Ian Powrie (1923 – 2011) Obituary
by various
B&F November 2011
We are sure that many Box and Fiddle readers will have fond memories of Ian Powrie. Please feel free to send them to us and we’ll print them in future issues. This month we begin with the obituary in The Dundee Courier and follow that with tributes from Ian Holmes, Simon Howie and Joan Blue.
DUNDEE COURIER
Tributes have been paid to a Scots musician whose ground breaking sound shaped an entire generation of bands. Ian Powrie has died aged 88 in his adopted home of Perth, Western Australia.
He was one of Scottish Country Dance Music’s best loved and most influential figures, regarded in the same high esteem as the legendary Jimmy Shand. Leading his own Ian Powrie Band – acclaimed one of the finest ever – he toured tirelessly across the globe, both in his own right and in support of top entertainer and television personality Andy Stewart.
They came together with Andy Stewart on the BBC’s hugely popular White Heather Club show in 1959, creating a lasting partnership that saw them in demand around the world.
He also enjoyed a long association with EMI records and worked with some of the finest producers of the day, including George Martin, who would later become synonymous with The Beatles.
His life and achievements will be celebrated by the current generation of Scottish band musicians in the coming days.
Nicol McLaren, Chairman of the NAAFC, speaking from Shetland A&F Festival said, “There have been quite a few drams raised to him during the Festival and I’m sure there will be many more over the weekend. Ian’s music has been hugely significant – the whole sound of Scottish Dance Bands changed when he came on the scene. He was the next big thing after Jimmy Shand and his sound was so special and so different that it shaped a new generation of Scottish musicians. Suddenly the fiddle was leading a band and the sound was simply something we hadn’t heard before. This was the heyday of Scottish Dance Bands, when they were in demand around the world and Ian’s was the best band of the day.”
Ian Powrie was born in Strathardle near Blairgowrie in 1923.
IAN HOLMES, DUMFRIES
I first met Ian and his Band at a dance in Newburgh whilst I was staying at Kinross with my pal, Charlie Murray. This was in the very early 1950s and at that time his brother Bill was the lead accordionist. Later, when the band was in the Dumfries area, I was often asked to play at half-time and Ian would sometimes slip back on stage to join us. Once at Eskdalemuir the half-time band was my girlfriend Margaret on piano, band member Arthur Easson on drums, Ian on fiddle and myself on accordion. What a thrill for two young musicians! After that, there was a standing invitation to bring my own instrument along, to enable me to have a ‘tune’ with Ian’s band.
After Margaret and I were married, we visited Ian and Leila at Duplin, Auchterarder and later Blairgowrie and we had the rare pleasure of hearing Ian play pipe marches on his piano accordion. What with dances, theatre shows and regular appearances on BBC TV’s White Heather Club, the Band was extremely popular. So much so that, when the family emigrated to Australia, it was devastating for many people and several said that they felt a large part of their world had come to an end.
When he returned in the 1980s we met up once more when we both appeared in a Radio forth show in an Edinburgh theatre. He promised to visit us in Dumfries to “see what we were up to.” He and Leila did visit us and we had a pleasant time with ‘blethers’ and an hour or so’s music together. However, on the way home they parked in a lay-by near Cumbernauld for refreshments and a lorry coming in to park behind them misjudged things completely and ran into the back of their car. They and their dog were okay, but alas Ian’s treasured Matthew Hardie fiddle was smashed to smithereens. He was broken-hearted, for it was his favourite instrument and he’s used it for all his appearances and recordings.
We have very happy memories of their Ruby Wedding, where the guest list read like a Who’s Who of Scottish dance music, with all the notables present.
I’d long had an idea of doing a broadcast consisting solely of Jimmy Shand compositions and in 1995 I plucked up sufficient courage to ask Ian if he’d care to join us on fiddle. He replied, “Och aye, I thought you were never going to ask me to have a tune with your band. I’ll certainly look forward to that.”
When we sought the necessary permission from Jimmy, he readily agreed and, on being told Ian would be on fiddle, he said, “By God son, you’ll fairly enjoy that, for he’s a grand player and he’ll fit in fine with your band.”
The programme was recorded in the magnificent Studio One, Glasgow. Everyone was very relaxed and the band was literally ‘jumping’. At one point I asked Ian for his opinion on a dance tempo. Such was his humour that he replied, “If they can’t dance to that they shouldn’t be allowed in the hall.”
He joined us when we recorded a CD of Scottish Dances in Kingskettle Hall. On the night before in the Ladybank guesthouse during a break in the practice, Ian produced a bottle of whisky and offered the band members a drink. Only I accepted and he said, “Thank God for that, for a minute or two I thought I was going to have to drink it all myself.”
Around 1998 I had written a couple of 2/4 pipe marches and I titled them Ian & Leila Powrie’s Welcome to Craig-Varr and Jimmy Blue of Tigh-Na-Gorm. Jimmy quickly acknowledged receipt and said he liked the tune but I didn’t hear from Ian. I included them in a broadcast and during the live recording he turned to me and said, “What a couple of braw tunes these are.”
He told me of the time his band was short of two players and how they’d borrowed two from another group. He said the bassist was really good, but as for the drummer, well that was another story. He said he appeared to be greatly enjoying himself and keeping himself very busy, kicking up quite a racket behind them. He said it sounded like the guy was building a shed!
Another story was when his band had played at Dingwall and how, coming back through Inverness, he’d caught sight of a police car parked up a side street. Later, thundering down the A9, he’d become aware of car headlights approaching from behind. As they drew closer, a blue light started flashing. Cursing his luck for getting caught speeding, he pulled into the next lay-by. He did get booked, but in an entirely different manner, for when the police sergeant came up to the driver’s window, he said, “Powrie! You’re a terrible man to go and we’d a job catching up with you. Do you have your diary handy, for we’d like your band to play at our Annual Ball later this year?”
His last engagement before returning to Australia was with my band, when we recorded a broadcast from the Ca-Va studio on 5th December 1999. As usual, it went well, but it was especially difficult for Ian, for his old friend and band colleague Jimmy Blue was seriously ill in hospital. He and Leila flew out two days later (which, sadly, was the day Jimmy died - 7th December)
There’s no doubt The Powrie Band was, and remains to this day, a great inspiration to budding young musicians. He himself will go down in history as one of the all-time greats of Scottish music, both as a player and as a composer. He leaves a great legacy of recordings and self-penned tunes. We were privileged to know him and to have him as a friend over so many years.
SIMON HOWIE - FINDONY FARM, DUNNING
Scotland lost on of its most famous sons on October 5th 2011. Ian Powrie was a ploughman who rose to be an international Scottish music sensation in the 1950s and 1960s.
His family life began at Essendy near Blairgowrie and at the age of five he took up the violin. His father, Will Powrie, a ‘farm servant’, was an accomplished bothy accordionist and as such Ian went on to lay down his first ‘78’ recordings with his father at the age of 12. Violin lessons were provided by the famous local bandleader Adam Rennie of Coupar Angus, the joint composer of Caddam Woods, one of Scotland’s most played dance tunes. Aside from his Scottish music Ian took classical lessons from Harry Ogilvie of Dundee. This would prove to be a huge step towards furthering his technique.
In the early 1940s Will Powrie took his young family to Bankhead Farm near Forteviot where he became the grieve (farm manager) and it was during this time that Ian left school and took up his role on the farm as a tractor-man whilst forming his first dance band. He often recalled stories of being sent to clean out the granary on days when he was a little tired from a late night engagement with the dance band. This was the equivalent of time off in farming circles.
Ian met and married Leila Mailer of Dunning in 1951. She was the daughter of Bob Mailer, Findony Farm, Dunning who was also the village butcher.
The first band was a line-up including his brother Bill, a first class 3-row button accordion player, but he was called up for National Service so a local lad from Dunning, Jimmy Blue, joined in 1952. Jimmy was a fellow farm worker and this combination of musical and work affinity never left the two men. Their ability to gel on a musical and personal level was a huge part of the band’s success over the years. The dance bands of the 1950s had a great sound but The Powrie Band with its blend of button accordion and piano accordion along with Ian’s tone and intonation made it a sound which would last for decades as a benchmark for any young band looking to take off on the dance music circuit. Ian had the foresight to surround himself with musicians who were the best in their class. Mickie Ainsworth with his excellent technique and knowledge of harmony, Arthur Easson, the drummer who took pipe band strokes into the Scottish dance band, Pam Wilkie on piano proved to me a massive asset with her ability to accompany Ian on his iconic slow-air recordings as well as her help with the She sang on a few of the Band’s LPs, which again added an extra dimension to the Band. Dave Barclay was on double bass and again his skill at both playing and arranging made him quite unique. Ian often remarked on Dave’s professionalism, his quiet demeanour and interestingly about never having to retake a set in the studio due to a mistake on bass.
The recruitment of these players along with the recently crowned Scottish Champion accordionist Jimmy Blue was a master stroke by Ian as they developed into a unit capable of backing Andy Stewart on his famous White Heather Club (over 80 live TV appearances) taking it above the ordinary bands of the day and giving them the status of the best band in the land. They could accompany the new singers and acts of the 1960s, thus allowing the BBC and other light entertainment producers to focus on other elements of the show, knowing Ian and the Band would take care of their part without fail. In the space of ten years he had gone from ploughman at Forteviot to leading a band on world tours, playing full summer seasons in Scotland’s top theatres, as well as Balmoral Castle for Her Majesty the Queen and two famous concerts in The Royal Albert Hall, London. It was akin to Jock Stein with his Lisbon Lions in that it is often remarked that Stein put together a team of local lads who became world beaters. In many ways Ian Powrie is one of the few people to have done the same. Success brought many things but he never forgot his farming background and in 1962 he bought West Kirkton Farm at Auchterarder, Perthshire. He remarked that the feel and smell of ploughing his own land for the first time is something he would never forget. This was to be the family home until immediately after a tour of Australia in 1966 he dropped the bombshell news to his fellow band members that he was planning to pack up and emigrate to Australia. This news took everyone by complete surprise but true to his word he got on with the job of taking the family out to their new life. West Kirkton Farm was sold, farewell concerts were performed, a final LP was recorded and the cases were packed. At the height of his career Ian left it all behind and went to Australia in 1966. The return visits in the 1970s were anticipated with great fervour. I can remember as a five year old Ian visiting our family farm at Dunning. We saw his zest for life as well as being exposed to his magical fiddle playing. This spawned a love of Scottish music which has remained with my brothers and me to this day.
Ian made many recordings during his visits, one of which was with the legendary Jimmy Shand. It was aptly titled ‘When Auld Friends Meet’. I can remember watching television in the early 1970s during which Jimmy Shand was being feted by Eamonn Andrews as a recipient of ‘This is Your Life’. We watched of Scotland’s top entertainers coming on screen but there was a real gasp when Eamonn played Ian’s voice as if he was speaking from Australia but, true to form, he announced the famous words, “We’ve flown him 9,000 miles from Perth, Western Australia to be here tonight.” And on came Ian Powrie. My dad jumped up out of his seat, and showed his delight by saying, “Poorie’s home!!”
Ian and Leila returned to Scotland in 1984 and re-settled at Corrieburn near Auchterarder. He performed at many concerts, band gigs and even toured Canada as well as producing a CD from his house along with many of his original band members. During the planning for the recording he noticed the RAF doing their usual low flying exercise in the Strathearn Valley so in his own disarming way he made a number of calls to NATO and managed to get the flying halted for three days.
His love of all things agricultural made him buy his old Caterpillar D2 tractor which he restored to pristine condition; this restoration job was so good he won Best in Class at his first outing at Scone’s Farming YesterYear event. The Caterpillar was photographed along with Ian and his fiddle on the CD cover.
He was a charismatic man who would tackle anything. He flew his own light aircraft, was a champion ploughman, top class violinist and most of all a great family man with a love for life. His encouragement for young musicians was well known. I can remember travelling to the Powrie household at Auchterarder so that Ian could spend hours helping me get to grips with a musical piece or indeed he would sit and pencil out tunes which may be of use to me in my repertoire.
Many of today’s working musicians owe a huge debt to Ian for not only his interest in their playing but for the legacy he left by way of recordings and tune compositions. He was generous with his time and his praise, he was fun to be around and always gave more than he received.
At the end of his playing career Ian and Leila took the decision took the decision to move back to Australia to be closer to their children and grandchildren, so in 1999 they left Scotland for what was to be Ian’s last long-haul trip.
On a personal level I remember a man who made a real contribution to anyone or anything he came into contact with. He invited me to play as a young teenager on stage at small local events but always had a way of making you feel as if he was second in command. He was never aloof and always performed in a totally professional manner whether it be a village hall gathering or a more grand affair. He spoke at my 21st birthday and played in the church at my wedding. Ian was a man who achieved great things in his life but he had a way of making everything seem fresh when you worked with him. He liked nothing better than an evening with some musical friends and a couple of large drams.
Scotland and Scottish music has lost one of its shining lights.
Ian is survived by his wife Leila, their two children Findlay and Ailsa and four grandchildren.
JOAN BLUE
I first met Ian Powrie when Jimmy and I played for his brother Jim Powrie’s wedding in 1952. This was actually an audition for Jimmy as Bill Powrie was leaving the band to do his National Service.
Jimmy joined the band in December 1952, the same month we became engaged. A new accordion – a Shand Morino – had to be bought at a cost of £208 plus £4 for the case. This meant our wedding had to be postponed until April 1955. The line-up of the band then was : Ian, Jimmy on button-key accordion, Jack Ewan on second box, Gordon Clark on piano, George Grant on drums and Bert Smith on bass. Gradually changes were made and, with Pam back on piano (having had two children), the well known faces of Mickie Ainsworth, Arthur Easson on drums and Dave Barclay on bass completed the group.
When the band was away overnight (playing, for instance, at Lauder – a long distance in these days!) I sometimes stayed with Leila and her two children, Ailsa and Finlay. We were glad of each other’s company and she it was who taught me to make soup! After Jimmy and I married, Ian used to come over regularly for sessions, looking out new music, planning broadcasts, practicing together. They formed a real rapport, both being from farming backgrounds. Even much later, in the eighties, when Ian had come home from Australia and was playing with Jimmy, Jackie Cooper and myself, Jack and I sat in the back of the car and we could hear the two in front discussing the crops, the fields, the countryside in general.
Television beckoned and the band appeared in ‘The Kilt is My Delight’ and, of course, the popular ‘White Heather Club’. In 1961, Andy invited the band to do a summer season in The Empire, Glasgow. This meant giving up ‘the day job’. The big decision was made and the members of the band became professional musicians. Andy packed The Empire for two seasons, 1961 and 1962, and of course his ‘Scottish Soldier’ became a huge hit. In 1963 The Powrie Band joined him on a tour of Australia and New Zealand and 1964 brought a summer season in H.M. Theatre, Aberdeen, the year when typhoid hit the city. They were again in Aberdeen doing the 1966 season, after a six week tour of the Antipodes, when Ian broke the news that the family was emigrating to Australia. Jimmy was in shock, thinking his world had come to an end. However, by the weekend we had made the decision that he should keep the band going. When he told Ian what he planned to do, Ian said, “I was hoping you would say that.” Jimmy also took on board Ian’s advice – “If nothing is happening, you have to MAKE it happen.”
Come December, the Powrie family was ready to leave. A Farewell Party for friends and family was held at The Moncrieiffe Arms Hotel in Bridge of Earn. A concert in Auchterarder brought an emotional Ian Holmes all the way from Dumfries. The final concert was held in Glasgow when ‘Ian Powrie’s Farewell to Scotland’ was played for the first time. The night they were leaving, I went to say ‘goodbye’ and I shall never forget Ian putting his arm round me and saying, “Stop greetin’ ye auld w***e (Scottish spelling h**r).Leila and I kept very much in touch with letters and we were delighted when Ailsa came home and stayed with us for a while, her famous remark to us being – “It’s great to be with a family that eats as quickly as the Powries.” She was also with us at the time of her 21st birthday and we really considered her a third daughter. Finlay was a bit of a holy terror when he was young. I remember his being found standing on top of the radiogram turntable , going round and round – very inventive, I thought.
Another memory is of Ian’s band playing somewhere in Northumberland. Andrew Rankine lived in Whitley Bay at the time and the band was invited to his home after the dance for a blether and a dram. Ian phoned Leila to tell her they would be a little late but Leila didn’t know How late and nearly had the rolling pin out when Ian eventually came home. What she had not realised was that Andrew was no longer in Dunblane but in the North of England!
Ian had the real attributes for a bandleader. He was organised (except for the time he landed at the TV Studios in Glasgow without the fiddle. A frantic phone call home and Leila drove through at the double with the errant fiddle). Ian was also pretty easy-going and didn’t panic or ‘lose the heid’, which took some doing with 5 different egos to contend with. He had a lovely turn of phrase, as had all the Powrie brothers, and one which I particularly remember was when they were driving home from a gig on a very cold, frosty morning. They saw a man, dressed for the weather, getting his tractor started. Ian said, “Aye, there’s a lad weel up intae his bunnet this morning.” Only one of the pawky remarks for which he was known. In Radio Scotland’s Tribute to Ian, I told of when I was in Australia in 2001 for their Golden Wedding. One morning, we were driving into Midland, the nearest town, when a rather large lady passed by. I said, “Goodness, there’s someone wioth a bigger bum than me.” Ian replied – “Och, I widnae go that far.”
And, of course, Ian was famous for his capacity for sleep, no matter what the circumstances. I have a video of one Christmas at Forgandenny, with our grandchildren dashing around on roller scates, guitars playing, chatter – and Ian sound asleep, quite unconscious of the heap of streamers which had been piled on his head. And at Ian and Leila’s Ruby Wedding in 1991, guests were asked to spend no more than £1 on presents. Bill Torrance and some of the other artistes at a prestigious Burns Supper held in Moscow gave photographs of Ian, sound asleep at the table, if not at the actual Kremlin, the next most important building.
Ian was a real character, whom I will remember for his friendship, his love of the country, his ability to sleep under all circumstances, his love of food, his pawky humour – but, most of all, his truly memorable music-making both in solo and band work.
DUNDEE COURIER
Tributes have been paid to a Scots musician whose ground breaking sound shaped an entire generation of bands. Ian Powrie has died aged 88 in his adopted home of Perth, Western Australia.
He was one of Scottish Country Dance Music’s best loved and most influential figures, regarded in the same high esteem as the legendary Jimmy Shand. Leading his own Ian Powrie Band – acclaimed one of the finest ever – he toured tirelessly across the globe, both in his own right and in support of top entertainer and television personality Andy Stewart.
They came together with Andy Stewart on the BBC’s hugely popular White Heather Club show in 1959, creating a lasting partnership that saw them in demand around the world.
He also enjoyed a long association with EMI records and worked with some of the finest producers of the day, including George Martin, who would later become synonymous with The Beatles.
His life and achievements will be celebrated by the current generation of Scottish band musicians in the coming days.
Nicol McLaren, Chairman of the NAAFC, speaking from Shetland A&F Festival said, “There have been quite a few drams raised to him during the Festival and I’m sure there will be many more over the weekend. Ian’s music has been hugely significant – the whole sound of Scottish Dance Bands changed when he came on the scene. He was the next big thing after Jimmy Shand and his sound was so special and so different that it shaped a new generation of Scottish musicians. Suddenly the fiddle was leading a band and the sound was simply something we hadn’t heard before. This was the heyday of Scottish Dance Bands, when they were in demand around the world and Ian’s was the best band of the day.”
Ian Powrie was born in Strathardle near Blairgowrie in 1923.
IAN HOLMES, DUMFRIES
I first met Ian and his Band at a dance in Newburgh whilst I was staying at Kinross with my pal, Charlie Murray. This was in the very early 1950s and at that time his brother Bill was the lead accordionist. Later, when the band was in the Dumfries area, I was often asked to play at half-time and Ian would sometimes slip back on stage to join us. Once at Eskdalemuir the half-time band was my girlfriend Margaret on piano, band member Arthur Easson on drums, Ian on fiddle and myself on accordion. What a thrill for two young musicians! After that, there was a standing invitation to bring my own instrument along, to enable me to have a ‘tune’ with Ian’s band.
After Margaret and I were married, we visited Ian and Leila at Duplin, Auchterarder and later Blairgowrie and we had the rare pleasure of hearing Ian play pipe marches on his piano accordion. What with dances, theatre shows and regular appearances on BBC TV’s White Heather Club, the Band was extremely popular. So much so that, when the family emigrated to Australia, it was devastating for many people and several said that they felt a large part of their world had come to an end.
When he returned in the 1980s we met up once more when we both appeared in a Radio forth show in an Edinburgh theatre. He promised to visit us in Dumfries to “see what we were up to.” He and Leila did visit us and we had a pleasant time with ‘blethers’ and an hour or so’s music together. However, on the way home they parked in a lay-by near Cumbernauld for refreshments and a lorry coming in to park behind them misjudged things completely and ran into the back of their car. They and their dog were okay, but alas Ian’s treasured Matthew Hardie fiddle was smashed to smithereens. He was broken-hearted, for it was his favourite instrument and he’s used it for all his appearances and recordings.
We have very happy memories of their Ruby Wedding, where the guest list read like a Who’s Who of Scottish dance music, with all the notables present.
I’d long had an idea of doing a broadcast consisting solely of Jimmy Shand compositions and in 1995 I plucked up sufficient courage to ask Ian if he’d care to join us on fiddle. He replied, “Och aye, I thought you were never going to ask me to have a tune with your band. I’ll certainly look forward to that.”
When we sought the necessary permission from Jimmy, he readily agreed and, on being told Ian would be on fiddle, he said, “By God son, you’ll fairly enjoy that, for he’s a grand player and he’ll fit in fine with your band.”
The programme was recorded in the magnificent Studio One, Glasgow. Everyone was very relaxed and the band was literally ‘jumping’. At one point I asked Ian for his opinion on a dance tempo. Such was his humour that he replied, “If they can’t dance to that they shouldn’t be allowed in the hall.”
He joined us when we recorded a CD of Scottish Dances in Kingskettle Hall. On the night before in the Ladybank guesthouse during a break in the practice, Ian produced a bottle of whisky and offered the band members a drink. Only I accepted and he said, “Thank God for that, for a minute or two I thought I was going to have to drink it all myself.”
Around 1998 I had written a couple of 2/4 pipe marches and I titled them Ian & Leila Powrie’s Welcome to Craig-Varr and Jimmy Blue of Tigh-Na-Gorm. Jimmy quickly acknowledged receipt and said he liked the tune but I didn’t hear from Ian. I included them in a broadcast and during the live recording he turned to me and said, “What a couple of braw tunes these are.”
He told me of the time his band was short of two players and how they’d borrowed two from another group. He said the bassist was really good, but as for the drummer, well that was another story. He said he appeared to be greatly enjoying himself and keeping himself very busy, kicking up quite a racket behind them. He said it sounded like the guy was building a shed!
Another story was when his band had played at Dingwall and how, coming back through Inverness, he’d caught sight of a police car parked up a side street. Later, thundering down the A9, he’d become aware of car headlights approaching from behind. As they drew closer, a blue light started flashing. Cursing his luck for getting caught speeding, he pulled into the next lay-by. He did get booked, but in an entirely different manner, for when the police sergeant came up to the driver’s window, he said, “Powrie! You’re a terrible man to go and we’d a job catching up with you. Do you have your diary handy, for we’d like your band to play at our Annual Ball later this year?”
His last engagement before returning to Australia was with my band, when we recorded a broadcast from the Ca-Va studio on 5th December 1999. As usual, it went well, but it was especially difficult for Ian, for his old friend and band colleague Jimmy Blue was seriously ill in hospital. He and Leila flew out two days later (which, sadly, was the day Jimmy died - 7th December)
There’s no doubt The Powrie Band was, and remains to this day, a great inspiration to budding young musicians. He himself will go down in history as one of the all-time greats of Scottish music, both as a player and as a composer. He leaves a great legacy of recordings and self-penned tunes. We were privileged to know him and to have him as a friend over so many years.
SIMON HOWIE - FINDONY FARM, DUNNING
Scotland lost on of its most famous sons on October 5th 2011. Ian Powrie was a ploughman who rose to be an international Scottish music sensation in the 1950s and 1960s.
His family life began at Essendy near Blairgowrie and at the age of five he took up the violin. His father, Will Powrie, a ‘farm servant’, was an accomplished bothy accordionist and as such Ian went on to lay down his first ‘78’ recordings with his father at the age of 12. Violin lessons were provided by the famous local bandleader Adam Rennie of Coupar Angus, the joint composer of Caddam Woods, one of Scotland’s most played dance tunes. Aside from his Scottish music Ian took classical lessons from Harry Ogilvie of Dundee. This would prove to be a huge step towards furthering his technique.
In the early 1940s Will Powrie took his young family to Bankhead Farm near Forteviot where he became the grieve (farm manager) and it was during this time that Ian left school and took up his role on the farm as a tractor-man whilst forming his first dance band. He often recalled stories of being sent to clean out the granary on days when he was a little tired from a late night engagement with the dance band. This was the equivalent of time off in farming circles.
Ian met and married Leila Mailer of Dunning in 1951. She was the daughter of Bob Mailer, Findony Farm, Dunning who was also the village butcher.
The first band was a line-up including his brother Bill, a first class 3-row button accordion player, but he was called up for National Service so a local lad from Dunning, Jimmy Blue, joined in 1952. Jimmy was a fellow farm worker and this combination of musical and work affinity never left the two men. Their ability to gel on a musical and personal level was a huge part of the band’s success over the years. The dance bands of the 1950s had a great sound but The Powrie Band with its blend of button accordion and piano accordion along with Ian’s tone and intonation made it a sound which would last for decades as a benchmark for any young band looking to take off on the dance music circuit. Ian had the foresight to surround himself with musicians who were the best in their class. Mickie Ainsworth with his excellent technique and knowledge of harmony, Arthur Easson, the drummer who took pipe band strokes into the Scottish dance band, Pam Wilkie on piano proved to me a massive asset with her ability to accompany Ian on his iconic slow-air recordings as well as her help with the She sang on a few of the Band’s LPs, which again added an extra dimension to the Band. Dave Barclay was on double bass and again his skill at both playing and arranging made him quite unique. Ian often remarked on Dave’s professionalism, his quiet demeanour and interestingly about never having to retake a set in the studio due to a mistake on bass.
The recruitment of these players along with the recently crowned Scottish Champion accordionist Jimmy Blue was a master stroke by Ian as they developed into a unit capable of backing Andy Stewart on his famous White Heather Club (over 80 live TV appearances) taking it above the ordinary bands of the day and giving them the status of the best band in the land. They could accompany the new singers and acts of the 1960s, thus allowing the BBC and other light entertainment producers to focus on other elements of the show, knowing Ian and the Band would take care of their part without fail. In the space of ten years he had gone from ploughman at Forteviot to leading a band on world tours, playing full summer seasons in Scotland’s top theatres, as well as Balmoral Castle for Her Majesty the Queen and two famous concerts in The Royal Albert Hall, London. It was akin to Jock Stein with his Lisbon Lions in that it is often remarked that Stein put together a team of local lads who became world beaters. In many ways Ian Powrie is one of the few people to have done the same. Success brought many things but he never forgot his farming background and in 1962 he bought West Kirkton Farm at Auchterarder, Perthshire. He remarked that the feel and smell of ploughing his own land for the first time is something he would never forget. This was to be the family home until immediately after a tour of Australia in 1966 he dropped the bombshell news to his fellow band members that he was planning to pack up and emigrate to Australia. This news took everyone by complete surprise but true to his word he got on with the job of taking the family out to their new life. West Kirkton Farm was sold, farewell concerts were performed, a final LP was recorded and the cases were packed. At the height of his career Ian left it all behind and went to Australia in 1966. The return visits in the 1970s were anticipated with great fervour. I can remember as a five year old Ian visiting our family farm at Dunning. We saw his zest for life as well as being exposed to his magical fiddle playing. This spawned a love of Scottish music which has remained with my brothers and me to this day.
Ian made many recordings during his visits, one of which was with the legendary Jimmy Shand. It was aptly titled ‘When Auld Friends Meet’. I can remember watching television in the early 1970s during which Jimmy Shand was being feted by Eamonn Andrews as a recipient of ‘This is Your Life’. We watched of Scotland’s top entertainers coming on screen but there was a real gasp when Eamonn played Ian’s voice as if he was speaking from Australia but, true to form, he announced the famous words, “We’ve flown him 9,000 miles from Perth, Western Australia to be here tonight.” And on came Ian Powrie. My dad jumped up out of his seat, and showed his delight by saying, “Poorie’s home!!”
Ian and Leila returned to Scotland in 1984 and re-settled at Corrieburn near Auchterarder. He performed at many concerts, band gigs and even toured Canada as well as producing a CD from his house along with many of his original band members. During the planning for the recording he noticed the RAF doing their usual low flying exercise in the Strathearn Valley so in his own disarming way he made a number of calls to NATO and managed to get the flying halted for three days.
His love of all things agricultural made him buy his old Caterpillar D2 tractor which he restored to pristine condition; this restoration job was so good he won Best in Class at his first outing at Scone’s Farming YesterYear event. The Caterpillar was photographed along with Ian and his fiddle on the CD cover.
He was a charismatic man who would tackle anything. He flew his own light aircraft, was a champion ploughman, top class violinist and most of all a great family man with a love for life. His encouragement for young musicians was well known. I can remember travelling to the Powrie household at Auchterarder so that Ian could spend hours helping me get to grips with a musical piece or indeed he would sit and pencil out tunes which may be of use to me in my repertoire.
Many of today’s working musicians owe a huge debt to Ian for not only his interest in their playing but for the legacy he left by way of recordings and tune compositions. He was generous with his time and his praise, he was fun to be around and always gave more than he received.
At the end of his playing career Ian and Leila took the decision took the decision to move back to Australia to be closer to their children and grandchildren, so in 1999 they left Scotland for what was to be Ian’s last long-haul trip.
On a personal level I remember a man who made a real contribution to anyone or anything he came into contact with. He invited me to play as a young teenager on stage at small local events but always had a way of making you feel as if he was second in command. He was never aloof and always performed in a totally professional manner whether it be a village hall gathering or a more grand affair. He spoke at my 21st birthday and played in the church at my wedding. Ian was a man who achieved great things in his life but he had a way of making everything seem fresh when you worked with him. He liked nothing better than an evening with some musical friends and a couple of large drams.
Scotland and Scottish music has lost one of its shining lights.
Ian is survived by his wife Leila, their two children Findlay and Ailsa and four grandchildren.
JOAN BLUE
I first met Ian Powrie when Jimmy and I played for his brother Jim Powrie’s wedding in 1952. This was actually an audition for Jimmy as Bill Powrie was leaving the band to do his National Service.
Jimmy joined the band in December 1952, the same month we became engaged. A new accordion – a Shand Morino – had to be bought at a cost of £208 plus £4 for the case. This meant our wedding had to be postponed until April 1955. The line-up of the band then was : Ian, Jimmy on button-key accordion, Jack Ewan on second box, Gordon Clark on piano, George Grant on drums and Bert Smith on bass. Gradually changes were made and, with Pam back on piano (having had two children), the well known faces of Mickie Ainsworth, Arthur Easson on drums and Dave Barclay on bass completed the group.
When the band was away overnight (playing, for instance, at Lauder – a long distance in these days!) I sometimes stayed with Leila and her two children, Ailsa and Finlay. We were glad of each other’s company and she it was who taught me to make soup! After Jimmy and I married, Ian used to come over regularly for sessions, looking out new music, planning broadcasts, practicing together. They formed a real rapport, both being from farming backgrounds. Even much later, in the eighties, when Ian had come home from Australia and was playing with Jimmy, Jackie Cooper and myself, Jack and I sat in the back of the car and we could hear the two in front discussing the crops, the fields, the countryside in general.
Television beckoned and the band appeared in ‘The Kilt is My Delight’ and, of course, the popular ‘White Heather Club’. In 1961, Andy invited the band to do a summer season in The Empire, Glasgow. This meant giving up ‘the day job’. The big decision was made and the members of the band became professional musicians. Andy packed The Empire for two seasons, 1961 and 1962, and of course his ‘Scottish Soldier’ became a huge hit. In 1963 The Powrie Band joined him on a tour of Australia and New Zealand and 1964 brought a summer season in H.M. Theatre, Aberdeen, the year when typhoid hit the city. They were again in Aberdeen doing the 1966 season, after a six week tour of the Antipodes, when Ian broke the news that the family was emigrating to Australia. Jimmy was in shock, thinking his world had come to an end. However, by the weekend we had made the decision that he should keep the band going. When he told Ian what he planned to do, Ian said, “I was hoping you would say that.” Jimmy also took on board Ian’s advice – “If nothing is happening, you have to MAKE it happen.”
Come December, the Powrie family was ready to leave. A Farewell Party for friends and family was held at The Moncrieiffe Arms Hotel in Bridge of Earn. A concert in Auchterarder brought an emotional Ian Holmes all the way from Dumfries. The final concert was held in Glasgow when ‘Ian Powrie’s Farewell to Scotland’ was played for the first time. The night they were leaving, I went to say ‘goodbye’ and I shall never forget Ian putting his arm round me and saying, “Stop greetin’ ye auld w***e (Scottish spelling h**r).Leila and I kept very much in touch with letters and we were delighted when Ailsa came home and stayed with us for a while, her famous remark to us being – “It’s great to be with a family that eats as quickly as the Powries.” She was also with us at the time of her 21st birthday and we really considered her a third daughter. Finlay was a bit of a holy terror when he was young. I remember his being found standing on top of the radiogram turntable , going round and round – very inventive, I thought.
Another memory is of Ian’s band playing somewhere in Northumberland. Andrew Rankine lived in Whitley Bay at the time and the band was invited to his home after the dance for a blether and a dram. Ian phoned Leila to tell her they would be a little late but Leila didn’t know How late and nearly had the rolling pin out when Ian eventually came home. What she had not realised was that Andrew was no longer in Dunblane but in the North of England!
Ian had the real attributes for a bandleader. He was organised (except for the time he landed at the TV Studios in Glasgow without the fiddle. A frantic phone call home and Leila drove through at the double with the errant fiddle). Ian was also pretty easy-going and didn’t panic or ‘lose the heid’, which took some doing with 5 different egos to contend with. He had a lovely turn of phrase, as had all the Powrie brothers, and one which I particularly remember was when they were driving home from a gig on a very cold, frosty morning. They saw a man, dressed for the weather, getting his tractor started. Ian said, “Aye, there’s a lad weel up intae his bunnet this morning.” Only one of the pawky remarks for which he was known. In Radio Scotland’s Tribute to Ian, I told of when I was in Australia in 2001 for their Golden Wedding. One morning, we were driving into Midland, the nearest town, when a rather large lady passed by. I said, “Goodness, there’s someone wioth a bigger bum than me.” Ian replied – “Och, I widnae go that far.”
And, of course, Ian was famous for his capacity for sleep, no matter what the circumstances. I have a video of one Christmas at Forgandenny, with our grandchildren dashing around on roller scates, guitars playing, chatter – and Ian sound asleep, quite unconscious of the heap of streamers which had been piled on his head. And at Ian and Leila’s Ruby Wedding in 1991, guests were asked to spend no more than £1 on presents. Bill Torrance and some of the other artistes at a prestigious Burns Supper held in Moscow gave photographs of Ian, sound asleep at the table, if not at the actual Kremlin, the next most important building.
Ian was a real character, whom I will remember for his friendship, his love of the country, his ability to sleep under all circumstances, his love of food, his pawky humour – but, most of all, his truly memorable music-making both in solo and band work.