was also in one of the school’s Up Helly Aa squads, and although he was only ever in two squads, he has played at 42 consecutive Up Helly Aa Festivals!
Moving to Edinburgh to study, he joined the Edinburgh & District Shetland Association, in which his aunt and uncle, Gracie and Bobby Tulloch, were heavily involved. Uncle Bobby was a professional photographer and Cecil’s love of photography soon blossomed. He also served on the Committee of the Shetland Association in their hall in Pilrig Street for four years before returning to Shetland.
While he was in Edinburgh, his love of music threw together his cousin Rea McLeod, brothers Maurice and Rob Smith and Douglas Johnstone, all fellow Shetlanders, and they started a band to play initially at The Shetland Association. The first line-up of what was to become Da Fustra was Cecil and Rob on accordions, Maurice on guitar, Rea on piano and Douglas on drums. They began to play regularly, but soon discovered that things were often never straightforward: for instance, ¾ pipe marches are not ideal for a Gay Gordons!
Cecil also remembers (although he has tried SO hard to forget) an early booking they had in Edinburgh. As far as they were concerned it was for a wedding, but when they arrived at the hotel they were surprised to see a cake with 21 on it. The reality hit them when they saw that it was actually a 21st Birthday Party with mostly teenagers, all looking for the pop music of the day – not waltzes, Gay Gordons and Eightsome Reels. A long night indeed! They did survive, however, and soon afterwards Cecil moved to the bass guitar which is where he still is, more than 50 years later.
After graduating as a technical teacher, he moved back to Shetland and taught for one year at the Institute before moving to Sandwick’s Junior High School. This is where he settled when he married Sheila in 1975, and where they had two daughters and three sons. However, after 6 years of teaching, Cecil left the profession and took the plunge to set up The Camera Shop in Lerwick, where he worked until retiring in 2017.
As well as photography, Cecil also started framing and over the years has made thousands of photo frames to order. Sheila was also really involved on the photographic side and between them they have photographed over 500 weddings. These haven’t always just been local ones, as they have taken wedding photos in Trinidad, in Miami, and at the Ice Hotel in Sweden. Since the Ice Hotel is above the Artic Circle, and Trinidad isn’t too far from the Equator, the wedding photos should be worth comparing!
Da Fustra continued playing in Shetland when three of the original members moved back in the early 1970s. The personnel in the band has naturally changed over the years, and Cecil is the only founder member still playing in the band. The band has travelled extensively, with a number of tours of Scotland, incorporating both Accordion & Fiddle Clubs and dances. They have also played in the north-east of England and the Faeroes, and, although the band hasn’t actually played in Norway, they were booked to play on the ferry as it sailed between Bergen and Lerwick! Orkney has always been a very welcoming place to play and Cecil says there are many happy memories of trips there.
One of the regular guest musicians playing with Da Fustra is Iain MacPhail. Cecil first met Iain when visiting Jamie’s Scottish Evening when he a Sheila were on their honeymoon. They have been family friends ever since, and Iain has written tunes for Cecil and Sheila, as well as for other members of the band. In fact, on the band’s last trip to Edinburgh, pre-pandemic, Iain joined them when they renewed their connection with the Edinburgh Shetland Association to play at the Association’s 90th Anniversary in the Balmoral Hotel – a memorable night.
Da Fustra is the only local band which has taken part in the Shetland Accordion & fiddle Festival every year, and Cecil claims the honour of being the only musician who has played at the Grand Dance at every one of these Festivals. He also says he intends to play at many more before he hangs up his bass! Cecil was pleased to see many of the Grand Dances featured by Ewan Galloway and Derek Hamilton in their special programmes when the Festival was postponed because of the pandemic.
Cecil joined the Shetland A&F Club Committee over 40 years ago and served as Treasurer for much of his time on the Committee. He was involved when the bold step was made to launch the very popular Shetland A&F Festival. The Camera Shop became a very useful Main Street stopping point for getting Club memberships and purchasing tickets, as well as an excellent source of all things photographic! It was with a fellow member of the Committee, Gussie Angus, that Cecil took over presenting the long running BBC Radio Shetland programme Catgut & Ivory more than 25 years ago. After Gussie sadly passed away in 2019, he co-opted Alan Gifford to join him and they feature all that is happening on the local accordion & fiddle scene.
An explanation is of course required for the original question: What has 9 legs and swings? Twenty years ago, Cecil had a triple bypass which worked very well, but in the last few years he started having complications with his diabetes and circulation. After various treatments the only course of action was a lower right leg amputation. While this naturally slowed him down to begin with, he has now a prothesis and is able to get around pretty much as normal, if not as fast! His sense of humour certainly has not been affected and he has a stock of ‘leg’ jokes to make light of his disability. He admits that he does occasionally have a twinge of guilt as he is unable to carry his bass or amp into gigs, but he doesn’t let it bother him!
Much of his time is now focused on his four lovely grandchildren. They have regular childminding duties with the three children in Shetland, but the restrictions of the last two years have prevented Cecil from seeing his grandson in Inverkeithing as much as he would like, relying on Skype to watch him grow – hopefully this will change in the months ahead.
Although his family and work have naturally been so important to him, he openly admits that music is what gives him that extra personal enjoyment. He says that he has never been happier than with the band’s current line-up of James Leask on accordion, Alan Gifford (fiddle), Derek Hendry (piano) and Kevin Gifford (drums). His commitment to music over the past 50 or so years (and the years to come!) at Club, Festival, and of course on a personal level makes Cecil a deserving recipient of a Guest of Honour award.
By Maurice Smith
Cecil and I go back a long way (to the start of the 70’s) – I was even Best Man at his wedding. He’s always been a kind-hearted body, and has helped many a person, on condition that no-one was ever told about it.
He has always been resourceful, and I think the phrase ‘thinking out of the box’ was coined for him. Whilst at Teacher Training college he noticed that the date of a Christmas term exam would mean that he couldn’t catch the ferry home from Aberdeen until the next week (the ferry only ran twice a week). No problem – he went to the College Office to ask if the date could be changed and they agreed!
The ’pre-Fustra’ band consisting of Cecil and my brother Rob Smith on accordions and myself on guitar decided to cut a disc – you could send away a tape, and have a vinyl disc mase. It was an instant sell-out! All three copies selling immediately! Would it be a collectors’ now?
The recording was done on a big Grundig tape recorder belonging to Cecil’s uncle Bobby. We thought the sound was a bit too treble, so the recording was done with Cecil’s sock over the microphone.