Jack Delaney 19/02/1935 – 24/10/2022 – An Appreciation
Box & Fiddle January 2023
Year 46 No 04
As Ian McCallum mentioned in the November 2022 magazine, we lost another well-known accordionist in 2022.
Several people have since then written to the magazine with their memories of Jack. Thanks to Charlie Todd for coordinating these.
From Alastair McGirr
If there was a prize for the most public, musical engagements undertaken in a year – dances, weddings, broadcasts, concerts and the like – it might just go to Jack Delaney!
By the time I joined his band in 1981 as a callow 20-year-old with no real knowledge of bands or Scottish dance music, he already had 30 years under his belt performing with legends such as Andrew Rankine and Hamish Menzies as well as making a name for himself with his own band with residences at the Trossachs and Lochearnhead hotels, which made him very much a ‘go to’ bandleader / musician.
As a pianist who ad always been glued to ‘the dots’, I was in awe of his ability to rattle through a dizzying repertoire of pipe marches, waltzes, jigs and reels at the drop of a hat and without a scrap of music. And it was Jack who guided me through the challenge of reading chords instead of dots – although I recall that I was not immediately up to his exacting standard: “You need to make your right-hand chords sharper in the jigs!”
As well as the skill he displayed playing Scottish – both as lead and second accordion – it should also be remembered that Jack’s ‘modern’ was superb and beautifully poised; and he could a la Jack Emblow improvise with the best of them, Deed I Do, Tangerine, La Mer and I Love Paris being just a small selection from his oeuvre.
When it came to making dances go with a swing, Jack didn’t just play great tunes and play them well; he thought about which dances would work best; he knew the tempos that dancers wanted; and he could inject a wee adrenalin rush for the dancers when it was needed such as switching to 6/8 time in a Gay Gordons and then back to 4/4 with The Black Bear.
Playing with Jack for nearly 40 years, I have many fond memories of great evenings in many venues. I also recall an evening in a marquee near Penrith, when rain stopped play with a vengeance, the nearby river rose alarmingly and we almost had to swim for our lives!
I am also grateful to Jack for being – excuse the pun – instrumental in getting me gigs over the years with the likes of colin Dewar, Sandy Nixon and Iain MacPhail. On and off the bandstand, I like to think we had a great rapport and one memory that will always bring a smile to my face is when in the midst of a quickstep medley, Jack would fling his arms in the air and imitate the Morecombe and Wise Sailors Hornpipe to signify that we would soon be going into a chorus of Bring Me Sunshine.
In addition to his pawky sense of humour, one of Jack’s great traits was his wonderful knack of being able to forge friendships wherever he went. This was evidenced by the huge turnout at his recent funeral. A great friend and wonderful mentor, he will really be missed by me.
From Sandy Nixon
I first met Jack in 1987. Our regular 2nd box player (Bob McMath) was unavailable for a gig. Gordon Young suggested I contact Jack who readily agreed to have a tune with us. We had a great night. I was really impressed with Jack's playing. A friendship developed from there which lasted for the next 35 years. Over that time he sat in numerous times with us. We had many a memorable tune! Jack also asked me to play 2nd box with his band many times too, which I thoroughly enjoyed. There were many occasions when I and the other band boys were made very welcome at the Delaney household. Through Jack, I met his son John who has played bas wit us now for the past 26 years.
Jack was a superb musician, a great friend and all-round good guy who will be sadly missed.
From Graeme Burns
I met Jack in 1962 when he was practicing in Alloa with Jimmy Shand Jnr for a recording of an EP. Jack encouraged me to join the Clachan Ceilidh where he coached young musicians. I was just one of the many from there who still play or have played in many well-known Scottish dance bands. In some ways I was luckier as we became very good friends, and I eventually joined his band on fiddle, and have been a member for over 30 years.
Our wives Evelyn and Leslie became great friends too, so much so that we spent every august with our families at Mellon Udrigle. There we fished, sailed and kayaked, as well as bringing in the hay and peat for our hosts Roddy and Alice McIver. There were, of course, many ceilidhs in our caravan and occasionally we played with the band at local dances, as well as helping their son Ian raise money for Laide Jetty. The last time we played there was for a ceilidh in the hayfield.
Playing in Jack’s band for me was like having all my Christmases come at once. We were always busy, even managing to play at two Royal occasions. Jack was brilliant at working the hall and we all tried our hardest to live up to his expectations. At one stage Jack had me playing his beloved Hohner Morino 5 for quicksteps, slow foxtrots and modern waltzes. This is when he would move to the electronic organ we accompanied our vocalists. It was fun, but I was dared by Jack never to change the coupler on the box from single melody. I’m sure that other tributes will name the many fine players who were also in the band.
Jack was a super band leader as well as a second box star. Occasionally I would guest with Jack in other band’s such as Alex MacArthur’s and Ian McCallum’s where I would enjoy his virtuoso second box style. It was a red-letter day when Jack and Leslie’s son John joined on bass and daughter Fiona joined us for concerts. My middle daughter, Lesley, played clarinet at these concerts too.
Everything comes to an end, and now all that is left are the many memories, of fun times and recordings of my favourite band.
From John Morgan
I was first introduced to Jack at the Campsie club and frequently met him when I was playing for the Dunblane Victoria hall tea dance. It would be fair to say I liked Jack right from the word go; He always kept me on my toes at the dances offering helpful advice about tempo and telling me off for joining the first part of a pipe march to the 2nd part of another. This was a long standing joke between us and occasionally I’d do it on purpose just to see his reaction as he had a great sense of humour.
During the Covid lock down I’d speak to Jack almost daily discussing everything from accordions to vintage tractors. During one such conversation I happened to mention that I was thinking of growing some plants against a garden wall but was unsure of what type were most suitable and before I had time to think about it Jack had drawn up a list of plants that would be best for the job. I had never done anything like this before & Jack was a great help in giving advice over the phone and on zoom video answering my countless questions about gardening.
Looking back on it now I suspect some of my questions must have seemed pretty daft to someone as experienced as Jack as he had previously owned a nursery business. My suspicions were later confirmed when one day I’d asked yet another daft gardening question to which he replied ‘’John, you’re a fine box player” I couldn’t stop laughing! It was simply Jacks way of telling me I was never going to make gardener of the year.
I still smile when I think about that day and that’s the way I’d like to remember Jack. It was a privilege to know him and to call him my friend.
Several people have since then written to the magazine with their memories of Jack. Thanks to Charlie Todd for coordinating these.
From Alastair McGirr
If there was a prize for the most public, musical engagements undertaken in a year – dances, weddings, broadcasts, concerts and the like – it might just go to Jack Delaney!
By the time I joined his band in 1981 as a callow 20-year-old with no real knowledge of bands or Scottish dance music, he already had 30 years under his belt performing with legends such as Andrew Rankine and Hamish Menzies as well as making a name for himself with his own band with residences at the Trossachs and Lochearnhead hotels, which made him very much a ‘go to’ bandleader / musician.
As a pianist who ad always been glued to ‘the dots’, I was in awe of his ability to rattle through a dizzying repertoire of pipe marches, waltzes, jigs and reels at the drop of a hat and without a scrap of music. And it was Jack who guided me through the challenge of reading chords instead of dots – although I recall that I was not immediately up to his exacting standard: “You need to make your right-hand chords sharper in the jigs!”
As well as the skill he displayed playing Scottish – both as lead and second accordion – it should also be remembered that Jack’s ‘modern’ was superb and beautifully poised; and he could a la Jack Emblow improvise with the best of them, Deed I Do, Tangerine, La Mer and I Love Paris being just a small selection from his oeuvre.
When it came to making dances go with a swing, Jack didn’t just play great tunes and play them well; he thought about which dances would work best; he knew the tempos that dancers wanted; and he could inject a wee adrenalin rush for the dancers when it was needed such as switching to 6/8 time in a Gay Gordons and then back to 4/4 with The Black Bear.
Playing with Jack for nearly 40 years, I have many fond memories of great evenings in many venues. I also recall an evening in a marquee near Penrith, when rain stopped play with a vengeance, the nearby river rose alarmingly and we almost had to swim for our lives!
I am also grateful to Jack for being – excuse the pun – instrumental in getting me gigs over the years with the likes of colin Dewar, Sandy Nixon and Iain MacPhail. On and off the bandstand, I like to think we had a great rapport and one memory that will always bring a smile to my face is when in the midst of a quickstep medley, Jack would fling his arms in the air and imitate the Morecombe and Wise Sailors Hornpipe to signify that we would soon be going into a chorus of Bring Me Sunshine.
In addition to his pawky sense of humour, one of Jack’s great traits was his wonderful knack of being able to forge friendships wherever he went. This was evidenced by the huge turnout at his recent funeral. A great friend and wonderful mentor, he will really be missed by me.
From Sandy Nixon
I first met Jack in 1987. Our regular 2nd box player (Bob McMath) was unavailable for a gig. Gordon Young suggested I contact Jack who readily agreed to have a tune with us. We had a great night. I was really impressed with Jack's playing. A friendship developed from there which lasted for the next 35 years. Over that time he sat in numerous times with us. We had many a memorable tune! Jack also asked me to play 2nd box with his band many times too, which I thoroughly enjoyed. There were many occasions when I and the other band boys were made very welcome at the Delaney household. Through Jack, I met his son John who has played bas wit us now for the past 26 years.
Jack was a superb musician, a great friend and all-round good guy who will be sadly missed.
From Graeme Burns
I met Jack in 1962 when he was practicing in Alloa with Jimmy Shand Jnr for a recording of an EP. Jack encouraged me to join the Clachan Ceilidh where he coached young musicians. I was just one of the many from there who still play or have played in many well-known Scottish dance bands. In some ways I was luckier as we became very good friends, and I eventually joined his band on fiddle, and have been a member for over 30 years.
Our wives Evelyn and Leslie became great friends too, so much so that we spent every august with our families at Mellon Udrigle. There we fished, sailed and kayaked, as well as bringing in the hay and peat for our hosts Roddy and Alice McIver. There were, of course, many ceilidhs in our caravan and occasionally we played with the band at local dances, as well as helping their son Ian raise money for Laide Jetty. The last time we played there was for a ceilidh in the hayfield.
Playing in Jack’s band for me was like having all my Christmases come at once. We were always busy, even managing to play at two Royal occasions. Jack was brilliant at working the hall and we all tried our hardest to live up to his expectations. At one stage Jack had me playing his beloved Hohner Morino 5 for quicksteps, slow foxtrots and modern waltzes. This is when he would move to the electronic organ we accompanied our vocalists. It was fun, but I was dared by Jack never to change the coupler on the box from single melody. I’m sure that other tributes will name the many fine players who were also in the band.
Jack was a super band leader as well as a second box star. Occasionally I would guest with Jack in other band’s such as Alex MacArthur’s and Ian McCallum’s where I would enjoy his virtuoso second box style. It was a red-letter day when Jack and Leslie’s son John joined on bass and daughter Fiona joined us for concerts. My middle daughter, Lesley, played clarinet at these concerts too.
Everything comes to an end, and now all that is left are the many memories, of fun times and recordings of my favourite band.
From John Morgan
I was first introduced to Jack at the Campsie club and frequently met him when I was playing for the Dunblane Victoria hall tea dance. It would be fair to say I liked Jack right from the word go; He always kept me on my toes at the dances offering helpful advice about tempo and telling me off for joining the first part of a pipe march to the 2nd part of another. This was a long standing joke between us and occasionally I’d do it on purpose just to see his reaction as he had a great sense of humour.
During the Covid lock down I’d speak to Jack almost daily discussing everything from accordions to vintage tractors. During one such conversation I happened to mention that I was thinking of growing some plants against a garden wall but was unsure of what type were most suitable and before I had time to think about it Jack had drawn up a list of plants that would be best for the job. I had never done anything like this before & Jack was a great help in giving advice over the phone and on zoom video answering my countless questions about gardening.
Looking back on it now I suspect some of my questions must have seemed pretty daft to someone as experienced as Jack as he had previously owned a nursery business. My suspicions were later confirmed when one day I’d asked yet another daft gardening question to which he replied ‘’John, you’re a fine box player” I couldn’t stop laughing! It was simply Jacks way of telling me I was never going to make gardener of the year.
I still smile when I think about that day and that’s the way I’d like to remember Jack. It was a privilege to know him and to call him my friend.