Box and Fiddle Archive
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    • A - B Articles >
      • Mickie Ainsworth
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        • 1998 - 40 Years in Showbiz
        • Oct 2008 - 50th Anniversary
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        • 2009 Guest of honour
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        • Nov 2013 Jack's Obituary
      • Paul Anderson of Tarland
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      • Bill Black >
        • 2006
        • March 1983
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      • Jimmy Blue >
        • Oct / Nov 1990
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      • Joan Blue (1987) >
        • Joan Blue (2016)
      • David Bowen
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        • Oct 1982
        • Feb 1982
        • Mar 2014
      • Bill Brown (CD Reviewer)
      • Bobby Brown (Adam Rennie Quartet)
      • Bobby Brown (Canada) >
        • March 1982
        • April 1997
        • January 2007
        • May 2011
      • Felix Burns
    • A - B Obituaries >
      • Bobby Abbott (2016)
      • Mickie Ainsworth (2012)
      • Tom Alexander MBE (2020)
      • Ian Anderson (Forres) 2004
      • John Anderson (2005)
      • Will Atkinson (2003)
      • Dave Barclay (2010)
      • JIm Barrie (2016)
      • Bill Black (2016)
      • Jim Berry (2012)
      • Jimmy Blue (1999)
      • Bill Brian (2011)
      • Jim Brown (1998)
    • C - D Articles >
      • Stuart Cameron
      • John Carmichael
      • Rab Carruthers
      • Iain Cathcart
      • Bobby Coghill
      • Bobby Colgan
      • Jack Cooper
      • Charlie Cowie
      • Jim Crawford
      • John Crawford
      • Bobby Crowe
      • David Cunningham Snr
      • George Darling
      • Jack Delaney
      • Keith Dickson
      • Roger Dobson
      • Blair Douglas >
        • Run Rig Dance Band
      • John Douglas
    • C - D Obituaries >
      • Angus Cameron (1998)
      • Colin Campbell (2015)
      • Duncan Campbell (2011)
      • Tom Clark (2020)
      • Ronnie Coburn (2010)
      • Bobby Colgan (2020)
      • Terry Connor (2000)
      • Ronnie Cooper (1982)
      • Alan ' Barney' Coulson (2020)
      • Charlie Cowie (1995)
      • Ernie Cowie (2009)
      • Billy Craib (2019)
      • Jim Crawford (2007)
      • John Crawford (2020)
      • Ian Crichton (1934 - 99)
      • Bobby Cronie (1998)
      • Roger Crook (1942 - 2013)
      • Bobby Crowe (2014)
      • Tony Dalton (2014)
      • Adrian Dante (2005)
      • Margaret Davidson (2020)
      • Robin Davidson (2020)
      • Jim Devlin (1989)
      • Fred Donald (Forres) 2017
      • Ian Duncan (2011)
      • Maurice Duncan (2017)
    • E - G Articles >
      • Jimmy Edwards
      • John Ellis
      • Robin Ellis >
        • Robin Ellis
      • Jack Emblow
      • Bill Ewan
      • Colin Finlayson
      • Angus Fitchet
      • David Flockhart
      • Ewan Galloway
      • Graham Geddes
      • Ron Gonella >
        • Mar 1994
        • Oct 1982
      • Rob Gordon
      • Niel Gow
      • Billy Grant (drummer)
    • E - G Obituaries >
      • Tommy Edmondson (2001)
      • Bob Edward (1998)
      • Peem Edwards (1999)
      • John Ellis (2015)
      • John Fairbairn (2003)
      • Frank Farquharson (2002)
      • Colin Finlayson (1952-93)
      • Angus Fitchet (1998)
      • Tommy Ford (2017)
      • John Gibson (1961 - 1990)
      • Eric Goodfellow (2008)
      • Joe Gordon (2020)
      • Rob Gordon (24/04/94)
      • Hebbie Gray (2018)
      • Jack Gray (1929-2013)
      • Wilbert (Bill) Grund (2010)
    • H - J Articles >
      • Jim Halcrow >
        • Jim Halcrow
      • Derek Hamilton
      • Stan Hamilton
      • William Hannah
      • Matthew Hardie
      • Addie Harper
      • Isobel Harper
      • Bobby Harvey
      • Bill Hendry
      • Ian Holmes
      • Max Houliston >
        • Jan 1983
        • March 1992
      • Tom Hughes (1986)
      • Alastair Hunter
      • Graham Jamieson >
        • Dec 1983
      • Jim Johnstone >
        • March 1982
        • Sept 1992
    • H - J Obituaries >
      • Jim Halcrow (2015)
      • Tom Hall (2011)
      • Ian Hardie (2012)
      • William J. Hardie (1916 - 95)
      • Addie Harper (2002)
      • Alistair Henderson (2005)
      • Bill Hendry (1995) (of Falkirk)
      • Alasdair Heron (2010)
      • Bob Hobkirk (2002)
      • Ron Hodgson (2014)
      • Ian Holmes (2017) >
        • Ian Holmes (2017)
      • John Huband (1942 - 2000)
      • Christine Hunter (1998)
      • Willie Hunter (1994)
      • Joe Hutton (1995)
      • Dave Ireland (1992)
      • Gordon Jamieson (2005)
      • Bryce Johnstone (2017)
    • K - L Articles >
      • Ron Kerr
      • Charlie Kirkpatrick
      • Andrew Knight
      • Sandy Legget
      • Judith Linton
    • K - L Obituaries >
      • Allan Kindness (2014)
      • John Laidlaw (1996)
      • Florence Lawie (2020)
      • Tommy Lees (2014)
      • Bruce Lindsay Snr (2020)
      • Jimmy Lindsay (2020)
      • Alex Little (2001)
      • Ben Lyons (2015)
    • Mac - Mc Articles >
      • Alex MacArthur
      • Alasdair MacCuish
      • Alistair McCulloch
      • Fergie MacDonald
      • Jim Mackay (Caithness)
      • Bobby MacLeod >
        • Memories of (2009)
      • Jim MacLeod
      • Rory MacLeod
      • Neil McMillan
      • Iain MacPhail >
        • May 2003
        • Sept 1982
      • Fraser McGlynn
      • Nicol McLaren
    • Mac - Mc Obituaries >
      • Duncan 'Dochie' MacCallum (2020)
      • Mark MacDougall (2015)
      • Iain MacFadyen (1983) (Producer)
      • Ally MacIntyre (2015)
      • John Mackie (1996)
      • Calum MacLean (2015)
      • Jim MacLeod (2004)
      • Jim MacRae (2001)
      • Rory MacLeod (2019)
      • Gervasio Marcosignori (2013)
      • John McDonald (2016)
      • Fraser McGlynn (2018)
      • Ewan McGowan (2015)
      • Blanche McInnes (1988)
      • Allan McIntosh (2012)
      • Iain McLachlan (1995)
      • Bob McMath (2016)
    • M Articles >
      • Dougie Maxwell
      • Gus Millar
      • Graeme Mitchell
      • Dennis Morrison
      • Ian Muir
      • Bert Murray
      • Ken Mutch
    • M Obituaries >
      • Hamish Menzies (2020)
      • Jim Muir (2001)
      • George Muir (1995)
      • Bert Murray MBE (2003)
    • N - P Articles >
      • Paddy Neary
      • Craig Paton
      • Gordon Pattullo >
        • Gordon Pattullo (40th Anniv)
      • Iain Peterson
      • Ian Powrie >
        • The People's Journal
        • Sept 1983
    • N - P Obituaries >
      • Andrew Nairn (2010)
      • Paddy Neary (2020)
      • Eann Nicolson (1990)
      • Dermot O'Brien (2007)
      • Stan Peacock (1994)
      • Davie Pollock (of Roslin) (2018)
      • Bill Powrie (1980)
      • Ian Powrie (2011)
      • Dave Pullar (2020)
    • R Articles >
      • Andrew Rankine
      • Frank Reid
      • Tony Reid
      • Adam Rennie
      • John Renton
      • Donal Ring
      • Jim Ritchie
      • Arthur Scott Robertson
      • Graham Ross
      • Lindsay Ross
    • R Obituaries >
      • Bert Rae (2015)
      • Ian Redford (1988)
      • Jimmy Ritchie (2001)
      • John Rooney (2015)
      • Graham Ross (2020)
      • Walter Rutherford (2018)
    • S Articles >
      • Stan Saunders
      • Sir Jimmy Shand >
        • April 1982
        • Feb 1998 (90 Years old)
        • Feb 1999 (Knighthood)
        • Jan 2001
        • Feb 2001 (Tributes)
        • Oct 2003 (Sculpture)
        • Sept 2016 (Auction of Memorabilia)
      • Neil Sinclair
      • James Scott Skinner >
        • April 1993
      • Robbie Shepherd >
        • October 1985
        • M.B.E. March 2001
        • 2006 Hamish Henderson Award
      • George 'Faunty' Smith
      • Gordon Smith
      • Hamish Smith
      • Will Starr
      • Andy Stewart MBE
      • Liam Stewart
      • George Stirrat
    • S Obituaries >
      • Stan Saunders (2011)
      • Davie Simpson of Invergowrie (1999)
      • Gordon Simpson (2016)
      • Bill Smith (1998) (Banchory)
      • Ian Smith (2005) First Editor)
      • Margaret Smith (2015)
      • Rosalind Snaith (2020)
      • Arthur Spink (2017)
      • Jack Stalker (2019)
      • Alex 'Toby' Stewart (2010)
      • Andy Stewart (1933-93)
      • Billy Stewart (2016)
      • Roy Stewart (2005)
      • Peter Straughan (1999)
    • T Articles >
      • Bill Thom
      • Kenny Thomson
      • Sandy Tulloch
      • Violet Tulloch
    • T Obituaries >
      • Kenny Thomson (2013)
      • Toralf Tollefsen (27/11/94)
      • Bobby Torrance (2011)
      • Dr Sandy Tulloch (2006)
    • U - Z Articles >
      • David Vernon
      • Robin & Deryn Waitt
      • Robert Whitehead
      • Bill Wilkie MBE
      • Pam Wilkie
      • Norrie Williams
      • Callum Wilson
      • Ena Wilson
      • Iain Wilson
      • Kenny Wilson
      • Peter and Daniel Wyper
      • Jimmy Yeaman
    • U - Z Obituaries >
      • Jimmy Urquhart (1993)
      • Roddy Urquhart (2000)
      • Charlie Walkins (2014)
      • Bill Wilkie (2017)
      • Ian Wilkie (1995)
      • Pam Wilkie (2016)
      • Norrie Williams (2015)
      • Willie Wilson (1991) (Beith)
    • Accordion Teachers Obits >
      • Ian Anderson (2018)
      • Jean Brown (2009) >
        • Jean Brown (Cambusnethan, Wishaw)
      • Louis Cabrelli
      • Renaldo Capaldi (2008)
      • Charles Duncan
      • Peter Farnan
      • Ron Hodgson (1982)
      • Ron Hodgson (2014)
      • Charles 'Chick' Kelly (21/01/95)
      • Chrissie Leatham
      • Jimmy Martin (2008)
      • Owen Murray
      • Bill Spence (2007)
      • Tom Veldon (15/01/95)
      • Sylvia Wilson
      • Wilson Wood (2005)
      • Rosemary Wright
    • Jimmy Clinkscale Articles from 1981
    • Poems by Andy Stewart >
      • Jimmy Shand
      • Angus Fitchet
      • Bobby MacLeod
      • Ian Powrie
    • Poem by Jock Turpie
  • Roll of Honour
  • NAAFC Awards Archive
    • NAAFC Honours >
      • 1979
      • 1980s >
        • 1981 Angus Fitchet
        • 1982 Bobby MacLeod
        • 1983 Ian Powrie
        • 1984 Andy Stewart MBE
      • 1990s >
        • 1990 Jimmy Blue
        • 1992 Robbie Shepherd MBE
        • 1994 Alex MacArthur
        • 1994 Andrew Rankine
        • 1995 Max Houliston
        • 1996 Jim MacLeod MBE
        • 1997 Musicians of Shetland
        • 1998 Ian Holmes
        • 1999 Bill Black
      • 2000s >
        • 2000 Bobby Crowe
        • 2000 Alex Little
        • 2000 Jim Ritchie
        • 2000 Stan Saunders
        • 2000 Bill Thom
        • 2000 Pam Wilkie
        • 2001 Mickie Ainsworth
        • 2001 Addie Harper
        • 2001 Jim Johnstone
        • 2001 Bill Wilkie MBE
        • 2002 Dave Barclay
        • 2002 John Crawford
        • 2002 David Cunningham
        • 2002 Gus Millar
        • 2002 Jimmy Yeaman
        • 2003 Iain MacPhail
        • 2004 John Carmichael
        • 2004 Iain Peterson
        • 2005 Bobby Coghill
        • 2005 Ken Mutch
        • 2005 Robert Whitehead
        • 2006 Jack Cooper
        • 2006 Jack Delaney
        • 2006 David Flockhart
        • 2007 Jimmy Burgess
        • 2007 Bobby Colgan
        • 2008 Bobby Harvey
        • 2008 Neil MacMillan
        • 2008 Gordon Pattullo
        • 2009 Tom Alexander MBE
        • 2009 Andrew Knight
      • 2010s >
        • 2010 John Ellis
        • 2010 Fraser McGlynn
        • 2011 Bobby Brown (Canada)
        • 2011 Ian Muir
        • 2012 John Douglas
        • 2012 Jim Halcrow
        • 2012 Charlie Kirkpatrick
        • 2013 Derek Hamilton
        • 2014 Robin Brock
        • 2014 Calum MacLean
        • 2014 Hamish Smith
        • 2015 David Ross
        • 2015 Iain Wilson
        • 2015 Kenny Wilson
        • 2015 Gordon Young
        • 2016 Joan Blue
        • 2016 Bill Ewan
        • 2016 Isobel Harper
        • 2016 Neil Sinclair
        • 2017 George Darling
        • 2017 Alasdair MacLeod
        • 2017 Violet Tulloch
        • 2018 - Freeland Barbour
        • 2018 Bill Hendry
        • 2018 Graeme Mitchell
        • 2019 - Billy Craib
        • 2019 - Dochie McCallum
        • 2019 - Margaret Smith
        • 2019 - Davie Stewart
      • 2020s >
        • 2020 Covid 19 No Awards
        • 2021 Anda Campbell
        • 2021 Peter Bruce
        • 2021 Malcolm Ross
    • BAFFI Awards
    • Scholarship
    • SDB of the Year
  • Club Reports
    • Club Reports Summary >
      • 1970s
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    • Club Directory
    • Guest Artistes >
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      • Lesmahagow A&F Club >
        • 1980s
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      • Newtongrange >
        • 1970s
        • 1980s
        • 1990s
        • 2000s
        • 2010s
      • Perth A&F Club >
        • 1970s
        • 1980s
        • 1990s
        • 2000s
        • 2010s
    • A >
      • Aberdeen A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • Acharacle A&F Club >
        • 1988 - 89
      • Alnwick A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • 25th Birthday (2002)
      • Annan A&F Club >
        • 1995 - 96
      • Arbroath A&F Club >
        • 1989 - 90
      • Armadale A&F Club >
        • 1980 - 81
        • 21st Birthday (1999)
      • Ayr A&F Club >
        • 1983 - 84
    • B >
      • Balloch A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • Banchory
      • Banff and District
      • Beith & District A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • 40th Anniversary (Beith)
      • Biggar A&F Club >
        • 1970s >
          • 1977 - 78
          • 1978 - 79
          • 1979 - 80
        • 1980s >
          • 1980 - 81
          • 1981 - 88
          • 1988 - 89
          • 1989 - 90
        • 1990s >
          • 1990 - 91
          • 1990 - 91
          • 1991 - 92
          • 1992 - 93
          • 1993 - 94
          • 1994 - 95
          • 1995 - 96
          • 1996 - 97
          • 1997 - 98
          • 1998 - 99
          • 25th Anniversary (1999)
          • 1999-2000
        • 2000s >
          • 2000 - 01
          • 2001 - 02
          • 2002 - 03
          • 2003 - 04
          • 2004 - 05
          • 2005 - 06
          • 2006 - 07
          • 2007 - 08
          • 2008 - 09
          • 2009 - 10
        • 2010s >
          • 2010 - 11
          • 2011 - 12
          • 2012 - 13
          • 2013 - 14
          • 2014 - 15
          • 2015 - 16
          • 2016 - 17
          • 2017 - 18
          • 2018 - 19
          • 2019 - 20
        • 2020s >
          • 2020 - 21
          • 2021 - 22
      • Blairgowrie A&F Club >
        • 1987 - 88
      • Brig Mill A&F Club >
        • 1989 - 90
      • Britannia (Kirkcudbright) A&F Club >
        • 2007 - 08
      • Bromley A&F Club >
        • 1995 - 96
        • Bromley (2014)
      • Buchan A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • Button Key (Windygates) A&F Club >
        • 1987 - 88
        • 20th Anniv (2007)
    • C >
      • Callander A&F Club >
        • 1983 - 84
      • Campbeltown A&F Club >
        • 1980 - 81
      • Campsie A&F Club >
        • 1995 - 96
        • The Campsie Players
        • 20th Anniversary (2015)
      • Carlisle A&F Club >
        • 1993 - 94
      • Castle Douglas A&F Club
      • Coalburn A&F Club >
        • 1988 - 89
      • Coldingham A&F Club >
        • 2008 - 09
      • Coupar Angus A&F Club >
        • 1978 - 79
      • Crathes A&F Club
      • Cults A&F Club >
        • 1999 - 2000
      • Cumnock & District A&F Club >
        • History
        • 1977 - 78
    • D >
      • Dalriada A&F Club >
        • 1980 - 81
        • 21st Birthday (2002)
      • Denny & Dunipace A&F Club >
        • 1980 - 81
      • Dingwall A&F Club >
        • 1979 - 80
        • 21st Anniversary (2000)
        • 25th Anniversary (2004)
      • Dumfries Accordion Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • 1978 - 79
        • 1979 - 80
      • Dunblane A&F Club
      • Dundee & District A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • Dunfermline & District A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • Dunoon & Cowal A&F Club >
        • 1987 - 88
      • Duns A&F Club >
        • 2004 - 05
    • E to F >
      • East Kilbride A&F Club >
        • 1980 - 81
        • 1981 - 82
        • 1982 - 83
        • 1983 - 84
        • 1984 - 85
        • Norrie Williams (2015)
      • Edinburgh / Chrissie Leatham A&F Club >
        • 1980 - 81
        • 1981 - 82
        • 1982 - 83
        • 1983 - 84
      • Ellon A&F Club >
        • 1994 - 95
      • Ettrick & Yarrow >
        • 1990 - 91
      • Falkirk A&F Club >
        • 1978 - 79
      • Fintry A&F Club
      • Forfar A&F Club >
        • 1988 - 89
      • Forres A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • Forres 21st Anniv (1999)
      • Fort William A&F Club >
        • 1980 - 81
    • G >
      • Galston A&F Club >
        • Club History
        • 1977 - 78
        • 30th Anniversary (1999)
        • Final Report (2006)
      • Glendale A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • 40th Anniversary (Glendale)
      • Glenfarg A&F Club >
        • 1995 - 96
        • 30th Anniv (Sept 2018)
      • Glenrothes A&F Club >
        • 1993 - 94
      • Gorebridge A&F Club >
        • 1981 - 82
      • Gretna (see North Cumbria) A&F Club >
        • 50th Anniversary (2016)
    • H to K >
      • Haddington A&F Club >
        • 2004 - 05
      • Highland A&F Club >
        • Club History
        • 1977 - 78
        • Highland 25th Birthday (1999)
        • 40th Anniversary (Highland)
      • Inveraray A&F Club >
        • 1991 - 92
        • 25th Anniversary (2016)
      • Islay A&F Club >
        • 1993 - 94
      • Isle of Skye A&F Club >
        • 1988 - 89
      • Islesteps A&F Club >
        • 1981 - 82
        • 1982 - 83
        • 1983 - 84
      • Kelso A&F Club >
        • Introducing the Clubs No 8
        • 1977 - 78
        • 30th Anniv (2006)
        • 40th Anniversary (2016)
      • Kinlochsheil A&F Club >
        • 1983 - 84
      • Kintore A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • 2010 - 11
    • L >
      • Ladybank A&F Club >
        • 1997 - 98
      • Lanark A&F Club >
        • 1996 - 97
      • Langholm A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • Lauder A&F Club >
        • 2009 - 10
      • Lesmahagow A&F Club >
        • 1980 - 81
        • 1981 - 82
        • 1982 - 83
        • 1983 - 84
        • 1984 - 85
        • Closure announced
        • 2005 Final Report
      • Lewis & Harris A&F Club >
        • 1996 - 97
        • 20th Anniversary
      • Livingston A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • Murdo MacLeod
      • Lockerbie A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • 40th Anniversary (Lockerbie)
    • M >
      • The M.A.F.I.A. >
        • History
        • 1977 - 78
        • Closing Speech
      • Mauchline >
        • 30th Anniv (Mauchline)
      • Monklands A&F Club >
        • 1978 - 79
      • Montrose A&F Club >
        • 1984 - 85
      • Morecambe A&F Club
      • Muirhead A&F Club >
        • 1995 - 96
    • N >
      • Newburgh A&F Club >
        • 2002 - 03
        • 40th Anniversary
        • Jim Berry
      • New Cumnock A&F Club >
        • 1979 - 80
      • Newmill-on-Teviot A&F Club >
        • 1999 - 2000
      • Newtongrange A&F Club >
        • 1979 - 80
      • Newton St Boswells >
        • 1977 - 78
      • North Cumbria (Gretna) A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • North East (Keith) A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • Ian Duncan
        • 40th Anniversary North East
      • Northern (Templepatrick, N.I.) A&F Club >
        • 2011 - 12
    • O to P >
      • Oban A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • 25th Anniversary (1999)
        • 40th Anniversary (2015)
      • Orkney A&F Club >
        • 1983 - 84
        • Orkney 40th Anniv 2017
      • Peebles A&F Club >
        • 1981 - 82
        • 1982 - 83
        • 1983 - 84
        • 1984 - 85
      • Perth & District A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • 1992 Letter
        • 40th Anniv (2010)
      • Phoenix (Ardrishaig) A&F Club >
        • 2004 - 05
      • Premier A&F Club
    • R to S >
      • Reading Scottish Fiddlers >
        • 1997 - 98
      • Renfrew A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • Renfrew (Moorpark) A&F Club >
        • 1984 - 85
      • Rothbury (Coquetdale) A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • 25th Anniversary (1999)
      • Scottish Accordion Music (Crathes) >
        • 1998 - 99
      • Seghill Comrades A&F Club >
        • 2010 - 11
      • Selkirk A&F Club >
        • 1998 - 99
      • Shetland A&F Club >
        • Shetland 40th Anniv (2017)
      • Stirling A&F Club >
        • 1991 - 92
      • Stonehouse A&F Club >
        • 2004 - 05
      • Straiton A&F Club >
        • History
        • 1977 - 78
      • Stranraer A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • Sutherland A&F Club >
        • 1987 - 88
        • 20th Anniv (2007)
    • T to Z >
      • Thornhill A&F Club >
        • 1983 - 84
      • Torthorwald A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • Turriff 30th Anniversary
      • Tynedale A&F Club >
        • 1980 - 81
        • Tynedale 30th Anniv (2010)
      • Uist & Benbecula A&F Club >
        • 2007 - 08
        • 21st Anniversary (2016)
      • Wellbank A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
      • West Barnes A&F Club >
        • 2001 - 02
      • Wick A&F Club >
        • 1977 - 78
        • 25th Birthday (2001)
        • 40th Anniversary (2015)
  • Pipe Music Articles
    • Composers A - L >
      • Willie Bryson
      • John D Burgess
      • Duncan Campbell
      • George Cockburn
      • William D Dumbreck
      • William Fergusson
      • Ron Fleming
      • Duncan Johnstone
      • Willie Lawrie
    • Composers Mac >
      • John MacColl
      • John MacDonald
      • Angus MacKay
      • Hugh MacKay
      • John M MacKenzie BEM
      • Donald MacLean of Lewis
      • Capt John A MacLellan MBE
      • Donald MacLeod
      • Peter R MacLeod Snr & Jnr
      • Archibald MacNeill
    • Composers M + Mc >
      • David Charles Mather
      • James Mauchline
      • Captain D R McLellan
      • John McLellan
      • George S McLennan
      • Donald McPhedran
    • Composers N - Z >
      • Donald Shaw Ramsay
      • James Ross Riddell
      • James "Robbie" Robertson
      • Willie Ross
      • John Wilson
  • B&F Issues (1977-2020)
    • Oct 1977 - Apr 1980 >
      • Oct 1977 - Apr 78
      • Oct 1978 - Apr 79 >
        • Oct 1978
        • Nov 1978
        • Dec 1978
        • Jan 1979
        • Feb 1979
        • Mar 1979
        • Apr 1979
      • Sept 1979 - Apr 80 >
        • Sept 1979
        • Oct 1979
        • Nov 1979
        • Dec 1979
        • Jan 1980
        • Feb 1980
        • Mar 1980
        • Apr 1980
    • Sept 1980 - Apr 1985 >
      • Sept 1980 - Apr 81 >
        • Sept 1980
        • Oct 1980
        • Nov 1980
        • Dec 1980
        • Jan 1981
        • Feb 1981
        • Mar 1981
        • Apr 1981
      • Sept 1981 - Apr 82 >
        • Sept 1981
        • Oct 1981
        • Nov 1981
        • Dec 1981
        • Jan 1982
        • Feb 1982
        • Mar 1982
        • Apr 1982
      • Sept 1982 - Apr 83 >
        • Sept 1982
        • Oct 1982
        • Nov 1982
        • Dec 1982
        • Jan 1983
        • Feb 1983
        • Mar 1983
        • Apr 1983
      • Sept 1983 - Apr 84 >
        • Sept 1983
        • Oct 1983
        • Nov 1983
        • Dec 1983
        • Jan 1984
        • Feb 1984
        • Mar 1984
        • Apr 1984
      • Sept 1984 - Apr 85 >
        • Sept 1984
        • Oct 1984
        • Nov 1984
        • Dec 1984
        • Jan 1985
        • Feb 1985
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Angus Fitchet

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Angus Fitchet, of Dundee, was one of Scotland's foremost fiddlers and bandleaders.  He was also a remarkably versatile musician whose experience ranged from village dances to network television shows accompanying high profile international guest artists. Angus's father worked on a small dairy farm outside Dundee and Angus recalled being wakened in the morning to the sound of his father's fiddle.    He was understood to be a fine player and had been taught by John Lamond of Monikie.   It wasn't long before he uprooted the family and settled in Dundee where he hoped to make a better living.  It was he who gave young Angus his first lessons when he was five years old and before he was very much older, Angus was playing at dances alongside his father.   When he got tired, he lay down at the back of the hall and slept for a while before taking his place once more in the band, quite often playing until 2.00am!  He went to various teachers but seems to have gained his considerable musical knowledge from watching and listening and from natural ability.  

In the days before 'talkies', the cinemas hired small orchestras to add musical drama to the films being shown.   In the street where Angus lived, these musicians used to congregate on a Sunday afternoon for a "session". Angus was right in there, handing out music, running errands, listening, watching, discovering the joys of classical music, hearing for the first time of Haifitz and Kreisler, borrowing records and playing them slowly until he could play along with them.  He would play scales and arpeggios for hours (something he continued to do even when he was quite an old man), and then, at the ripe old age of twelve, a visiting piano tuner heard him and asked if he could play one night at the local cinema as the violinist was absent.

This was the beginning of Angus' professional musical career.   And what a different way of life this was compared to that of a professional musician in the latter half of the 20th century.       On a Monday morning the film would be shown and the conductor would decide what music would be most appropriate - romantic music for love scenes, short excerpts from the classics for chases, cowboy sequences, etc.    Then came the advance publicity for the big feature film, "Uncle Tom's Cabin"  - and the musical score was sent with the film! -  orchestra parts for an orchestra of 120 - and only three musicians in Dundee's "Britannia" Cinema!   Angus recalled that often the musicians could not hear themselves because of the audience discussing with each other what was happening - "silent" films indeed!     But what a wonderful experience for a young lad  - and his five shillings per week helped the family finances.  This, however, came to a sudden end with the advent of 'the talkies'.   

Angus, however, did not plan to give up his musical career. He bought a saxophone and was soon playing this instrument very competently.   Angus first married in 1932 and had three children by the late 1930's, when he went to Largs to join a five-piece orchestra in a restaurant there.  This engagement came to an end during the early years of the war when the Italian family who owned the restaurant was interned for the duration.   The family returned to Dundee where, in 1945, Angus joined Jimmy Shand’s Band. Three years later, Angus married Bette.   This was a loving partnership, which produced two more children.

Working with Jimmy Shand's Band gave him a taste for Scottish band work and he later formed his own highly successful Scottish Dance Band - but what other band leader drove his band all over Scotland and England in an old Dodge Red Cross ambulance which had cost him £50 and was run on half petrol and half paraffin?    "Sometimes we couldn't see for the smoke!"  There was the famous occasion when, at North Queensferry, the boat had moved off but when it was noticed that an ambulance had been left behind, the ferry turned back and Angus cheerfully drove his "band bus" on board.  Inside, the members of the band were sitting playing dominoes!  The opening of the Forth Road Bridge made life much easier!   The Band played many live broadcasts, made records, and toured Scotland and England, playing in village halls and at large Scottish Country Dances.  And many times Angus would write the date and place of a new booking on a cigarette packet then, cigarettes finished, toss the packet out of the bus window!"  With his legs invariably crossed, his small frame curled lovingly round his instrument, Angus never played a wrong note.    One night when playing for a "Dashing White Sergeant", he suggested that he and the two accordionists in the band take turns choosing the tunes.  Jimmy Stephen led with "The Rose Tree", followed by the second accordionist's choice of "The Mason's Apron".  When it was Angus's turn, with an irrepressible grin, he went straight in to "The Spey in Spate"; one of the most difficult reels ever written.  He then laid his fiddle down, folded his arms and sat back to watch the band furiously trying to get their fingers round this tune!

For some years Angus gave up his band and returned to playing solo fiddle, touring with the  well-known Scottish artists, Will Starr and Robert Wilson. The sweet tone Angus brought out of the fiddle was always recognisable, no matter which band he was playing in.  He did not have valuable fiddles but could coax the same tone out of whatever instrument he played. When asked once by a so-called expert "What make of fiddle are you playing, Mr Fitchet?” Angus replied in his broad Dundee accent, "Eeh, it's just an auld bit o' stick".   He was very happy with a fiddle he bought for £5 in a market in Dundee but always insisted that a fiddler needs a good bow, preferably a Viom or a Turte. 

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He was in his late sixties when he joined Jimmy Blue, whose band travelled full time with Andy Stewart and this was a wonderful partnership.  Andy loved Angus' humour and many a time "dried up" onstage because of Angus' witticisms.  On one occasion an English pop group guesting on the show was having great difficulty in their rehearsal, due to some bars having been missed from their orchestration.  As the afternoon dragged on and the band waited for its run-through, Angus finally shouted to the group "Div ye no' ken Danny Boy?"  Andy Stewart's weekly TV show, "Scotch Corner", was going out nation-wide at that time with guest stars such as George Hamilton IV, Rolf Harris, Dana, Julie Felix and others.  Angus loved the challenge of sight-reading the "dots" placed in front of him and enjoyed the tours to Australia and New Zealand with the show where, on one wet Saturday, he exhibited his prowess with a different kind of stick when he entertained the cast of the show with a repertoire of most impressive tricks on the snooker table!

Having overcome deafness and a severe bout of arthritis when he was no longer able to play his beloved fiddle, Angus found relief with a course of 'gold' injections.  All were delighted when he was once again able to draw the bow across the strings and produce his unique sound.

With the advent of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs, Angus found yet another new career, guesting with Bobby Crowe and his Band at venues all over Scotland and in the North of England. There is a wonderful memory of him at Banchory Club where he had finished his guest spot and invited all the young members of the Banchory Strathspey and Reel Society to join him on stage.  Angus sat on the front of the stage, legs dangling over the edge, and played along with the youngsters giving them wonderful encouragement as well as a night to remember. Angus, however, did not just make guest appearances.  He was a regular at Dundee Accordion Club where he often spent more time in the back room giving tips to young fiddlers who listened and learned.

To travel to 'gigs' with Angus was a delight.  Every village brought a memorable story to relate which would digress into tales of characters he had met or tunes he had played and always there was humour and laughter. Reminiscing about Angus is to remember always, his gift of fun, his sometimes quite wicked sense of humour.    Jim Brogan, who was a member of his band for many years, recalled one occasion when, driving home in the early hours of the morning, Angus slowed down coming into Stonehaven, looking to right and left.  The same thing happened as they entered Montrose and suddenly Angus stopped the bus, dashed out and ran back the way they had come.   The band sat still, wondering what could have happened.  Suddenly Angus jumped back into the driving seat, clutching a bunch of beautiful red roses wrapped in a handkerchief. "Where did you get these at this time of night?"    "Och, there's a garden full of them back there - they'll never miss them".   "Is it your wife's birthday?" he was asked.   "No, the family is going to a wedding tomorrow and we need buttonholes".      He was eternally young at heart.

When he was in his 80th year, the BBC did a two-band broadcast from the annual weekend gathering of the National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs, recorded in a hotel in Perth. Robbie Shepherd was unable to link the programme and the bandleaders were asked if they would be able to make their own introductions.   Angus not only introduced members of his band and announced the tunes, but went on to introduce the "Club News", which followed the Scottish Dance Music!   And all done with the utmost confidence and professionalism.  Probably his last appearance at a Club was in Perth, when he was 81 years of age.

But Angus's legend will live on in his music.  He was a prolific and wonderful composer who wrote his first tune, "Mr Michie", in1926 - a march, which is still popular with Festival competitors.  His reel, "J.B. Milne", has probably been broadcast more than any other Scottish tune.  But his slow airs, such as 'Happy Retirement', 'Marjorie Jane Barclay', and 'Lament for Will Starr', like his many other compositions, make him comparable to the great James Scott Skinner.   When the news broke of the tragic Lockerbie air disaster, it was suggested Angus write a "Lament for Lockerbie". Two days later, the manuscript of this moving slow air was delivered by Angus.  Very few people know that he also wrote some words to suit the music which, he thought, could be sung as a hymn!   When Bobby Crowe played his newly composed march "The Provost of Forgandenny" over the telephone to Angus, he was amazed to receive next day, in the mail, another march complimentary to his tune in both idiom and key -although Angus had not even enquired in which key the original had been written.   He was also an innovator.   In the fifties and sixties, the BBC demanded simple chords be played and anything so contemporary as a diminished 7th was not permitted.  Angus got round this by writing a diminished sequence into "J.B. Milne", so that the chord could not be dispensed with!

When asked, in his eighties, how he would like to be remembered, Angus considered for a few moments, then replied:   "Angus Fitchet, fiddler".   He will certainly be remembered as a fiddler of considerable note.   But it is for his wonderful and prolific compositions that Angus Fitchet's name will live on in the history of Scottish music.

ON ANGUS FITCHET
by Andy Stewart
Come rub the rosin on the bow
And let the warl' gae roon'
Whiles I tae Angus Fitchet heed
That coaxes up a tune,

That coaxes up a bonnie tune
An' maks yon fiddle sing,
The verra lame when he begins
Wad dance the heilan' fling.

Syne when ablow his elfin chin
The trusty Hardy grips
The Merlin o' the music, he,
Wi' magic fingertips.

The shades of Skinner and of Gow
Wham nane shall e'er neglect,
I fancy tap their toes in time
And nod their grave respect.

Strathspeys sae stately and demure
Come singing frae his hand,
While jigs and reels, however gleg,
Dance out at his command.

Sae blythe and sweet his fiddle sings
And brawly fills the air,
His smiles and looks tell a' the tale,
A lang-matched love affair.

Wha' is sae heavy-fitted then
An' weary as the Deil
But loups like ony skippin'  lamb
When Fitchet plays a reel?

An wha' can keep frae beatin' time?
I say he isna human,
When Angus plies his skill upon
"The Irish Washerwoman"?

(In Cork one night, I tell the truth,
He caused a  fightin' fuss
When Paddy said "Yon man's no Scot,
He must be one of us")

He plays a jig sae liltin' sir,
A man condemned tae dee
Wad loup the thirteen steps an' dance
Upon a gallow's tree.

An' fan a sweet sad bow he draws
In some auld plaintive air,
The sorrows o' a lifetime come
An' stoun' the senses there.

"Bovaglie's Plaid" or "Gow's "Lament",
Baith hymns tae mak us mourn
Great sabs frae oot yet greater hearts
For joys will ne'er return.

In black and white these printer notes
Lie lost of what they seek,
Yet cry aloud in haunting sound
When Angus maks them speak.

Auld Scotland kens nae brawer tunes,
And min' she maks them well,
Than when oor Angus plays tae her
The yins he wrote himsel'.

His repertoire's an endless dance
And were he ay sae clever
As nae need food or drink or sleep
He could play on forever

Here's tae him then my prayer shall be
That happy he may dwell
And a' the wishes I wad gie
That he could wish himself

Three score and more - I ken his age -
An' Lord if it's nae trouble,
In years tae come - Ye ken the sum -
I wish him,mair than double

An'  when at last at Heaven's gate
Whaur he will surely stand
I like to fancy Peter say
As he hauds oot his hand -

"A welcome Angus Fitchet here
My pleasure is to gie ye,
An twice that welcome since I see
Ye've brocht your fiddle wi ye.

But och, there's years o' music yet
Tae stir the dancers roon,
Sae Angus rosin up your bow
An gie's another tune.

The hame-spun garb o' native worth
Wi' cloth of gold we'll stitch it
And lay the makkar's mantle on
This man ca'd Angus Fitchet.

When he comes ben care hugs the wa'
An' joy jinks in the middle
The doul's awa, the dance is a',
When Fitchet plays his fiddle

Mak a' his 'oors be sweet and sure
And happy a' his days,
As happy as I am myself
When Angus Fitchet plays.

Angus Fitchet
From the book ‘Jimmy Shand’ by David Phillips (Page 61)
Involved in a business venture, Dave Ireland left the band, his place taken by Angus Fitchet.

Angus, one of a family of eleven, like George McKelvey was brought up in a two-roomed house in Dundee.

By the age of five he was spending a lot of time in a hall opposite in King’s Road where local cinema musicians foregathered off duty for orchestral practice.

He helped distribute the music, was encouraged in his fiddle playing.

By the age of ten he was playing at dances, travelling back and forth on the back of Jim Barrie’s push-bike with a couple of fiddles, his father often cycling alongside with his fiddle.

In the ‘twenties, at the age of fourteen, he was playing in cinemas, bowing and fingering to suit the mood of the action of the huge distorted shadow-giants looming above.

Young Angus’ fiddle learned to weep at the heart-breaking set-backs suffered by Mary Pickford, Mary Carr and the Gish sisters ; to leap joyously into the fray with Dougie Fairbanks, Joe Bonomo and Dick Talmadge in their athletic confrontations with their foes ; to nerve-wrackingly underline the frenzied out-of-control gallop of the horses dragging the swaying stage-coach with Pearl White struggling with the villain on the roof, or as the train thundered towards where Gloria Swanson was bound to the rails ; to wail eerily and tremble with delicious dread at the horrifying roles of Lon Chaney and the diabolical machinations of Fu Manchu ; to skip along in gay accompaniment to the lunacies of Keaton, Chaplin and Arbuckle.

He got to know Jimmy Shand fairly early in his career, meeting him at the little musical festivals popular in the ‘twenties and ‘thirties in the villages and small towns of Angus and Perthshire.

“Jimmy could be called a breakthrough in box-playin’. He was a revelation ; naebody before had ever managed to get as much as he somehow could out of a melodeon”.

Occasionally they played together in those early days. One notable occasion was in 1934 in Dundee’s Forresters’ Hall when they appeared on the same bill as Sir Harry Lauder, then Scotland’s greatest star. This was the annual Charity concert for ex-ploughmen. (Lauder had a great friend in the town, Charles Young, a chemist with whom he often stayed, and who probably persuaded him to give his services).

Angus, who took over from Dave Ireland in Jimmy’s first full-time band in 1946, still remembers the first engagement which followed at Kirriemuir. (He stayed with Jimmy until 1949 when he left to launch out on his own, returning in 1960).

A prolific composer, Angus has had many tunes published and recorded, among them Ashludie Rant, Coldside Jig, J.B. Milne Reel, J.B. being a musician pal from youth who finished up with a chain of cinemas.
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