Memories
Ian Johnstone Holmes (11th March 1935 – 11th July 2017)
Excerpt of the tribute by Mhorag Murphy
B&F 41st Year No 01 Sept 2017
Born the second of three children at his grandparents’ home near Dumfries, Ian started playing piano accordion at the age of 11. Thus the musical legend Ian Holmes was born.
Self-taught Ian had a tremendous gift for learning and music, and by the late 1940s he was asked to play at the local YMCA. Around this time, he heard the music of Jimmy Shand who later went on to become a personal friend. Ian also met the great Will Starr who gave him advice on left-hand chording. To read music Ian then started formal lessons with Alex Carter in Lincluden and was taught light classical music, which Ian later reflected had been an excellent base for playing any repertoire. He also met the renowned Bobby MacLeod, and established a great friendship that would last 50 years. Bobby let him try his Cooperativa accordion, which Ian later bought from a member of the Hawthorn Band.
In the 1950s fiddler Angus Fitchet introduced Ian to Margaret Bell at a dance in Penpont Hall. The first dance was all it took and she became his wife in November 1958. Margaret was also an accordionist and she and Ian played several duets in that same hall. Margaret, however, went on to dedicate her life to supporting Ian in his music and business and to raising the family. In recent times, she was a tremendous carer for him.
During Ian’s National Service in the RAF from 1956 to 1958, he often entertained his pals in the billets and the Officers’ Mess. Around this time, he composed his first tunes, Miss Margaret Bell and The Queen of the South Polka. He went on to become a prolific composer. He was very proud of his RAF connection and in more recent years became a member of the Dumfries RAF Club. In 1957, he was granted leave to compete at a major accordion event in Perth City Hall. Ian won the All-Scotland Senior Traditional March, Strathspey and Reel class.
Ian frequently played alongside Bobby MacLeod and Andrew Rankine, with broadcasts on BBC Radio, an appearance with Andy Stewart in London’s Festival Hall and with White Heather Club stints on TV and in Germany. Ian loved to recall many funny tales of touring with the Andrew Rankine Band. One such occasion was when Andrew received an SOS from the police in Fort William. They desperately needed a band to play at their annual dance that night. Heavy snow had caused the other band to call off. The road through Glencoe was closed, so they intended to catch the train at Crianlarich. On realizing they were going to miss it, Andrew rushed into the Luib Hotel near Killin, threw money on the bar counter and asked them to phone the station to request they hold the train back! At Crianlarich, they got stuck in the snow and could not reach the platform. Several passengers helped to carry their instruments into the train and eventually they set off for Fort William. There a police car escorted them to the hotel, only to discover that the piano was way out of tune! Six brawny cops then carried a piano from a nearby hall and the dancing began! By 1962, Ian had formed his own band. He was soon broadcasting and recording in his own right, as well as performing in the touring White Heather Club.
Ian was a coachbuilder to trade and worked at A.C. Penman in Dumfries, then with Alexander’s buses in Camelon, Falkirk. He had a second spell with Penman’s in 1970 when the family, now including two daughters Rhona (aged 9) and Mhorag (7), returned to Dumfries. After redundancies at Penman’s, Ian accepted a job in Len Frobisher’s music shop, later becoming a partner. He and Margaret then opened ‘Ian Holmes Music’ in Glasgow Street in 1973 and successfully ran the business for 27 years. It became a focal point in Dumfries where musicians and friends popped in for a blether and a coffee!
A holiday in Switzerland in 1979 sparked an interest in Swiss Landler music, which resulted in many more visits and friendships with Swiss musicians and the purchase of a Swiss button-accordion. Margaret and Ian here forged great friendships through the language of music. Hansruedi Gempeler and his wife Suzanne, from frutigen, recently visited Ian in hospital; they spent a fabulous two hours with Hansruedi playing Ian’s Swiss compositions on one of his own accordions. During the 80s, Ian’s musical interests extended to Scandinavia and he attended the world’s largest accordion festival in Sweden several times.
Ian was a very kind and generous man, described by many as a true Gentleman. He gave freely of his musical time and talents to bring joy to others. He played to patients in places such as Bellsdyke Mental Hospital, Lochmaben Hospital (where his mother-in-law, Margaret Bell, stayed for several years), the Crichton Royal and Carnsalloch Cheshire Home. He frequently played in his own church, Maxwelltown West as well as in many others. Ian also accompanied the Dumfries Male Voice Choir at several charitable concerts.
A proud memory for Mhorag was her dad’s Induction into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2014 alongside such great names as Jimmy Shand and Jimmy Blue. Ian was very honoured to receive this recognition, but aged 79 he felt the travel to Glasgow and sitting through the event would be too much, so she accepted this on his behalf.
By, then Ian had composed over 450 tunes in various Scottish, Irish, English, French, Norwegian, Swedish and Swiss styles; had recorded 18 albums; had mastered 8 different accordion types; had arranged and recorded Scandinavian and Swiss CDs; and was an honorary member of the Bromolla Accordion Orchestra of Sweden, with which he had played on many occasions.
Ian was always very proud of all his family, and they of him. He was a wonderful, warm and truly gifted man. Grand-daughter Danielle spent some of her school holidays in the music shop, where her papa spent hours teaching her to play the piano. He would also listen to her practice the violin, and allow her to batter the drums as hard as she could! He would then gently coax her back on to the piano when he was totally sick of the noise! Ever the prackster, his grand-daughter Lauren remembers sneaking into her papa’s music room and turning up the volume switches on his audio and television equipment. When Ian later switched them on, he was shocked and…..amazed! Well, that is the polite version! He would then call Lauren “Ya blooomin loony”, which always made her giggle! His grandson, Stuart, often spent his October holidays with his gran and papa, where they would take him to places like Mabie Farm Park and the Kirkcudbright Wildlife Park. He was also fortunate enough to be taken to his papa’s very last Accordion Club appearance away from Dumfries, at Hexham.
Ian appreciated the beauty of nature. He enjoyed walks with the family and in latter years with his old friend, the late Johnny Cook, would walk out to the Garden Centre for a scone and a blether, to put the world to rights! Ian was always interested in current affairs and read his Glasgow Herald from front to back. He was known to put in a letter or two as well!
Looking back, Ian said in recent years: “I’ve had a wonderful life, for through my music I have visited so many places in Scotland and abroad and have met so many interesting and kindly people. For years, I was happy at my work and this work was also my hobby. How many people can say that?”
Words like ‘legend’, ‘one-off’ and ‘genius’ have been shared with the family by musical friends since his passing. His contribution to not only Scottish, but also Scandinavian and Swiss music, was immense.
Self-taught Ian had a tremendous gift for learning and music, and by the late 1940s he was asked to play at the local YMCA. Around this time, he heard the music of Jimmy Shand who later went on to become a personal friend. Ian also met the great Will Starr who gave him advice on left-hand chording. To read music Ian then started formal lessons with Alex Carter in Lincluden and was taught light classical music, which Ian later reflected had been an excellent base for playing any repertoire. He also met the renowned Bobby MacLeod, and established a great friendship that would last 50 years. Bobby let him try his Cooperativa accordion, which Ian later bought from a member of the Hawthorn Band.
In the 1950s fiddler Angus Fitchet introduced Ian to Margaret Bell at a dance in Penpont Hall. The first dance was all it took and she became his wife in November 1958. Margaret was also an accordionist and she and Ian played several duets in that same hall. Margaret, however, went on to dedicate her life to supporting Ian in his music and business and to raising the family. In recent times, she was a tremendous carer for him.
During Ian’s National Service in the RAF from 1956 to 1958, he often entertained his pals in the billets and the Officers’ Mess. Around this time, he composed his first tunes, Miss Margaret Bell and The Queen of the South Polka. He went on to become a prolific composer. He was very proud of his RAF connection and in more recent years became a member of the Dumfries RAF Club. In 1957, he was granted leave to compete at a major accordion event in Perth City Hall. Ian won the All-Scotland Senior Traditional March, Strathspey and Reel class.
Ian frequently played alongside Bobby MacLeod and Andrew Rankine, with broadcasts on BBC Radio, an appearance with Andy Stewart in London’s Festival Hall and with White Heather Club stints on TV and in Germany. Ian loved to recall many funny tales of touring with the Andrew Rankine Band. One such occasion was when Andrew received an SOS from the police in Fort William. They desperately needed a band to play at their annual dance that night. Heavy snow had caused the other band to call off. The road through Glencoe was closed, so they intended to catch the train at Crianlarich. On realizing they were going to miss it, Andrew rushed into the Luib Hotel near Killin, threw money on the bar counter and asked them to phone the station to request they hold the train back! At Crianlarich, they got stuck in the snow and could not reach the platform. Several passengers helped to carry their instruments into the train and eventually they set off for Fort William. There a police car escorted them to the hotel, only to discover that the piano was way out of tune! Six brawny cops then carried a piano from a nearby hall and the dancing began! By 1962, Ian had formed his own band. He was soon broadcasting and recording in his own right, as well as performing in the touring White Heather Club.
Ian was a coachbuilder to trade and worked at A.C. Penman in Dumfries, then with Alexander’s buses in Camelon, Falkirk. He had a second spell with Penman’s in 1970 when the family, now including two daughters Rhona (aged 9) and Mhorag (7), returned to Dumfries. After redundancies at Penman’s, Ian accepted a job in Len Frobisher’s music shop, later becoming a partner. He and Margaret then opened ‘Ian Holmes Music’ in Glasgow Street in 1973 and successfully ran the business for 27 years. It became a focal point in Dumfries where musicians and friends popped in for a blether and a coffee!
A holiday in Switzerland in 1979 sparked an interest in Swiss Landler music, which resulted in many more visits and friendships with Swiss musicians and the purchase of a Swiss button-accordion. Margaret and Ian here forged great friendships through the language of music. Hansruedi Gempeler and his wife Suzanne, from frutigen, recently visited Ian in hospital; they spent a fabulous two hours with Hansruedi playing Ian’s Swiss compositions on one of his own accordions. During the 80s, Ian’s musical interests extended to Scandinavia and he attended the world’s largest accordion festival in Sweden several times.
Ian was a very kind and generous man, described by many as a true Gentleman. He gave freely of his musical time and talents to bring joy to others. He played to patients in places such as Bellsdyke Mental Hospital, Lochmaben Hospital (where his mother-in-law, Margaret Bell, stayed for several years), the Crichton Royal and Carnsalloch Cheshire Home. He frequently played in his own church, Maxwelltown West as well as in many others. Ian also accompanied the Dumfries Male Voice Choir at several charitable concerts.
A proud memory for Mhorag was her dad’s Induction into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2014 alongside such great names as Jimmy Shand and Jimmy Blue. Ian was very honoured to receive this recognition, but aged 79 he felt the travel to Glasgow and sitting through the event would be too much, so she accepted this on his behalf.
By, then Ian had composed over 450 tunes in various Scottish, Irish, English, French, Norwegian, Swedish and Swiss styles; had recorded 18 albums; had mastered 8 different accordion types; had arranged and recorded Scandinavian and Swiss CDs; and was an honorary member of the Bromolla Accordion Orchestra of Sweden, with which he had played on many occasions.
Ian was always very proud of all his family, and they of him. He was a wonderful, warm and truly gifted man. Grand-daughter Danielle spent some of her school holidays in the music shop, where her papa spent hours teaching her to play the piano. He would also listen to her practice the violin, and allow her to batter the drums as hard as she could! He would then gently coax her back on to the piano when he was totally sick of the noise! Ever the prackster, his grand-daughter Lauren remembers sneaking into her papa’s music room and turning up the volume switches on his audio and television equipment. When Ian later switched them on, he was shocked and…..amazed! Well, that is the polite version! He would then call Lauren “Ya blooomin loony”, which always made her giggle! His grandson, Stuart, often spent his October holidays with his gran and papa, where they would take him to places like Mabie Farm Park and the Kirkcudbright Wildlife Park. He was also fortunate enough to be taken to his papa’s very last Accordion Club appearance away from Dumfries, at Hexham.
Ian appreciated the beauty of nature. He enjoyed walks with the family and in latter years with his old friend, the late Johnny Cook, would walk out to the Garden Centre for a scone and a blether, to put the world to rights! Ian was always interested in current affairs and read his Glasgow Herald from front to back. He was known to put in a letter or two as well!
Looking back, Ian said in recent years: “I’ve had a wonderful life, for through my music I have visited so many places in Scotland and abroad and have met so many interesting and kindly people. For years, I was happy at my work and this work was also my hobby. How many people can say that?”
Words like ‘legend’, ‘one-off’ and ‘genius’ have been shared with the family by musical friends since his passing. His contribution to not only Scottish, but also Scandinavian and Swiss music, was immense.